Shalkal Upset That Dancehall Given PR Black Eye Over Spice Obeah Scandal

Jamaican-born dancehall-reggae singjay Shalkal is upset that the dancehall music industry got a major PR black eye recently when one of its most popular figures got embroiled in a nasty scandal with ugly overtones involving infidelity, and black magic.

“The reggae and dancehall music industry took a major beat down in terms of its public relations and future potential investment the other day with all the rumour mongering, negativity and slackness, around Spice, who is regarded as our top female dancehall artiste,” Shalkal, whose real name is Shalkal Carty, said.

“Investors in the music who perhaps see dancehall as an international genre with great potential must have been shocked and disappointed with all the chatter about obeah, negativity and the nastiness. The industry is already under-capitalized as it is and when people are not talking about hit songs and streaming numbers, but about black magic, milk baths and mix up around its biggest stars, then the industry is in trouble; the industry’s biggest stars are either in jail or in somer terrible mix up,” he opined.

“A lot of my US friends are asking me what is this obeah business? The ting embarrassing as a Jamaican,” Shalkal said.

Obeah is a system of spiritual healing and justice-making practices developed among enslaved West Africans in the West Indies. Some schools of thoughts suggest that there is an evil nature in obeah which makes it an avenue that well-thinking people should not dabble in.

The Spice brouhaha started when RT Boss, Spice’s self-described spiritual healer, went on a tirade on Instagram to spill the beans on details of their friendship and some dubious spiritual practices. These revelations quickly mushroomed and enveloped dancehall legend Lady Saw, Spice’s baby father Nicholas Lall, and one of Spice’s ex-dancers Danger.

Minister Marion Hall, formerly Lady Saw, responded strongly reciting a few choice scriptures, specifically Psalm 35, which she used to hit out against RT Boss and Spice. But her response only gave fuel to the rumours.

“Obeah is a deplorable practice, Lady Saw should have ignored them but I hope that she stays steadfast in her faith and continues to put God first,” Shalkal said.

Shalkal, who is a rising singjay in his own right, is now promoting the single , Put God First which was released on Spotify, and other downloadable platforms on October 25th on the Shalkal Music Productions label.

“Putting God first is not just something you say, if you live your life according to this specific plan and it will move wonders in your life,” he said.

Shalkal had previously released the humorous  Ungrateful Mawga Dog  that racked up thousands of streams online. Shalkal has emerged as one of the most talented wordsmiths in dancehall. He grew up in Runaway Bay, St. Ann where he attended York Castle High in Brown’s Town.

He is also known for songs such as  “Envious So” which spawned numerous dance videos which surfaced on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Other songs include “Come Money Come”, “Fi You Money”, and “Money Dance”.

He wants to release an EP in 2021.