Shaggy, Fans React To ‘Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall’ Documentary
Following the premiere of the Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall documentary at the recently held Tribeca Film Festival, Dancehall megastar Shaggy took to Instagram to reflect on the film’s largely positive reception while celebrating the genre that made it all possible.
Shaggy wrote: “This genre is a genre that has been fruitful to so many, but not without hard work, sacrifice and breaking down barriers. This documentary is a small part of the story of what I today call Dancehall.”
The It Wasn’t Me singer, who also served as Executive Producer on the film, continued: “This documentary shows that in each territory there’s a story and there are players and contributors to its overall success, some of whom are unsung heroes.”
The post referenced Dancehall’s expansive and multi-faceted history and addressed Shaggy’s gratitude for the opportunity to premiere it at the well-reputed film festival.
“Though there’s no way to document the entire journey of the genre within 90 min… We at least highlighted the story of the Brooklyn version of the journey. Congratulations to the team. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Special thanks also to Tribeca Film Festival for allowing us to use their platform,” he concluded.
The documentary, which explores the emergence of Dancehall music in New York City throughout the 80’s and 90’s through, among other things “never-before-seen archival footage”, featured commentary from Sean Paul and Ding Dong, as well as a host of other Dancehall historians. Importantly, it also featured one of, if not the most important figure for Dancehall music and Hip Hop throughout that era of sound systems and house parties – DJ Kool Herc.
The project has since been described as a riveting account of Dancehall’s storied history in New York City – often called Jamaica’s 15th parish.
Shaggy’s display of gratitude was met with similar sentiments from fans of his, some of whom appear to have seen the Ben DiGiacomo and Dutty Vannier-directed film.
One fan explained: “I was there… and I loved it. Great job to the directors and to you Shaggy, and all who contributed. Def Netflix-worthy.”
Another added: “Congratulations Shaggy!!”
There were also those who sought to find out whether there would be other viewings for the documentary, as well as those who expressed interest in seeing it.
Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall marks the first time Shaggy has gone behind the cameras as an executive producer in film.