Quote: (10-01-2016 08:20 AM)Kieran Wrote:
Interesting stuff. Do you guys know what kind of money big name artists charge to voice a dubplate - and do you think they still charge big DJs where it maybe benefits them to be on the dubplate?
Artists don't see them as benefitting themselves at all promotionally from dubplates, it is purely for the selector to have material for clashing.
If you are a foreigner and you show up near a studio you will be swarmed by a crowd of talented artists, some known, most not, that will offer to voice a dubplate for you. They will automatically assume you are a foreign DJ and you are there to get dubplates. The problem is you have to link up with the level of artists that you want.
Here is lesser-known sound Judah International from Trinidad getting a dubplate recorded from Kartel while in remand.
From the top down artists regard dubplates as easy side money and most will voice for any sound. Obviously some artists dubplates are rarer but DJ's from Japan to Africa to Hawaii to Miami all go to Jamaica to make dubplates. Dubplates are often recorded by enterprising DJ's when these artists come through to perform in foreign because its easy, duty free, cash money.
If you go to yard you could contact any artist you wanted through their social media accounts. You could get Alkaline, Popcaan, Mavado, Gully Bop, Beanie, Bounty, Chronixx, Protoje or any artist you want granted they are currently on the Rock. Jamaican artists tour the US during the summer festival season and retire to Jamaica preferrably in the winter however Britain, Europe Japan and Africa are all huge consumers of dancehall, much more than in the US. So they travel abroad often if they have the visa link.
If you want one of the top artists you are going to have to get them through social media or their managers or handlers, but most you should be able to link with once they know you are there to pay them a large sum of Jamaican or US dollars for 5 minutes of them changing a few lyrics in a song they have sung thousands of times. Just be very wary, Jamaica scam culture is huge right now-it is the subject of Vybz Kartel new video Western Union. Lots of people will offer to be intermediaries and you will be bled dry. You have to link with the right Jamaicans. If you have swag and speak and understand patois you will be allright. I am assuming anyone deep enough into the music to desire a real JA dubplate already understands and probably speaks Jamaican patois.
Dont give out any money to anyone except the artist at the time of the voicing. Jamaicans don't consider conning or tricking someone out of their money nearly as disrespectful as teefs are looked down pon, and many Jamaicans a very clever and good talkers so have your street game on. Act like you are trying to buy weed and your not gonna just hand your money to the first guy that says he can get you some.
Now haggling in Jamaican is something totally different. Much like Africa the Mideast and many equatorial islands haggling is done with much gusto and a deal isn't made without lots of cursing and threatening to walk out on both sides then finalized with an agreement and everyting curry and the white rum and the spliffs and irie vibe come out. It is just the way business is done otherwise you will get walked over. They will try to wildy overcharge you at first to just test the waters and see how big of a DJ you are. You then suck your teeth and say you just want one tune your not trying to book him for a stageshow. He might tell you to suck your muma because you are teefing bred from him pickney hand so dem bawling ca dem hungry and cyan eat. He might curse you as a colonial slave driver and see you are trying to enslave him like Babylon. Don't cave from the white guilt, this is just a negotiating tactic along with all other theatrics and claims. He might say he feels like hacking you with a machete or a rachet cause yuh have demon inside you. Stay calm. Keep it about the numbers, threaten to leave and pay another artist for the amount you have, they won't let you leave. Work out as low a number as you can that he is still cool about taking, most of the JA artists are not nearly as wealthy as they would like to pretend. Life in JA is expensive. $1000 US is 130,000 in JA dollars. You could easily get a hot artist like Konshens or Aidonia for a grand if you could link with them already in the studio.
All studios in JA are locked behind gates and no one is admitted without business to attend to. As a white man or foreigner you will automatically be allowed in because they know why you are there. They will google who you say you are in if they can't determine that you are a big or popular sound they will know you don't have that kind of big cash and they will take what they can get. If you are serious I could help you out some.
You have to not be afraid of going to Kingston, it is not as bad as people say it is, just act right. People will try to stop you left and right to engage you, just trod on repeating "mi cool" or "mi nuh need nuttin." replying to people in patois usually shuts them down as there are white Jamaicans and Jamaicans of Asian and Arabic even Jewish extraction. If you can pass for some sort of mixed person dress to blend in. Jamaicans are fanatical about style and fashion and they can tell another Jamaican just by dress alone.
Thats about it, thats how you get a dubplate. I have been to these studios and recorded with some of these artists so I know how it goes I have seen it there and I know many international DJ's that have gone to yard and made dubplates. If you can establish a relationship with the right artists you could do it digitally online thereafter. You could wire the money and they can voice and return the wav file as nobody actually spins vinyl anymore. I am sure most international DJ's aren't even going to yard anymore, they are just relying on connections in JA to get them done digitally.
Definitely go to Jamaica at least once if you are a fan. Everyone should go to an outdoor Kingston dancehall clash or dance at least once in their life. Hol a guiness and some vibes an wine pon a gal.
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