Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
Natty King - FILE
IT'S BEEN six months since Irie FM decided to implement a
ban on all songs containing beeps to conceal curse words, and from the looks
of things, they are sticking to their guns.
Brian Schmidt, marketing manager at Irie FM, says since they ceased playing songs with beeps they have not had any negative reactions from the public.
"So far, so good. Everyone has been really positive. People will see us on the road and say that it is one of the best things that we could have done and it is about time that someone took a stand," said Schmidt.
Schmidt also said deejays would be less accepting than the singers about the ban.
Reggae artiste, Natty King, known for his song No Guns to Town, says the ban is a step forward.
"The artistes have to know what they want to say. Why record something that will have to be beeped anyway? If you have to disguise the words of the song, then you shouldn't put it in in the first place," he said.
"Right now, I don't have a song that they have to beep out ... You want your words to go across to people and reach the younger generation that we are trying to get to musically."
However, not all artistes think it is necessary to ban the songs with the beeps. According to Busy Signal, known for his Billboard hit, Step Out, though some of his songs are played on the station, he still sees the ban as unnecessary.
"I just think that if people like artistes and producers have the respect to beep out songs, then I don't think that they should ban it. There aren't only clean things in the world," he said.
Signal says refusing to play the songs will not change most of the ills in society. "It won't take the beep out of the pickney dem mouth in the school bus. It won't take out the beep out of the bredrin dem mouth on the corner. Beep don't kill nobody and mash up nobody ears drum, so I don't see why it necessary," he said.
NOT A CHRISTIAN
"No disrespect to Irie FM, but I am not a Christian. Me is not Kirk Franklin and God's Property, me is not Grace Thrillers. I are Busy Signal and I just gotta be who are me," he said, laughing.
For now, Irie FM seems to be the only secular radio station that has taken this step. They say more stations should.
"At the end of the day we all have a responsibility to society at large ... I'm not saying that we should be prudish, but there are certain basic responsibilities to listeners," said Schmidt.
As to whether or not rave reviews mean an increase in
listenership, Schmidt says they do not know.
"There isn't an independent All Media-type research that we have done since we took the decision, so I don't know," he said.
