Don't play with it

On work as a international west indian flavored song and what it means

About a month or so ago, I stumbled onto an interesting Facebook video by Mr. Vegas, speaking out on the situation with Dancehall music internationally. Up until that video from someone with personal expertise on the subject, I never realized there was "a situation."

Locally, everyone loves danchall music here. According to my Instagram timeline and Facebook, people overseas love dancehall. Even the people who don't like dancehall music have a few songs stuck in their head that they secretly tolerate. As silly as this is going to sound, I assumed everyone everywhere knew what dancehall was. It isn't exactly a type of music one island or country alone listens to... it's the type that's across a whole region, even the Spanish territories have dancehall influenced music, as well as sub-cultures in several countries.

His argument though was based upon the intrinsic of music - the stuff that it's essence is made of, and so accepted that we don't notice it but know exactly what he's speaking of when he says it. He said, to paraphrase, that most of the dancehall music produced today isn't marketable overseas. The essence of dancehall is dependent upon its rhythmic beats and sultry feel-good feels. When you hear it, the beat makes you want to groove. Hence why there's all those famous dancehall dances being created. He also noted that other types of music have started implementing dancehall rhythms into their own songs and being successful like - 'Cheerleader' by OMI, 'Sorry' by Justin Beiber and 'Lean on' by Major Lazer(but we expect that from one of his remixes.. after all, they're Jamaican). But still, all these folks have kept their pop style but borrowed the rhythm from dancehall music. The last big song that went internationally was his song, 'Bruk it down.'

While soca music has been evolving into something bigger and bigger - the essence of what makes it soca, the rhythm and the beat, remains in all of those songs that make it out of the region. The original sound and feeling that it gives you remains, but other influences step in. However, with dancehall, he says, dancehall has become more poetic and less about the rhythm and dancing, with a lot more borrowed hip hop and rap influences. It's hard for the folks who don't know or have never known or appreciated dancehall music to be able to understand it. (Click here to view the Mr. Vegas clip.)

This got me wondering, what if someone who is already popular with Caribbean roots, was to use their musical platform to produce something with strong Caribbean flavour... and along came Rihanna with "Work" this month. Of course I loved the song from the moment I heard it. Of course I understood what she was saying and easily learned the lines by ear. But this is me. I'm an island girl. I'm a Caribbean girl. This is what I know.

What I was curious about was to see the social media response to the song. I first heard it in a clip by one of my favourite Instagrammer 'OfficialBadGyalDyDy.' She's Jamaican, her fan base is a lot of Caribbean folks. Most of us, if not all, understood and appreciated the song. Go across into my American and UK timelines and there's a world of memes regarding 'WHAT is she SAYING before and after work work work work work.' It was hilarious.

Snippet from the video from (http://rapdose.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/drake-rihanna-the-real-jerk.jpg)

Then along came the first video which I loved. It felt very Caribbean and something that, although I've never seen, something that I could actually imagine easily. Especially if I had to paint a restaurant/liming spot scene and summarize Caribbean flavours. There's the simple restaurant setting, with the DJ at a table, girls all decked out hair and nails done in the strangest and/or sexiest outfits they could find, with somebody repping a flag, somebody rolling a joint in a corner and everyone just chill under some dim lights. What did I read? They thought it was soft porn. Why? How Caribbean people dance, people from other countries who don't know better, may be inclined to say just that. It looks like soft porn. But really? It's far from anything. It's really just a dance that sometimes runs like a game, and when the song ends, the game ends. What's the game? Silly little things like being able to wine good, fast, slow, outdo the other person, make them fall down because they can't handle the wine, little fun things like that. Whereas, I assume in those other countries, people may dance close but perhaps it's more expected for lovers or folks about to become lovers to dance like that.
All this to say, I love the song and I love the videos. And even if a lot of folks think she's singing in a foreign language, they love the song as well. Have you heard it as yet? What did you think?

If you've been wondering what new artistic stuff I have been up to - wait no longer!

First batch of experiments of painting on glass/porcelain

As per usual, in my moments of boredom I look for a new medium to experiment with. For you non-artsy people, "a medium" is simply the things I use to create art be it paint, pastels, pencils, etc. Something I've always been curious about and wanted to try has been working on glass. Year before last, I was approached with the potential idea of designing glass wine bottles for wholesale production. The idea never came into fruition. I'm uncertain as to whether the guy found someone else or decided to go another route, who knows?

With these novel situations, whether it manifests or not, I'm more intrigued than daunted. Why you may ask? Because it's the introduction of an artistic idea I have yet to try and perhaps didn't even consider before the commission was brought to me. So from late 2014 to the end of 2015, I researched, I read, I experimented. By the end of the last year, I had my first set of paints that can work on glass and not wash off.

First batch of experimenting with painting on glass/porcelain

Needless to say, close friends got some of these gifted with ideas I felt they'd appreciate. (Last year was also the first time my friends ever indicated that there's stuff I do that they like and wish listed!) A friend/coworker of mine has a quote up on Skype that I didn't quite understand until that project manifested itself.

