"Wheel an' Come Again"; Re: "Reeeeewind!"

DJ Sun
Mon, 06 Apr 1998 19:47:31 -0500


Being of Caribbean descent I've been to my share of dancehall parties (which
don't actually get started until about 2 am & last till break a dawn), and
yeah the BEST effect is in timing the "wheel back" at the intro so that the
audience gets a slight tease of the song, usually the latest "riddim" by the
hottest sensation (ie Bounty Killer or Sizzla). During the rewinding the MC
comes in and hypes the track or soundsystem or disses the competing system
and when the track drops again the crowd is in a complete frenzy (if
everything is timed right and the MC has done his job).... Funny thing is
they only play about a minute of the track and then come in with the next
which may actually start the whole drama all over. Its all about competing
soundsystems (usually 2 per dance) and therefore craeting hype.

Some local raves/parties I've been to have the "junglists" rewinding after
half the song is done. A bit pointless..... and yeah, it IS a bit amusing
(from my perspective) to find a Texas MC imitating Jamaican slang in between
giving "big ups" to his crew and whoever else.

I enjoy Dynamite 's (Reprazent's MC) approach; his West Indian/English
accent comes across naturally due to (perhaps) his Jamaican ancestry and in
the live video I saw he wasn't necessarily using an over-abundance of
Jamaican slang but was just flowing confidently and smoothly in getting the
crowd hyped.

Rob Endersby wrote:

> This is a reggae dancehall mixing technique. A way of winding the crowd
> up. It's weird if you don't know it, but it is a way of emphasising that
> the track is so good we better hear the intro again, just in case anyone
> missed the point. I find it a better technique than those losers who cut
> out the odd beat with the line switch...
> Rob E