Why Dancehall Took Over Reggae

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Dancehall evolved into something that could be viewed as night and day with reggae. Not only in the sound,

but

The actual messaging and lyrics.

More upbeat tempos, less live instrumentation, more explicit lyrics, often no political undertone.

I think it shot up because dancehall symbolized what the younger generation was looking for and their desire to rebel. It's a cliche thought, but kids always want to rebel from the generation that came before them. Right? In every part of the world, in every culture, the younger ones often find a way to.

Buck the system they're being integrated into, especially in their teens and early twenties.

Like just think about the music that your parents listened to when you were growing up. It might resonate with you in a way, but it'll never resonate. Like the music that you listened to when you were growing up in your teens and in your college years, right? Those songs hold a different place in your mind than even the music that you might be able to respect from the generation before.

It just might have reflected the energy of Jamaica and the Caribbeans at the time better than reggae did. Things might have changed,

And to add onto this, the line art reflects life to me, resonates a little bit more in this scenario.

The condition that fueled Reggae's message: the poverty, the social inequality, the conditions in Jamaica. Still exists in Jamaica. They just might have evolved over time. And the effects of these things might have been exacerbated, causing more extremes that we see in art.

Hence Dance hall, right? It is super explicit, super fast and upbeat, and so different from reggae.

Dancehall just might be able to speak to the new realities that these people are facing in a way that is a little bit more direct than maybe reggae could.  
To me is clearly evident why reggae started to take a back seat as Jamaica's most popular genre.