Music not reaching full potential – Seani B
The lack of systems, structures management, along with too much ego and hype are some of the boulders that are preventing major success musically, British Jamaican disc jock Seani B theorised.
And, he emphasised that “we need to get it right”.
“I am part of the industry. I am part of the movement that is down here [Jamaica] and we need systems and structures in place because we can see where other music genres are going past us on that world stage. And it’s got everything to do with us not being set up in a manner that the world can come here and be able to access this magic. If yuh don’t have law and order, it nah go work in the way that it should. And even though down here we have a vibe that we work with, we still need to get our business in check. Marcus Garvey comes from here yuh know … and a organise and centralise him seh,” Seani B stated.
The BBC Radio 1 Xtra DJ noted that the music industry is not failing, “but we are not reaching our full potential”.
“People keep asking questions, especially about Afrobeats, and in the past people used to seh ‘Ahhh, it’s the language barriers, people don’t understand the patois.’ But half the time I don’t know wha’ Burna Boy [Afrobeats artiste] dem a sing. But we see where they have got it to that level and it work for dem,” Seani B, who was in Jamaica doing interviews and recording live sessions with the artistes, said.
He explored the legitimacy of expectations versus reality, noting that artistes should consider how they position themselves in the industry.
“With the effort that you are putting in and where you are positioning yourself, what do you expect to see back? And are you working within that realm or do you think that you are bigger? Because, once you think that you are bigger than you actually are, then you are going to put yourself in a position where you are going to start negotiating and find that you have no negotiating power,” he cautioned.
Noting that hype “is a very dangerous word in our community”, he clapped his hands and said, “Once yuh have the hype, yuh gone. Yuh can charge wha’ yuh want charge.”
However, the hype “doesn’t equate in the same manner” outside of the industry.
“And when people start seeing the behaviour, dem going to seh ‘Know wha? Mi cyaan badda.’ Me, I work with it. I’m used to it because it’s a part of my culture. Mi battle through it ... so mi know when fi sigh, mi know when fi kiss mi teeth, mi know when fi turn whey mi head, and mi know when fi smile,” he shared.