Dancehall and the Designer Body
There’s a video making the rounds of several women wheelchairing through an airport in the Dominican Republic. For some online users, the clip could pass for a retirement home link-up. For others, it highlights the growing trend of cosmetic enhancements.
The dancehall space has not been exempted from this culture with Shenseea being the latest Jamaican artist to go under the knife for a breast lift. But how did the “designer body” find prominence in dancehall? And why have artists like Spice, Shauna Controlla, Renee 6:30, Queen Nikki and Starface gotten them?
In answering these questions, it’s important to note that the “ideal” female body type has constantly evolved throughout history. There was the celebrated pear-shaped woman of the 17th century; the curvy, corseted belle of the 18th century; and the tall, anorexic beauty that reigned throughout the 20th century.
Before the advent of the internet, beauty standards in Jamaica were inspired by Hollywood celebrity culture, cable television, and the dress of migrants who flaunted the latest American fashion when they returned home. Regarding body image, Jamaica has always had an appreciation for the full-figured or “healthy body” woman which can be linked to African philosophies about the heavy-set woman being wealthy and important. The latter is described in singer Clancy Eccles 1968 record Fatty Fatty which glorifies the jiggling skin of the plump woman.
The lyrical narrative shifted to the “coca-cola bottle” shape in the 1990s, highlighted by deejay Simpleton and represented by Dancehall Queen Carlene.
Today, the ideal body is achieved through cosmetic surgery, resulting in a “snatched” waistline, perky, busty breasts, and enlarged buttocks. This designer body has impacted dancehall’s aesthetics and rituals by rewriting the narrative of what the female body should look like, recommending it as a means for social mobility and birthing an economy that provides other services to achieve this desired look at lower costs.
From supermodel to IG model
Deejay Powerman praised the “slim and trim” woman in his 1995 track of the same name which assigned illness to overweight women. This supported the “supermodel” view of beauty which had transcended from the runway to the music industry with female artists like D’Angel, Kris Kelli, Tami Chynn and Jovi Rockwell being poster figures for the sleek and slender.
Chynn and Kelli were featured in the music video for Leftside and Esco’s 2005 track Tuck In Yuh Belly, a song which scorns body rolls, protruding bellies and excess fat on women.
While Eccles’ description of the fat woman referred to her physical appearance, the word fat has been used in recent years in relation to the fluffiness of a woman’s private parts. There was a time when it was enough for a woman to have a cute face, small waist and a fluffy intimate area, but this changed in the late 2000s thanks to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Blac Chyna. Note, big butts weren’t an overnight phenomena. Artists like Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé had found success with their natural derrieres. However, cyberculture provided a space where butt enhancements were readily seen and many women found fame by paying for such physique.
The dolls and divas
The wave of cosmetic surgery first became a public spectacle in Jamaica in 2015 when media personalities Miss Kitty and Yanique ‘Curvy’ Diva were accused of having work done. Miss Kitty, who had a pear-shaped figure and fleshy arms, suddenly bore a curvy outline, flat stomach, huge bottom and trimmer arms.
Yanique, on the other hand, moved from being medium-petite to voluptuous in bosom and behind.
Miss Kitty has never addressed the claims but Yanique later admitted to getting breast augmentation.
Former dancer Sher Luxury Doll was the first national public figure to be fully transparent about getting cosmetic surgery in 2017, which included breast implants, liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift.
To break it down, breast augmentation increases breast size and enhances the breast shape, typically through the placement of silicone or saline breast implants. Liposuction is a fat transfer process which removes fat from the hips, abdomen, lower back, or thighs; while the Brazilian butt lift uses that fat transfer to augment the size and shape of the buttocks without implants. Sher’s surgery was done by Dominican Republic’s Designer Bodys and preceded similar procedures done by the company on entertainers DHQ Headtop, Shauna Controlla, Nikki Chromazz, Renee 6:30 and Queen Nikki. Singjay Starface opted for body contouring firm Summer Bodie where she did the same three procedures in 2019.
These surgical operations began to form part of Jamaican popular culture which inspired the shift in how the female body was spoken about in dancehall. Artists like Vybz Kartel helped to promote this new aesthetic in tracks like Luxury Doll which he released weeks after Sher debuted her new body.
Subsequent to the song’s release, Sher changed her moniker from ‘DHQ Sher’ to ‘Sher Luxury Doll’ while Nikki Chromazz changed her alias to ‘Bimma Body’. This was in reference to the vehicle brand she loves, but also her new luxury body. Recall the musical era where attractive women were likened to luxury vehicles, like Bounty Killer’s 1996 track Benz and Bimma.
