Slackness refers to vulgarity in
West Indian culture, behavior, and music. It also refers to a subgenre of
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
music with straightforward sexual lyrics performed live or recorded. Its form and pronunciation varies throughout the Caribbean.
With the decline of
roots reggae music,
sound systems regained popularity. DJs performed over extended grooves produced by a new mixing style of
selecting called "juggling." The energy in the dance halls became very sexual, with increasingly revealing clothing, scandalous dance styles, and cruder lyrics from the DJs.
Previously, sexual lyrics had been merely suggestive, but the new "slack" lyrics, part of the rebellion against fading
Rastafari movement ideals, left nothing to the imagination.
The term reflects the derisive attitude typified by the
Nyabinghi toward reggae music seen as lacking a deeper message.
The rise of dancehall music coincided with important shifts in Jamaican society. Politically, the Jamaican people had 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
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party (as is the case for "Labour" parties in seve ...
. Since
Bob Marley's death there has been little mainstream media representation of disadvantaged Jamaicans and
Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...
in popular culture. Political and cultural changes along with shifting public tastes led to a new dance hall culture which became an increasingly important institution for West Indians, Jamaicans in particular.
proclaimed, "I never know why they call it slackness. I talk about sex, but it's just what happens behind closed doors. What I talk is reality".
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References
{{reggae
Dancehall