Dancehall gets movie makeover

Dancehall powerhouse Govana, founder of the Strikeforce camp, is rewriting the rules of the game. Together with music and creative label The Now or Never Club (TNOC), he has unleashed ' The Bobby Lane Project : Season 1' -- a cinematic short film and juggling compilation that propels dancehall from music video formats into full-blown narrative storytelling.

The spark for The Bobby Lane Project came directly from Govana's single Top Lawyer.

Rogen 'Ruppi' Walker, TNOC founder, said the lyrics from the single led the storyline. Other top artistes like Skeng and Chronic Law added their own tracks and energy to the project.

"When Chronic Law saw and heard the vision, we extended the storyline for his track and video, and it's progressed ever since. Immediately after that, it was Skeng and Skippa, so we fully extended the storyline and pitched the idea of a short film so we could follow through on our ideas," Ruppi said.

What started as a single evolved into a cohesive short film universe, weaving multiple artists and tracks into one thrilling narrative.

Govana reveals the driving vision behind the project: "After shooting the majority of my videos over my career and being one of my go-to directors, I decided to link up with Ruppi. The last time I did a juggling he shot 90 per cent of those videos and compilation. We said we were going to put out my single before we came up with the idea of juggling."

He adds, "We wanted to release it non-typical, similar to our idea for the Convo Series; shooting a movie that could include all the tracks and artistes."

At its core, The Bobby Lane Project transforms dancehall into a storytelling force. Music is no longer just a backdrop -- it drives the emotional and social narrative, examining real-life experiences without glamourizing them.

"The fans should take away from this is to be open and creative," Govana says. "The purpose was to be different, inspire the fans, upcoming artistes and directors to try something different and be pioneers, not just a follower. They can be different with their craft."

Govana says the response from fans has been great so far.

"What stood out the most is the comments on the creativity. I'm happy being different is still being noticed and I'm grateful for the artistes that have been supporting the efforts and came onto the project," he said.