Other songs lauding cosmetic surgery are Hood Celebrity’s Walking Trophy, Renee 6:30’s My Body and Starface’s Summer Bodie.
The proliferation of popular national figures getting cosmetic surgery paired with the musical support from artists have changed the dancehall aesthetic to that of curvy, voluptuous, and by all means, plastic.
The why
The spectacle of surgically-altered bodies in dancehall is embraced as a rite of passage for social mobility. Lest we forget, sexuality has always been a focus point in the marketing and crossing-over of Jamaican female acts. Earlier acts like Grace Jones, J.C. Lodge and Patra were constructed as sensual, mystical and tempting goddesses. The same can be said about others like Diana King, Brick and Lace and Tami Chynn. All of these women tasted some amount of crossover success and by no coincidence had sexualised images which complemented the beauty ideals at the peak of their careers.
Female acts today see conforming to the current beauty ideal as matriculating up the social ladder, and some even speak of surgical enhancements as an initiation ritual for the music industry. Shauna Controlla, for instance, said she “just didn’t look like an artist” and thus wanted to “fix myself…my tooth first and then I did my body.” Renee 6:30 said she wanted to transition from dancing to music which would only be effective if she changed her image through cosmetic surgery. Furthermore, she referred to her surgery as “an investment” that would attract more income opportunities like becoming an ambassador for fashion boutiques.
On the whole investment argument, Shauna Controlla saved her money for a long time to pay for her surgery. Mills breaks down her bill (quoted in USD) as follows: breast augmentation, $5000; liposuction, $3000; tummy tuck, $4000; round trip flight, $700; two week recovery house, $2000; additional tests, $2000; additional medication, $800; and additional wardrobe, $2800.
After much speculation, Spice confirmed that she had breast augmentation in 2018 which points to her longtime goal of being a mainstream act in North America. Her alteration could have been motivated by this goal, likewise the surgery culture in Hollywood and the Love & Hip Hop franchise of which she forms part. Interestingly, the same year she joined the reality show is the same year she revealed she had done body enhancement surgery.
Consequently, the spectacle of the contemporary ideal body has birthed a national economy that promotes the body type and provides products to those wanting the look at lower costs. An early reference of this are chicken pills which would be given to chickens to stimulate growth. Several Jamaican women started to take the pill to stimulate growth in the hips, buttocks and breasts (the same emphasis on the luxury doll) during the 1990s into the 2000s. They were, however, banned after users reported side effects ranging from diarrhea and dermatitis.
Today, quick and cheaper fixes for a fuller physique include weight gain syrups and supplements, while those wishing for a slim waist can buy waist trainers, fat burning serums or drink flat tummy teas. There are also products and garments advertised to lift the butt. These products are oftentimes promoted by artists and social media influencers, perpetuating the slim waist, thick thighs and big behind physique.
There are also mobile applications like Perfect Body, Peachy and Body Editor Pro which offer basic body-morphing services for free, and more fine-tuned features for varied subscriptions.
Is it worth it?
General surgeon Dr Alfred Dawes says social media has “fuelled the boom in cosmetic procedures that we are now seeing, not just in Jamaica but all over the world.” Those who root themselves in their online identity and the aesthetics of cyberspace may feel pressured or inspired to save their money and get cosmetic surgery in order to mirror their timeline.
But amidst the hype and promoted benefits of getting surgical enhancements lie risks and little returns on such big investment. There is also the reality of surgery results not being what the patient expected. Sher has often told fans via Instagram that she dislikes her figure because it looks too fake.
There is also the matter of maintenance: a life of fajas, working out and diet considerations to preserve the image. The investment may also fall to the wayside if there is a poor or non-existing artist business plan. Starface is yet to have that breakout hit, Shauna Controlla is a distant memory, and Renee 6:30 and Queen Nikki are still on the rise.
Dovey Magnum’s management team recently confirmed that she underwent cosmetic surgery after years of being body-shamed online. Though she blasted pop culture’s obsession with women who resemble “bugs and birds” on stage, she also said it’d be her choice should she modify her image.
On the other side of the fence are artists like Pamputtae and D’Angel who embrace and promote natural bodies. Should history be of any indication, the designer body phase will be just that and dancehall will adapt a new ideal body in the future. Maybe it’ll be a cliché addition to the current look or something incongruous like dumbo ears. In any case, I predict it’ll be inspired by American trends and the desire to grow one’s brand and audience.
