Jamaican PM Andrew Holness Drops Fire Campaign Dubplates
Dancehall artistes seem to be enthused about election time in Jamaica. Or is it the excitement that surrounds what can be deemed as a political musical clash? Since the announcement about the upcoming September 3 General Election, several politicians have flooded online platforms with their “dubplates” from popular entertainers.
From Member of Parliament for St Ann South East and general election campaign chief spokesperson Lisa Hanna to the Jamaica Labor Party’s Finance Minister Nigel Clarke, dubplates were rolling out from both parties.
Not to be outdone as the head of the ruling government, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, entered the chat when six dancehall dubplates made their way online last weekend.
On Saturday, August 15, the Prime Minister dropped Mr. Universe by fast-rising dancehall star Skillibeng and Sure Sure by Shenseea.
#MrUniverse pic.twitter.com/XoUvJn08xE
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) August 15, 2020
Sure, sure! #StrongerTeam pic.twitter.com/6TSzvi2Ca4
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) August 16, 2020
But it appears he is only just getting started.
Holness-themed Dubplates from Ishawna, Masicka, Jahvillani, TeeJay, and Intence have been circulating on social media, but they have not yet been released officially by the Prime Minister’s campaign.
Former DownSound Records artiste Ishawna is heard voicing her controversial smash hit controversial Equal Rights, which was originally released in April 2017.
The Prime Minister also appears set to roll out a custom cut of Masicka’s latest track Just A Minute , which was produced by Dunwell Productions along with 1syde Records back in July of this year.
Masicka’s dub has been a clear fan favorite with reactions like, “Dis bad yf still” and “ Clash done‼️‼️‼️‼️ that other party could neeveeerrr.”
The Wile Side Government Jahvillani got a piece of the action with a crowd favorite, Clarks Pon Foot.
There’s also a TeeJay dub of his hit song Owna Lane.
Intence also appears to have remixed his Foota Hype diss track Antisocial, which took jabs at the opposition party.
Prime Minister Holness is definitely trending, and his supporters are out in their numbers, showering the comments with fire emojis and green hearts.
Even though there is currently a hype surrounding this year’s election, not all Jamaicans find it entertaining. Some, including a few dancehall artistes, have been criticizing the dubplates after finding them both distasteful and hypocritical.
The members of the musical fraternity who have publicly displayed their disdain include the likes of Vybz Kartel, Tanya Stephens, Queen Ifrica, and The War Lord himself, Bounty Killer.
Some of the artistes pointed out the fight dancehall music has endured over the years at the hands of some of these politicians, while others believe their colleagues should have rejected the request for dubs. They felt that this should have been an opportunity for the artistes to unite and demand more support for Dancehall.