Rub-a-Dub Style

Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall is the first book to look, in- depth, at reggae in the 1980s, the period in Jamaican music that gave birth to what we know today as the “Dancehall” sound. Some of the subjects that are covered include the development of sound systems in post independence Jamaica, “slackness” v “culture”, political war and its effect on sound system activity, the “digital” breakthrough in 1985, women entertainers’ struggles to make it in a male dominated field, the ‘sing-jay’ style and how deejay lyrics changed throughout the years, how dance cassettes spread the rub-a-dub style, the reggae business model and the problems it created, the fight against the dance hall style and its ultimate triumph as the premier sound of Jamaica today.