The global beat

World music in the mainstream

Jodie Barnaby
The Argosy
(Mount Allison University)

SACKVILLE, N.B. — (CUP) Music, as we know it, is in the midst of a revolution! Sounds are evolving, artists are taking much needed chances and the rhythms of the world are popping up on the Top 40 charts all over the world.

If you were to walk into a club, trendy boutique or even a high school dance eight years ago, your ears would have been flooded with the piercing electronic sounds of Aqua, Britney Spears, *NSYNC or any other one of those bubble gum creations. No offence to those of you who like those artists, but I for one am extremely happy those days are behind us.

If you walk into any of those same places today, the music that is playing often sounds foreign, and that’s because it is. And to many it is often a surprise to find that these sounds are coming from mainstream, Top 40, “bubble gum” artists. Today’s Top 40 artists are starting to catch on to an incomprehensible trend: world music sounds and rhythms.

Though countless numbers of artists have done this is in the past, it has now almost become a must. And with the music that has come out in the past 10 years or so still floating around, I feel we were in dire need of a change.

Whether it is the Caribbean flavour of dance hall music, the mixings of India’s Punjabi music, or the infiltration of African rhythms and chants, world music is climbing the mainstream charts whether or not we realize it.

Musician Sean Paul has arguably paved dance hall music’s way into North American mainstream charts, making his songs the hottest tracks to play in the club. Although artists like Beanie Man and Sizzla have been pumping out dance hall tracks for years, all it took was one guy with braces from Jamaica to finally bust through mainstream charts. Why, you might ask?

Perhaps it was the overwhelming numbers of generic boy bands plaguing the radio, or perhaps it was the infectious, sexy rhythms of dance hall music. Whatever the cause, Sean Paul has become an international music icon and has introduced so many people to dance hall-style music.

Playing off the popularity of Bollywood films and the Hollywood obsession with Hinduism, hip-hop legend Jay-Z remixed the popular Punjabi song “Mundian to Bach Ke,” which translates to “Beware of Boys” in English, bringing the authentic sounds of Punjabi culture to mainstream radio stations. “Mundian to Bach Ke” is probably one of the most identifiable Punjabi songs and has appeared on movie soundtracks, such as Bend it Like Beckham. Jay-Z generated an immediate hit with this collaboration, bringing an Indian flavour to dance floors all over North America.

British artist Maya Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., takes an ambitious direction on her debut album Arular, experimenting with a number of different world sounds. Using African drum rhythms and chants, along with dance hall beats and flows, M.I.A has created a sound that is virtually undefinable. On her first single, “Bucky Done Gun,” M.I.A. acknowledges her use of world music through shout outs declaring “London! Quiet down I need to make a sound/ New York! Quiet down I need to make a sound/ Kingston! Quiet down I need to make a sound/ Brazil! Quiet down I need to make a sound.” Her album exhibits a cultural hip-hop flow that is unlike any other. Her sound, although it exhibits similarities to other artists, exudes its own uniqueness that is quite amazing.

Some may argue that world music is being tainted or exploited by pop culture, but the artists who are sampling this music are doing it purely out of cultural identification or exploration of their own roots, not to mention that they have made world music much more accessible by popularizing it.

World music has made itself present on the mainstream charts during the past few years, although it is interesting to examine why it has taken us so long to integrate these sounds into the mainstream. Perhaps it was the unsatisfying music that was being played, or perhaps it is in part due to our society’s infatuation with finding new and “exotic” things. Whatever it may be, world music has taken the mainstream by storm, and I feel we have only seen the beginning of some wonderful sounds that have yet to be played on our radios.