PM Holness Doubles Down On Dancehall-Violence Comments
In the aftermath of stinging criticisms of being duplicitous, by a slew of Dancehall artists, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has doubled down on his stance regarding the contribution of violent lyrics to the levels of crime on the island.
In an interview with Television Jamaica’s reporter, Kirk Wright which was aired on Radio Jamaica’s Beyond the Headlines yesterday, an unwavering Holness said as much as he loved Dancehall music, and was an unapologetic fan of the genre, he had to speak the naked truth, as some of the lyrics are glorifying violence and are, therefore, harmful.
The unrepentant PM made his comments whilst speaking in the interview about the incessant violence on the island, and then eventually steered the discourse to Dancehall.
“There is a very sensitive topic which I will never resile from and which I have always raised, that whilst I am the biggest supporter of our music, our culture and I listen to Dancehall music – and I don’t apologise for it – I’ve always formed the view that the music could be so much more if it were less violent, less glorifying of violence,” the Prime Minister said.
“And my job is to reflect to the country the uncomfortable truths sometimes. I don’t believe in isolating culture. I don’t believe in leaving our deejays and our artistes on the periphery and not engage them,” Holness, who is also the Member of Parliament for St. Andrew said.
The Prime Minister also said that as Head of the Government, he has been the only leader to openly express his love for the art form and to fully engage Dancehall artists, in spite of whether or not they specialize in violent lyrics.
“More than any other Prime Minister, I have sought to lean forward and engage our Dancehall artists, even those who make songs that are violent. Because in a sense I understand the genre; I understand the culture,” Holness explained.
“But you would have to interpret my posture as saying: ‘listen guys; we have a responsibility and a duty, so even though it sounds good, and we are going to go to the party and dance to it and call forward for it again, at some point we have to realize that what we may be doing, is glorifying; that what we may be doing, is legitimizing violence,” he added.
Holness’ interview came following a barrage of accusations from artists and ordinary Jamaicans who have berated him for being hypocritical, after he, in the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday, said that violent music plays a role in influencing the behavior of some people who carry out vicious acts on their countrymen and women.
One point of reference was to the PM adopting the moniker ‘Brogad’, a term made popular by 6IX deejay Daddy1 in his song Brogad.
The other was his use of dubplates during last year’s general election campaign, which were voiced personally for him by artists who are known for spitting violent lyrics with impunity, even though Holness had said at the time that most of these dubplates were not commissioned by politicians, but that several artistes voiced the campaign songs of their own accord and approached his party.
#MrUniverse pic.twitter.com/XoUvJn08xE
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) August 15, 2020
On Wednesday, a day after Holness made his statements, Mavado, Masicka, Dovey Magnum, and other Dancehall artists took him to task after he said, among other things, that entertainers, while entitled to their freedom of speech, and are protected by the constitution, also “have a duty to the children” who are listening to them.
This is the second time since the beginning of the year that Holness has spoken out against violent lyrics pervading Dancehall music.
In late January, whilst speaking at a Jamaica Stock Exchange event, while giving pride of place to Jamaican music, he had pointed out that while it is on par with science and technology as a tool for economic development and was embraced by the Government and people across the world, it has for decades, been bombarded with songs of violence, which threaten its integrity.
His comments did not go down well though, with Dancehall selector Foota Hype, who, in an online rant, said the Dancehall fraternity should disregard Holness and any other political leader who blames Dancehall music for Jamaica’s horrendous murder rate.
Foota had said politicians were the ones who kick-started the explosive gun violence in the country in the 1970s, during their squabbles over political power and attempts at political one-upmanship.
The selector had said that only when Jamaica’s current crop of politicians confess or admit to the role of their political parties in the distribution of weaponry and the ensuing death and destruction within Kingston’s inner cities, in the 1970s and during the bloody 1980 General Elections, should Dancehall artists pay them any mind, as Kingston is still feeling the after-effects to this day.
He had also argued that politicians have conveniently forgotten that it is “the spill-off of guns in the communities” which has caused Dancehall artists “to have these content to put in their songs because it is a part of their day-to-day lives that politicians created”.
Foota had said that guns could not have gotten into poor inner-city communities without political influence back in the day, and demanded that politicians address these historical antecedents when making criticisms, as their role in dividing communities and causing bloodletting was well known.