Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance WriterAND NOW the wagon is finally full, as the Jamaican corporate sponsors have seemingly made a mad dash, almost hit the tailpipe, but managed to hop on board the international train and say, dancehall is too violent.
Persons may wonder, does this mean that they can no longer be lyrical, be cool, be entertained?
By the time this article hits the newsstands, it will be a week and two days since the release was issued by Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited, Courts Jamaica Limited, Digicel Jamaica, Red Stripe, Pepsi-Cola Jamaica and Wray & Nephew Limited.
The statement, issued collectively by these corporate giants declares "as a group of corporate sponsors of the entertainment industry we are concerned that the continued use of violent lyrics could ultimately lead to the decline of our music industry, as well as a social and economic backlash."
NO RESPONSE
As frightening as commercially-influenced morality may be, this release is allowed to echo ominously in the face of no real response from the music industry. For those who had not noticed, the crux has been reached.
Since the onslaught began, the local music industry has been very quiet.
As tours and concerts continue to be targeted, the economic backlash is no doubt being felt by those deejays being targeted and their dependents which can stretch from immediate families to whole communities. They are feeling the pain which accompanies the invective to "tek boycott".
Though the release makes no such association, it seems to be our attempt to stop, drop and roll in the face of Outrage!'s fire.
The difference, however, is that Outrage! and the other gay rights groups which have been calling for the metaphoric heads of Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man, Capleton, Sizzla and Buju Banton have specified an end to the gay related violence, not violence in general.
As such, the corporate alliance's stance may well be more damning than the thrust to remove anti-gay sentiments from dancehall.
In light of the wanton burning or calling for the deaths of informers, petty thieves, bowcats, Babylon and myriad others contained in dancehall lyrics, those who would like to see an end to the violent chanting might well agree that there is a lot more scope for cleaning.
Indeed, too many of the deejays are so hard to defend, because quite often some of their lyrics grate on our sense and sensibilities.
Additionally, they seem to have called this ado upon themselves. Homophobic lyrics are nothing new to the music.
FORWARD TRINITY
Indeed, it is a part of the forward trinity. That is, in order to get a forward all you need to do is call upon either God, Bob Marley or battyman. However, today's crop of deejays seem to be tugging on he "all who nuh love battyman" arm of the trinity a little too hard.
On the other hand, their stance has been buoyed by the fact that buggery remains illegal in Jamaica. Additionally, with the intensely Christian nature of the society, homosexuality grates against much of the country's beliefs.
Even so, the penalty for buggery is not death and so no one has the right to demand the death of anyone because of their sexuality.
Furthermore, simply citing that homophobic sentiments are an intrinsic part of our culture is not enough, because mindless prejudice is indefensible
As the sponsors' statement has distanced itself from the sexuality argument, it deserves to be looked at in the wider context.
In extending the reach, the statement points at a bigger question. The question is not whether Vybz and dem man deh will go down as casualties of war with their lyrics laid to rest in unmarked graves. The question becomes one of censorship.
The reports coming from the foreign press argue that dancehall lyrics containing anti-homosexual sentiments "incite violence", rather than simply stating that the lyrics are violent. Of course, this is a very tricky thing to prove and until the death of Brian Williamson Outrage! et. al had very little leverage.
It is because of the need to prove the dangers of these lyrics that instances of what columnist Mel Cooke refers to as 'homofibia' have come forward, with questionable citations of anti-gay violence, which seem to be ripped straight from the deejay's lyrics.
The sponsors' statement then becomes troubling because it appears to be stipulating these fibs are true. Interestingly, the increase in violence in Jamaica has not correlated to an increase in violence in the music.
Dancehall music has had significantly more violent phases, though life in Jamaica has probably never been more violent.
VIOLENCE AND MUSIC
Additionally, one must ask how will we judge when lyrics incite violence? Does this mean that one cannot use violent imagery? Will we no longer be allowed to bun a fire pon Babylon?
Will songs lyrics that state "if a fire mek it bun/if a blood mek it run", as Bob Marley said, be no longer allowed? Will the statement "chase those crazy bawlheads out of town" be construed as inciting revolution?
It is with a trembling spirit that one has to liken much of the anti-gay rhetoric and doggerel that peppers dancehall to the words of Bob Marley.
BALANCING ACT
Unfortunately when one takes out an elephant gun and starts shooting, the collateral damage will be heavy. Nonetheless, at the heart of dancehall is a counteraction to oppression, to Babylon. Many societies, not just Jamaica, see homosexuality as 'a white man's disease'.
In Bend It Like Beckham Jesminder (Parminder Nagra) looks at her friend who has just come out to her and says "but your Indian", suggesting that Indians do not behave like that.
In the United States, the 'down low' culture evolves where gay black men engage in gay sex, while leading heterosexual lives. Cultures outside of Jamaica get confused by the Jamaica's homophobia, wondering why one minority group would fight so militantly against another.
Of course, given that blacks in Jamaica are not a minority, it actually becomes a question of the powerful and the powerless.
As the pulling of the economic rug attests, the deejays are not the ones in the position of power. As a result, the opposition to 'gayness' may also be seen as a form of cultural resistance.
The problem of homophobia and violence against homosexuals is not one that can merely be contested in the music industry. Violence of all kinds in the society goes much deeper. It has been buried into our psyches and, if there is to be any progress, wider social violence must be addressed.
Bandying about the baton of sponsorship is not enough. If we must tackle the issue of violence in Jamaica we must do it properly. We cannot tell the nation's poor that you can live violent lives, you simply cannot sing about it.
Lyrics like Rinsing shot in head/no need to bawl no need to beg/Gangsta don't play--/Somebody call the hearse/Because the body's getting stink/It needs to leave the turf, as Bushman sings, become particularly problematic.
Who decides whether the deejay is merely decrying the wanton violence or promoting it? Songs such as Bounty Killer's Anytime are particularly haunting, because they describe what can easily be perceived as a truth. So do we state that the deejay is inciting the poor to rob the rich and therefore he is no longer allowed to say such things? Then it gets even stickier. If the real aim of any boycott is to stem the violence in the music, what does it mean for radio, for sessions? Will these sponsors pull their very valuable dollars from radio stations or dances which play the music? Local radio has been getting away with murder, substituting good sense with a beep, rather than not selecting music that is actually unfit for airplay.
But in all this, why has the music industry made no stand? Do they have the strength to make one?
In a letter to the editor published Monday, October 4, one well-meaning citizen expressed her great joy at corporate Jamaica's stance, noting that the announcement came as a great relief as it would separate the "garbage" from the music. She went on to point to a "lewd" song heard being played. Alas, she also points to hole in the release. In welcoming the censorship, it might not have been noticed that 'lewd' lyrics were not referred to, just violence. Regardless of the outcome of any meeting the sponsors may have with the music industry, Jamaica does not have the luxury to simply allow others to dictate what is wrong or right in our country. Nonetheless, the issue affects all Jamaica and rather than simply present a knee-jerk reaction we should realise the table has been prepared for a debate and, more importantly, action.
Violence in Jamaica goes further than lyrics. There is nothing easy about the road ahead. Somebody please ring the alarm, although we are not yet sure just who is dying.
