By Lesroy W. Williams
At a press conference held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort on June 27 with artistes Billy Ocean, Macka Diamond, Pluto Sherrington, Ernie Smith, Boris Gardener, Busy Signal, Mykal Somer and the Kassanova Band, a member of the press asked a very penetrating question. Not surprisingly, the question was never answered and the shallowness of the responses showed that artistes are not the best persons to critique their own music. However, they should listen to the critics, because at the end of the day the lyrical contents of their music can impact others negatively or positively, even though some are in denial of this. Some are in denial because music is for them only a business, so they are only interested in feeding a particular market so that they can make money, but sometimes to the detriment of so many of our young people.
“It is well documented that Jamaica is one of the most homophobic countries in the world. It is also well documented that Jamaica has a very high murder rate, recording already over 700 murders for the year. The violence is a concern. It is well known that some of your artistes have been banned from performing internationally because of their homophobic and violent lyrics. It is well known that some of your music displays raw vulgarity and is demeaning towards women. Our young people are influenced negatively by such music. How do you intend to clean up your music so that it can have a more positive impact?” the reporter asked.
Although the reporter used Jamaica as a case in point, he was not speaking of Jamaica in isolation. Neither was his intent that of belittling Jamaican artistes and Jamaica as a country in any way. Jamaica is a lovely country with warm people, smiling faces, beautiful landscapes, a rich cultural heritage, talent galore in music, athletics, academia, et al.
The reporter’s concern was that of so many in our Caribbean region who are witnessing an upsurge in crime and violence. To their dismay, they are seeing a “gangster culture” like never before where it is okay to rob, kill, rape and break the law at any cost. Life has become cheap; guns can be had like cell phones; a simple argument results in murder; basic social skills have gone through the window; there is no respect for each other.
Reanno “Busy Signal” Gordon is a talented but controversial dancehall artiste. He was born in Tivoli Gardens in the heart of Western Kingston. In Jamaica, Tivoli Gardens has been branded by politicians as the “mother of all garrisons.” It is said that it is a safe haven for notorious dons and criminals.
In an article appearing in the Jamaica Gleaner entitled “The garrison phenomenon—Is West Kingston ‘the Mother of all garrisons?’” by Garwin Davis dated September 4, 2005 it is said:
“If one had to identify the political garrison which strikes the most fear in the minds of Jamaicans, it would be a major surprise if West Kingston, home to Tivoli Gardens, was not the overwhelming choice. Having survived two invasions by the state, in 1997 and again in 2001, West Kingston real or imagined, is seen as the ‘ultimate garrison’ ‘a state within a state’ and the one area where ‘outsiders dare not penetrate.’”
Tivoli Gardens is the community in which Busy Signal was socialized. He is a product of his environment. This does not excuse him from trying to transcend the situation in which he found himself. Music is a powerful shaper of culture and he is not going to change the “gangster culture” in Tivoli Gardens by simply regurgitating what goes on in that community. His music must show the other side about how things can be better.
At the press conference, Busy Signal said, “I still do gangster lyrics, still do girl lyrics, but I also try to keep it clean because kids are out there listening.”
Well that statement is loaded with double standards. It is a chimera. How can gangster lyrics be clean? And if he is so conscious that the kids are listening, why then does he carry on with songs such as “Badman Place” with the lyrics:
“Inna di place, violate get erase, we nuh quarrel, inna boy head lead a rest. Coppil a fly tru u vest an the mouth and the barrel, boy wish him did have a nether chest. Inna badman place, real mckoy and gangster, police ask question no get no answer”.
This song is loaded with gun violence and a glorification of the badman, the gangster. Busy Signal said “music no mek nobody do nothing.” It is true that at the end of the day, a person has to take responsibility for their actions. There is no dispute about that. However, a lot of our people, especially our young people have not been equipped with the skills to think and analyze issues critically. So many of them accept things wholesale without a dose of salt. They imitate the lyrics of songs in their behavior and speech. They see people like Busy Signal as role models and want to imitate them. There is an old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” Such saying is true because when one listens to vulgar lyrics and violent lyrics repeatedly, it lodges itself into the psyche, the subconscious without one even noticing and from time to time rears its ugly head in anti-social behavior.
In a world in which there are attempts to show more respect and tolerance and to eradicate discrimination towards people based on race, sex, colour, sexual orientation, nationality and other categories, songs promoting such discrimination have no place in our society. Needless to say, so many Jamaican artistes are involved in promoting violent and demeaning lyrics to people of a homosexual orientation. One can accept or reject a particular lifestyle without the promotion of violence and hatred. It might just be that homophobic lyrics find such a comfortable place in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands because so many of our people are insecure about their own sexuality and have a need to define themselves by demeaning others. It could also very well be that these artistes are involved in a form of psychological projection.
Another concern raised by the reporter was that of vulgar lyrics. Of course such lyrics have a market and it was very telling when Macka Diamond a.k.a. Money Goddess performed some of her tunes such as “Bun Him” and “Money Fi Pum Pum.” In particular, it was the women gathered at Warner Park who reveled and relished Macka Diamond’s performance. Need I say more? It is women who sometimes are the most demeaning to themselves and who sell themselves cheap. It is quite a shame!
Well until later, let’s try and listen to some clean and decent lyrics.
