Mr. Vegas Says Convicted Artists Have Already Tainted Dancehall’s Image
Heads High deejay Mr. Vegas, has rubbished statements made by Senator Damion Crawford that the government was being “allowed to paint a negative image of Dancehall”, arguing to the contrary that artists themselves were already tainting the industry based on the number of superstars that have been convicted for crimes and thrown behind prison bars.
During a Live Instagram session two days ago, Vegas sought to deconstruct Crawford’s argument which he had made during Saturday’s edition of the Onstage Entertainment.
Critiquing Crawford’s claims point by point, Vegas argued that people should research and think critically for themselves as opposed to just sucking up what Crawford said or being fearful of contradicting him, simply because he is a university lecturer, as lecturers are not always right.
On Saturday night’s edition of Onstage, Crawford, who has labelled himself the “Dancehall Defender”, said that entertainment had liberated many “poor people”, and if entertainers continue to allow for the industry to be characterized and branded in a negative way, then there will always be less support for support to that industry.
“No other industry has transformed poor people into sufficiently wealthy persons as have entertainment. Because the barrier to entry is low, because you don’t need high resources to enter… Most persons within the poorer segment of Jamaica have made it through entertainment, whether through the actual artiste, or through events,” ” the politician had said.
“And that is why I keep saying that we must protect the image of the industry. If it is positioned in the minds of the public that it is negative industry, that it is a COVID contributor, that it is a crime contributor; that it is a murder contributor, then that impetus, that push to have Government protect it, will not come and Government will always have a satisfactory excuse to the public to say this is why we have not embraced this industry in the same way,” Crawford added.
Crawford did not state how the industry should protect its image, but said it was also being falsely blamed by the Government for the spread of COVID-19, which was also negatively impacting any public support that it could muster.
“But everytime that the government is on television it speaks of illegal parties. So if you allow this to be branded in the mind of the public as a negative industry, then by extension, the government would not be motivated by public support for you to get any form of intervention. So all other industries – the public is saying ‘no man school haffi open’; ‘dat haffi open’, but you don’t see an equal support. In fact you see more lambasting of the entertainment industry,” Crawford had said.
“So when you say that it is a contributor to crime, why would government give COVID relief to what contributes to crime? If you allow the public to agree that it’s true… Why would a company sponsor entertainment if it is contributing to crime,” Crawford had argued.
But on Wednesday, in repudiating Crawford’s assertions, Vegas argued that it is a fallacy to claim that positive Dancehall music influences people to do good things, and when artists’ negative songs are accused of influencing criminality, people like Crawford rebel.
“Damion is saying wi caan point finger at Dancehall… now check this out. Let’s be honest people, caw mi come fom Dancehall. Dancehall put food on my table. A Dancehall meck mi have roof ova my head… memba seh mi guh church enuh and people want me speak against Dancehall and mi seh: ‘yuh mad.? Neva. I woudla neva speak against Dancehall music,” the Nike Air singer said.
“Let us be real honest, the people weh really love Dancehall: yuh think seh di government needs to use COVID and Dancehall lyrics fi seh Dancehall music have some form of negative impact pan society, so dem nuh waan mess wid it?
“Dem nuh need fi seh dat. Why? Half a Dancehall deh a prison. Let us talk truth. You gooda nuh like mi caw mi seh dat, but trust mi, dem coulda seh wi nuh waan mess wid Dancehall because wi have murderers and dis and dat and bla-bla and convicts and all these tings,” he added.
Arguing that evidence abounds which would justify Government washing its hands of Dancehall, Vegas said “this is not like some form of subjective concerns or subjective reasoning” but an objective one.
“If dem want right now, dem can seh dem not meddling with dancehall because it is no positively impacting society and dem can put forward the information,” Vegas added.
“One of our biggest stars is in prison, whether wi want to accept it yes or no; one of our biggest stars just come from prison whether wi want accept it yes or no. One of our baddest deejay of all times in is in prison, win every clash nobody caan test him pon stage,” Vegas said, implicitly point to Vybz Kartel, Buju Banton and Ninjaman.
Vegas said it was unfathomable how artists, who had through the music, elevated themselves out of poverty, could be getting themselves into situations that land them in the filthy prisons of Jamaica, to suffer worse conditions than their pre-fame days.
“When a likkle yute like Laden weh mi si roun a Big Ship, an seh ‘dah yute yah look like an innocent likkle yute’ when him ketch wid gun and him deh a prison a serve time. Suh when wi a speak wi haff speak objectively. And wi haffi do wi research. Now people a guh get inna dem feelings becaw mi seh suh, but a di truth,” he said.
“No man nuh supposed to a meck so much money and deh a prison when yuh can meck a honest living and yuh can support yuh family, an yuh can teck care a odda yute and inspire odda yute. Wi nuh suppose to have millionaires weh get di break outta garrison, weh get di break outta poverty, weh get di break and dem gone end up a prison, whe neva happen before dem buss, and when dem buss dem deh a prison,” Vegas lamented.
On Wednesday Vegas said he was responding as Crawford had mentioned aspects of an off-air conversation that they had, during the Onstage programme about violence in music, which had been extrapolated and manipulated by some amateur bloggers resulting in him being castigated by fans of a particular artiste.
“Dis is something weh di teacher seh weh mi neva agree wid and mi find it strange seh the people dem inna di comment, they had a field day. Dem all call mi out and a bun mi out inna di comment before dem guh do dem likle research…,” Vegas said chuckling.
“Wi naw tell di Government seh dem nuffi d dem job. Di government officials dem get voted in fi do dem job. However wi a seh yow, stop tell people seh wi don’t have any influence, because wi have influence…
“Suh wi haffi understand dem ting deh and not just be gullible and because is Brother Damion and wi know seh him educated and is a scholar. Is not because Brother Damion come forward wid di reasoning wi jus teck it and just run wid it. It essential fi wi d our own research. So Damion said something in the interview and I was like with all due respect mi nu agree wid dat. Not because is mi teacher, say it mi a guh agree wid it. Mi a guh do research pon it,” he said.