Dancehall in pictures: the books of Beth Lesser

Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture

As the title suggests, this books tells us about the rise and evolution of the music culture on our favourite island in the Caribbean. The author starts at the rise of the first deejays and takes us all the way to when, according to the author, the demise of dancehall culture starts. The book reads as if you're an eye-witness, being taken into the past, much like grandfathers who stubbornly kick off telling war stories at any given occasion. A touch of nostalgia to what were probably the most interesting decades in music. The entire history is framed in the time's social context, completely sucking you into the story.

There are regular side tracks with additional information on the artists, studios and sound systems that have helped determine the whole history. Very interesting interludes, but because their contents often also come up in the main story, you do get that déjà-vu feeling. These interludes actually do side track you from the story, occasionally making you lose the sense of the story's chronology.
The real reason why every dancehall enthusiast should have this book at home, are the magnificent illustrations. Beth Lesser is a photographer and with her camera followed her husband who travelled to Jamaica and New York to collect material for his radio show. Having been in the front row to all things happening, she has unique footage we get to enjoy. Another plus: all terms are explained at the end of each chapter, keeping it readable and interesting for laymen.

Despite its sometimes confusing structure, this book is a must have for every sound boy and everyone interested in the music and culture that have laid the foundations of dancehall.

King Jammy's

In the 80s Beth Lesser and her husband naturally also made contact with (then) Prince Jammy, and after a while they were regulars in his yard. That's why this biography is filled with small anecdotes from one of the most legendary studios of reggae. King Jammy and Sleng Teng were the pioneers in digital dancehall and have solidly pushed the evolution of reggae in a new direction with it.
But the book is more than just a biography. Next to all those nice anecdotes, you not only learn how Lloyd James was crowned King Jammy, but also how Sleng Teng rocked reggae.Because of the author's personal relationship with Jammy, she takes us behind the scenes as if we were there ourselves. Characters are colourfully described, and illustrated on and off with some great pictures from Lesser's archives. And yet it's a shame that the pictures are less prominently present compared to the other book.

Jammy wasn't only a producer, but also ran his own sound system, which is also written about, just like the sound clashes Jammy participated in. Especially the live report from the clash in which Jammy releases Sleng Teng onto the crowd for the first time is legendary.

Additionally, next to the actual biography, there are a number of interesting interviews from the reggae magazine Beth Lesser wrote for. Questions are shot to Admiral Bailey, Tiger, and of course King Jammy. In this way, the book does get more depth, because even though the quality is top rate, on the whole you don't get that much text. However, it's still highly recommended for those interested in Jammy and the digital 80s and 90s.

Both books have been published by Souljazz and cost 30 euros.