Art is theft. Love is theft. Art is love which is theft. We’ve already talked about Lévi-Strauss’ concept of “bricolage” as a core building block of creating something new by repurposing whatever you might find into a way to make sense of the world.
But bricolage isn’t the sum-total of how the creative process spins the straw of influence into proverbial gold. There is a more direct method, especially in music,. Taking an established melody and bending it, warping it, twisting it until it becomes something new, while still containing the recognizable theme from the original.
No musical genre takes this approach as core ethos like dancehall. A Jamaican offshoot of reggae, one of dancehall’s identifying markers is that the songwriting process almost always begins with a “riddim” which is essentially the backing track.
Other genres use this same approach, of course. Rappers work with producers who will send them a slew of beats over which to flow. The difference is, once a beat is used, especially if the ensuing song gains traction and popularity, that beat is “claimed” and to use it without explicitly nodding to the original would be against the unwritten rules of the genre.
Not so with dancehall. This method of taking the same backing track and building a new song from it is not only encouraged, but celebrated in dancehall culture. To the point where record labels will release entire albums of different artists using the same riddim for their own devices.
I couldn’t even possibly begin to speculate on the legal headaches that might lead to in any other environment, but it appears that dancehall has taken the riddim approach as part and parcel of the unique identity of the genre. An egalitarian way of looking at the creative process that places the onus of success on each creator vs. jealously guarding all elements of the work.
At the time it caught fire on the US Billboard charts in 2002, Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” was probably the biggest crossover hit dancehall had ever scored. Based off a riddim called, “Diwali” by a producer named Lenky, “Get Busy” introduced millions of people outside the West Indian diaspora to the irresistible polyrhythmic thump of dancehall. But Paul wasn’t the first or the last artist to throw his unique flavor on the “Diwali” riddim. “When another artist do a song [on a riddim] and it blow up big, it gives me exposure, too,” Paul said in an interview. From legacy dancehall greats to one of the biggest stars in the world at the moment, the groove of “Diwali” has buoyed songs about love, pain, and everything in between since it was written in 1998.
Pon De Replay (Remix) - Rihanna feat. Elephant Man
On the heels of her Super Bowl halftime performance, Rihanna’s stock on the global stage has maybe never been higher. But for years, she has held the crown of the biggest star to rise out of the Caribbean since Bob Marley. This remix of her first hit not only features legendary dancehall singer Elephant Man, but brings in the most basic elements of the “Diwali” riddim that had already been popularized by Paul several years earlier.
No Letting Go - Wayne Wonder
“Diwali” has had lasting success because of its versatility. Wayne Wonder’s smooth R&B inflected vocals take a softer shade to the riddim that rounds off some of the edges of the original.
Sufferer - Bounty Killer
Honestly, I just love Bounty Killer. A pioneer of a more aggressive style of dancehall, Bounty Killer’s interpretation of “Diwali” shows how hard the riddim can hit.
Diwali - Lenky
The original riddim. Showcasing Lenky’s generous borrowing of Punjabi rhythms and motifs that gave “Diwali” not only its name, but also its unique and lasting sound.
Whew. That was a long one. That’s all for today. Thanks for listening.