Kavelle Anglin-Christie and Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writers

The Twin of Twins in action. - Contributed

As the clampdown on expletives at stage shows continues, a long whispered argument has come to the fore, that when sponsors from 'uptown' came with the money, the music, which was originally the 'downtown' lifeline was never the same again. There were new rules for an old game.

The recorded Jamaican music industry started without corporate support, as simply the efforts of a few entrpreneurs who invested in music from the profits of other endeavours.

The famous Bond Street studio of Treasure Isle record label and Trojan sound system owner Arthur 'Duke' Reid was literally and figuratively lifted by the spirits, as it was over his liquour store. Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd got his advantage of playing exclusive (at least, to the Jamaican audience) records from the United States by seeking out the tracks first on farm work and then private visits.

Many early dances were organised as fund-raisers for persons going overseas, the event serving as both a send-off and an avenue to acquire revenue for the trip.

And as it began, so the Jamaican music industry continued on its independent, freewheeling ways, some of the money pumped in coming from unaccountable sources and the cash generated going into similarly unacountable pockets.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship was unheard of, as even Reggae Sunsplash's organisers had to dig deep into their pockets to get the event off the ground.

One of the earliest links between big business and music events was the series of RAS all-inclusive events in the early 1990s, which was also the wide-scale introduction of the 'drink all you can for a single entry fee' party pattern.

And when Reggae Sunsplash pulled out of Montego Bay, St. James, after their 1992 staging, Reggae Sumfest stepped in in 1993 with a heightened level of corporate support.

As dancehall moved indoors to the clubs, with police cracking down on events at outdoor venues such as the House of Leo, Grove Road Entertainment Centre and Countryside Club under Operation Ardent, which Buju Banton deejayed about, the fusion of business and dancehall speeded up. And when Genetral B did a televised advertisement for Bigga soft drinks in the mid to late 1990s, it was another step in the two moving hand in hand.

It has not always been smooth sailing, though, as Luciano once removed the banner of an alcohol company which was on a stage he was performing on. And then there was the whole matter of indecent language, which surfaced at Champions In Action 2001, held at the Fort Clarence Beach, St. Catherine.

In a 2001 interview with The Gleaner, Bounty Killer said some of the measures imposed on artistes by the police and sponsors restricted his performance, and he had a problem with it because when he goes to stage show it is to please the people.

"I'm not letting anyone spoil my performance. I go to a show to work and I work," he said.

Deejay Elephant Man, who was summoned for his Sumfest performance, says he believes entertainers are being tied down and forced to give less than what they really have to give or what the audience really wants. He said this may very well affect the entertainer's career.

"Certain songs we want fi do we can't do them, certain things we want to say we can't say them," he said. "We ca'an lick out on certain people certain way and that is what people want to hear from us."

Twin of Twins say they do not have a problem if there are those who wish to invest in dancehall, but they should not attempt to stifle the artiste's voice.

"Twin of Twins saw what was going to happen when some of the other artistes were sleeping and spoke about it in volumes 4 and 5 (of their Ressurrection of the Ghetto series) about people coming in and trying to own dancehall and now it is manifesting itself. We don't have a problem with sponsors investing in dancehall, they are welcome, but they should leave it just the way it was. It was the way that it was in all its rawness that buss it and carry it abroad with people like Shabba and Supercat."

"... The children of these people are now the people in dancehall and they don't curse bad words, so it is seen as something bad. The things that most artistes sing and talk about these people don't understand, because it was not their way of life and experiences. A couple years ago people from uptown didn't want their children becoming deejays, but now the money is there and it's now an avenue to spread their ideologies, so it's OK," they said.

Inconsistency

Worrel King, promoter of Western Consciousness, says the business needs sponsors. However, he blames them for their inconsistency.

"I would blame them to a certain extent because they are not consistent. I will not blame no sponsorship for censorship, but they need to be consistent. If I am a sponsor then I know what kind of product I want my brand associated with. They have a right to say so, they just have to be consistent," he said.

Jomo Cato, director of marketing of Sumfest, spoke of music as an expression of art and self.

"Everyone has the right to free speech, but a promoter, sponsor or investor also reserves the right to image control. Profanity is not something we condone in any form. Beyond this there is the responsibility to adhere to the laws of the land. So we can never tell an artiste what to write, but we certainly can tell you what words will not be acceptable on stage at the event we are presenting to the public. Now, remember the artistes may still choose to violate this agreement, but then we have a course of action that deals with this situation," he said.

Who to blame?

So does he think sponsors and promoters are to blame for the stringent rules?

"The matter is really not about assigning blame; it's about taking responsibility for your actions, your statements and the image you project. Every performer at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest signs a contract which clearly spells out the code of conduct. If you go against this then you have violated a business contract - it's very simple. It's further complicated when the artiste now finds out that in addition to breaking the contract that you have also broken the law. But this behaviour was not forced, it was a decision made by the artiste, so live with the decisions you make," he said.

And what about the argument that sponsors and promoters should leave dancehall as it was at its inception?

"To say we should leave it raw really does a disservice to the art and to the artistes. Every genre has several facets, romantic dancehall, conscious dancehall, spiritual dancehall. The dancehall never was and will never be totally raw; it offers many things to many people. Notoriety is often gained by the so-called 'raw artistes' but if we take a step back and look at it, we see that the music is much deeper than this. The major stars in the music business don't rely on profanity for a hit. Notoriety will get your name in a news story but true stardom will make you a millionaire," he said.