A deep dive into the Caribbean Jab Jab with 2000F
Ahead of the documentary ‘Dragging Chains’ premiering in Copenhagen February 1st, Frederik Birket-Smith put together a playlist showcasing the vibrant Grenadian style
The first playlist of 2025 is made by our very own Frederik Birket-Smith aka 2000F; a serious producer, DJ and cultural entrepreneur known for his many knacks and obsessions such as loud bass, aged rum, jungle, boogie and mango flavoured candy. Another one is his enthusiasm for the Caribbean music genre Jab Jab.
Thanks for wanting to do this playlist Frederik – Can you please explain what is Jab Jab is, and what is so special about it?
I’m constantly searching for new sounds and styles of music from across Mother Earth. And around 10 years ago, I noticed that a peculiar, electronic style of Soca music was fast developing in the Caribbean island state of Grenada. Many of the tunes sounded almost bedroom-ish in terms of production quality: Ruff and grimey, fast and ravey, minimal and hard. I like that. And in the lyrics, I heard the term ‘jab jab’ being called out almost constantly. Especially the ‘Soak It Good’ tune by Skinny Banton (what a wicked name!) had elaborate lyrics about how to cook the local Carnival food favourite, saltfish, by stating “When di Jab Jab cooking saltfish, dey does soak it good”. I had to know: Not how to cook saltfish, but what Jab Jab meant. And then another wonderful music detective journey began.
So, Jab Jab is a style of music from Grenada. It’s an electronic style of hard Soca music with a very unique local sound to it. And yet, it’s much more than music. It’s a culture, a celebration of emancipation, a protest, a way of life.
The Jab Jab originally is a specific character and costume hailing from the various Caribbean carnival cultures, including Grenada, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and so on. ‘Jab’ is short for the French ‘diable’, meaning devil. Specifically in Grenada, the Jab Jab character – with horned helmets, chains and black motor oil all over – has since the early 1990s risen to prominence and developed its own unique sound and style.
My friend Emil Hvidtfeldt aka ID.2 had the idea of documenting the Jab Jab culture and went to Grenada in 2023 to make a docu film. And now it is ready for its premiere.
A Jab Jab playlist sounds like the perfect warm up for the premiere. Can you elaborate on the specific selection?
This playlist is 30 serious Jab Jab tunes straight from 🇬🇩. Not all of the Jab Jab music being released actually ends up on Spotify – in fact you’ll find more on Youtube or the Audiomack streaming platform. Yet, I’ve built a playlist that is pretty fast, ravey, fun and full-on. Still, some tunes in the beginning of the playlist are actually slow and deep with interesting lyrics about the Jab Jab culture. If you need more than 30 tunes, head straight to this playlist of more than 30 hours (!) of pure Jab Jab music: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ivmkGYuy72Az4u8s5hMti?si=9DHO4T0lRNyeVyaNbST25A&pi=e-vbz3E6vTTy-X
Lastly, can you tell us a bit about the documentary?
Dragging Chains – created by director Emil Hvitfeldt – moves between observation and conversation as the apparent obscurity of Grenada’s Jab Jab tradition is unraveled. Filmed during the 2023 carnival season in the Caribbean island state of Grenada, audiences are immersed in a sensorial spectacle of oil, chains, and rhythm, while the stories told by local practitioners provide a backdrop of contemporary interpretation. As the spectacle unfolds, the initial exotic appeal gives way to deeper questions of resilience, protest, and colonial after-effects.
For the ‘Dragging Chains’ premiere event at Bolsjefabrikken the film will be complemented with a presentation by the director himself as well as by Frederik Birket-Smith. The Bolsje soundsystem will host a bunch of Copenhagen selectors and djs – including ID2, 2000F, Ras Money and Sound & Fury – playing strictly Jab Jab, Soca and related Caribbean music. Find the event here.