Discussion in Jamaica among major exponents of Jamaican culture and music! Check it on Surforeggae!

There has always been enormous discussion in Jamaica about which period was the most musically creative. Recently, this controversy came to the fore again with a statement by poet and singer Mutabaruka. Mutabaruka, quite famous for his poetry mostly set to music in the Dub poet style, made a statement last week in a speech at the University of the West Indies, which greatly displeased the "old guard" of Jamaican music.

"Dancehall is more creative than Rocksteady. The songs sung in that era were mostly not original, they were rhythm and blues most of the time, foreign music," said Muta. This was enough to spark a clash of opinions and generate a great discussion on the subject.

Great exponents of the Rocksteady era, such as Alton Ellis and Bob Andy, gave public statements on the subject totally disagreeing with Mutabaruka's opinion. The main argument used by Rocksteady defenders (one of the rhythms that "originated" reggae) is that in the beginning, covers of well-known rhythm & blues songs were made, however interpreted in the Rocksteady rhythm which is originally Jamaican.

Another point observed by Bunny Diamonds, of the hugely successful group The Mighty Diamonds, is that today a large part of the songs made in the Dancehall style are covers or reinterpretations of old Rocksteady songs. The controversy undoubtedly seems to have no end, and arguments are rebutted back and forth. The good side of this story is that Jamaica did not stand still in time, and its music evolved and diversified over the years. So the question arises: "After all, what should be the next rhythm invented by Jamaicans after Dancehall?"