Her Skype status is a quote by Abraham Lincoln that says 'If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my ax.'

What does it mean? What does it mean? I lamented wondering the sanity and logic of the status. But with time and my own reality, I was able to place it into context. I'm one of those people that hates to "practice." I want to either do it or not do it. This is the philosophy I've applied in every area of my life that I can think of. How do you prepare yourself to "Just do it?" Just doing it is the easy part, once you've done the preparation.

Experimenting with the gold paint

My perfect example would be in my college days when my Literature professor declared I could not get an A without reading my texts. I did get an A, and I was even more convinced that my method enabled me to understand a broader scope of the text faster. BUT... my method required more work. I did hours upon hours of research, reading differing opinions, arguments, theories, synopsis, anything that could've granted me some insight behind the character development and psychology, author intention and rationale and so forth. When I entered that classroom and we were on half way the book - I was done from beginning to end with quotations with page reference.

A commission birthed from the previews of the first batch.

To me that quote simply meant, prepare, prepare, prepare in advance. So I prepare and research the mistakes folks made before me. Find out the best tools to get the job done efficiently. Therefore, when I'm finally blessed with the paints in my hands, I already know what not to do and have a fair idea of how to go about it. This has been tried and true for most things so far. I actually found a medium that I actually need to practice with - the articles and videos made it look easier than reality... but that's another blog post.

Working with glass is still very different, new and challenging to me - but I like it. The surface is significantly smoother than canvas (obviously). There really is no traction though! You really have to work much slower than you'd like and be patient with your hands. Mistakes can be removed but it can get messy, so I try hard to get it right the first time or to work slow enough to have minor fixable mistakes.

Some like these were available at an event I took part in last December called 'Earth Youth Produce Market.' Since then, I've received lots of love and a few orders. If you'd like to order or speak to me directly - the fastest way currently is through my art page - Shellon (facebook.com/ShellonArt) If you're not on Facebook you can directly email me at shellonart@gmail.com or leave a comment here. (But emails and messages on my art page are much easier)

Ciao!

- @ Instagram - OfficialBadGyalDyDY

I overheard an interesting interaction recently between two people. One was asking the other why they continuously go to a particular place and consistently bring business there. The other person replied simply, "The more business I bring, the less I have to pay when I need stuff done."

It had me thinking that on one hand, that's smart. However, that's a great short term plan designed to keep you in the lane that requires a discount. Sure everyone likes discounts and freebies. On the flip side though, the time and effort it takes to recruit clients to a business or store just to secure a discount could be used for something else... like recruitment to your own business or dream.

That time and effort is an investment. Since the most expensive commodity that one can give is time, if you're dedicating it towards an investment... why not invest in yourself?

I thought about the conversation in terms of how I view my own life these days. Many moons ago, I had a friend named Chad (who's since passed away, God bless his soul), that tried to dispel this same knowledge onto me. He was very business driven and he'd always ask me, "Shellon, how much is one hour of your life worth?" At first, I did think it was conceited to think that way. Who am I to say I am worth X dollars per hour? I'm just a little island girl right? Let me keep my little backside quiet and work for my discount.

But as I interacted with him more and more, I understood what he meant, more so today, what he was trying to teach me. I remember once the topic of laundry came up and he told me he sends it to the laundromat. Of course, I protested. It's a simple task no? But then he explained, to send it to the laundromat takes him about $30 an hour, but in that same hour he could make $100. Should he then forfeit the $100 an hour his life is worth, for the $30? (keep in mind this was a long time ago and I don't remember all the exact figures but that was the rough message) In that hour, he still wins at success by securing $70 minimum. After applying that logic to my own life, even though I'm not in the position to make it as strict as he did (he was really focused by the time I met him and he worked for the things he accomplished - no hand outs), sometimes that hour you place the worth is actually minimum. There have been times when I may not have produced anything tangible art wise to sell, but I invested my time in planning and securing ideas that are worth more than my hourly rate. Meaning that some day, maybe, possibly, hopefully, that hourly value will increase. You will always gain something or learn something when you take time to invest in yourself. There are no losses. I'm not where I want to be, but I have faith I will get there.



If you invest in yourself, at some point, a discount would just be a nice plus, but it certainly won't be necessary. I've since decided to work hard towards my own goals, the way Chad did, so that in time, when I reap the benefits it'll be like a Big Sean song "...I started from the basement, made it to the sky scraper."

Even though Chad was actually only in my life for about a lil over a year from the point of meeting to his passing, he achieved every single goal he told me he had planned during that time frame from finances to education. He had a plan and worked his plan.

Do you have a plan for this 2016 on how you're going to conquer it?

As Chad always used to say, "I refuse to end where I started."

Don't let this 2016 end where you started.

Ciao.

Me and Amber Rose