Sadeke Brooks, Gleaner Writer Kurt ‘The Party Animal’ Riley says he play music on radio 30 minutes per week. - Contributed On the Jamaican party scene people usually listen to dancehall, R&B, hip hop, rap and reggae music. However, in the last few years selectors and disc jockeys have deviated from the standard fare to includ and rock as part of their musical catalogues.

Since the increase in popularity of the genres it is not uncommon to see large groups of people jumping around in the middle of some party venues while chanting the lyrics of popula or rock songs. And they might just be bumping heads or throwing liquor on each other on the dance floor. Kurt Riley, radio disc jock from FAME FM and party selector, attributes this increase in the listenership of the genres to people’s increased access to cable television, specifically stations like Vh1 and MTV.

American things “Anything they see on TV gets heavy rotation because people are attracted to American things,” he said. This also applies to the more rugged side of dancehall, as MC Nuffy, well-known for hosting shows such as Sting and Champions in Action, says “You have to play everything to please the people dem ’cause this is not a one-way thing.” Nuffy explained that the selection of music is based on the audience’s mood. Therefore, the selector has to know when the people want a change.

He says the way in which the music is played is just as important as the timing of the songs. Avril Lavinge is one of th singers getting attention in Jamaica. - Contributed Selector Marc Chin of Coppershot Disco says “Alternative music brings a difference to the party, but you won’t play a full hour of it ’cause some people don’t know all the songs. “It (alternative music) is more recognised ‘uptown’. I don’t think we ever tried playing it in the garrison,” continued Chin.