Slackness

Slackness

Slackness refers to over all vulgarity in Jamaican and Caribbean idioms. It is also a genre of songs in Dancehall style with crude, sexual lyrics, performed live or recorded. Its pronunciation varies throughout the Caribbean; it can also be heard as "Slack" or "Loose" in St. Kitts/Nevis.

The rise of dancehall music coincided with some important shifts in Jamaican society. Politically, Jamaican people rejected the (originally revolutionary) democratic socialist regime of Michael Manley and the People's National Party, placing their hopes instead on Edward Seaga and the Jamaica Labour Party. Additionally, Bob Marley's death left a hole in the representation of both lower-class Jamaicans and Rastafarians. In part because of these political and cultural changes, dancehalls became stronger social bonding places for lower-class locals, and roots reggae music gave way to dancehall music.cite book| author = Stolzoff, Norman C.| title = Wake the Town & Tell the People| publisher =Duke University Press| year = 2000| id = ISBN 0822325144]

The decline of roots-era reggae, related dance styles and rastafarian ideals led to changes in the lyrics a DJ chose. Sound systems had regained popularity, and DJs performed over extended grooves produced by a new mixing style of selecting called "juggling." The energy in the dancehalls became very sexual, with women wearing extremely revealing clothing, people dancing erotically, and DJs performing bawdier and cruder lyrics.cite book| author = Stolzoff, Norman C.| title = Wake the Town & Tell the People| publisher =Duke University Press| year = 2000| id = ISBN 0822325144] Previously, sexual lyrics were generally merely suggestive, but the new "slack" lyrics, part of the rebellion against the fading Rastafari ideals, left nothing to the imagination, much like the clothing and dancing. "Music is far less important than lyrics in the [dancehall] genre" cite book| author = Cooper, Carolyn| title = Noises in the Blood| publisher =Duke University Press| year = 1995| id = ISBN 0822315955]

Bibliography

*cite book| author = Stolzoff, Norman C.| title = Wake the Town & Tell the People| publisher =Duke University Press| year = 2000| id = ISBN 0822325144
*cite book| author = Cooper, Carolyn| title = Noises in the Blood| publisher =Duke University Press| year = 1995| id = ISBN 0822315955

References


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  • Slackness — Slack ness, n. The quality or state of being slack. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slackness — index informality, laxity, neglect, negligence, sloth Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • slackness — O.E. slæness; see SLACK (Cf. slack) (adj.) + NESS (Cf. ness) …   Etymology dictionary

  • slackness — slack slack 1 [slæk] adjective 1. COMMERCE a slack period of time is one with less business activity than usual: • Business is slack just now. • The workers feared being laid off (= losing their jobs …   Financial and business terms

  • Slackness — Le slackness est un genre de ragga caractérisé par des paroles à caractère sexuel, issu du slack. On peut citer, entre autres, quelques artistes réputés pour certains de leur titres aux paroles très slackness comme Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Lady… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • slackness — n Jamaican immoral behaviour, speech, etc.; obscenity. The term was picked up by devotees of hip hop and rap culture in the US during the 1990s. ► not all black women take slackness lying down ... Rasheda Ashanti... says; we don t want to… …   Contemporary slang

  • slackness — Ⅰ. slack [1] ► ADJECTIVE 1) not taut or held tightly in position; loose. 2) (of business or trade) not busy; quiet. 3) careless, lazy, or negligent. 4) (of a tide) neither ebbing nor flowing. ► NOUN 1) …   English terms dictionary

  • slackness — noun 1. weakness characterized by a lack of vitality or energy • Syn: ↑inanition, ↑lassitude, ↑lethargy • Hypernyms: ↑weakness 2. the quality of being lax and neglectful • Syn: ↑laxness …   Useful english dictionary

  • Slackness (album) — Infobox Album | Name = Slackness Type = Album Artist = The Slackers, Chris Murray Released = 2005 Recorded = ???? Genre = Ska Length = 33:37 Label = Ska in the World Producer = ???? Reviews = | Last album = An Afternoon in Dub (2005) This album …   Wikipedia

  • slackness — noun see slack I …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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