Teamwork is essential for rising dancehall producer Jahn Vito. It is a trait that he has found to be a key factor in his success as a student at the University of the West Indies. It is also this same trait he found to be the solution when working on past hit projects collaborating with artists such as Jahvillani, Yared, Prohgres and Jahshii. Leading up to the imminent release of his highly anticipated debut rhythm compilation, Jahn Vito shared his thoughts about what he considers to be holding the dancehall industry back from its former glory.
“There is a lot of segregation in the industry as we already know, we can’t speak enough about this. But, we can’t just continue to talk; we have to find a solution and it’s right there staring at us in the mirror. Too much individualism is in dancehall nowadays. Too many artists want to be their own producers, composers, videographers and even sometimes disk jockeys. One hand can’t clap and we need to delegate correctly. Each person needs to play their role and work together in a team environment with one goal as the vision,” Jahn Vito reasoned.
According to the Jamaican diaspora, dancehall as a genre has been troubled by a series of hurdles in the past decade or so. There are many within the community that share similar sentiments concerning the tribalistic, monopolistic and selfish approach to music production and publication that many industry players seem to have adopted since the fall of the radio airplay era and the rise of the internet content-driven era. The individualistic scattergun approach in the industry seemed to have resulted in a dramatic fall in the creation, distribution and success of rhythm-driven compilations, international hit records and songs being produced by a recognizable media house.
Speaking with 24HipHop, Jahn Vito complains that dancehall has become too open, too unstructured and too selfish, and wishes to be a beacon of hope to inspire his generation to work together.
“To make the dream work we need music structuring, some policies in place, and most importantly, we need unity. Gone are the days when you had rhythms like Diwali Riddim with artists like Bounty Killer, Wayne Wonder, Assassin, Beenie Man, Spragga Benz, and so on performing on the same beat. Nowadays we refuse to work with each other and it’s worrying because until we do we won’t enjoy those happy days again.” Jahn Vito revealed.
Though some may view the young producer’s unity theme as a lost cause with this generation of dancehall industry players, Jahn Vito is adamant that his approach to his own music structuring can be used as a template for success by other industry players.
“If you look at our team structure, all of us work together, but we are a part of different companies. We share similar goals, visions, and music tastes. I serve as an executive producer, while Daze of Daze Records serves as a producer; then you have Sapple as a composer, DJ Fade as a disk jockey, and Go Getta is a producer and studio owner. We all work together, complimenting each other to make each of our individual and collective dreams work. If we can do it, the rest of dancehall can do it,” Jahn Vito proudly told 24HipHop.