Senator Sides With Bounty Killer, Mr. Vegas About Gangsters Infiltrating Dancehall

Bounty Killer and Mr. Vegas’ recent assertions that criminals had infiltrated Dancehall music, assumed roles as artists, and were giving the genre a bad name, have been buttressed by Government Senator Charles Sinclair.

Speaking in the Senate during the deliberations on the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act, commonly referred to as the anti-gang legislation on Friday, Sinclair declared that it is a well-established fact that there are some artists who are the “faces of gangs”.

Declaring that the veracity of his statement was beyond question, the former Mayor of Montego Bay, said there were lyrical gangsters in Dancehall.

“I will go further to say that there are some artists – and nobody can deny this – there are some artists locally, who are the face of some of the known gangs in Jamaica, wittingly or unwittingly.  They are the face of some of the gangs,” Sinclair stated.

At the same time, Sinclair commended artists who are acting responsibly by keeping gun lyrics out of their songs, making reference to Ding Dong who is a brand ambassador for Grace Foods.

“Senator Wehby, you have taken on Ding Dong as an ambassador to promote the products of Grace.  So there is benefit in being responsible…,” he said to Senator Don Wehby who also is the CEO of Grace.

In pointing out that the juxtaposition of Dancehall acts with US rappers and hip hop artistes, was faulty, Sinclair said the Americans are far removed from the Jamaican communities and are unrelatable, unlike their Jamaican artistes who are domiciled on the island.

“These locals that live in communities that can be touched, influenced on a day to day basis they can reach to the youngsters who gravitate into the ace of being a gang member as the case may be. They see those persons as their heroes.  They are not separated from them,” Sinclair said.

Weeks ago, Heads High deejay Mr. Vegas, said that have been tainting the music industry, based on the number of superstars that have been convicted for crimes and thrown behind prison bars.

Vegas had made his comments against the background of statements made by Opposition Senator Damion Crawford that the government was being “allowed to paint a negative image of Dancehall” and that the image of the industry must be protected.

“If it is positioned in the minds of the public that it is negative industry… 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 had argued.

In repudiating Crawford’s assertions, Vegas argued that the fact that some of the biggest stars in Dancehall were behind bars, was enough reason for Government to justify disassociating itself from the genre.

“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… 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 had said.

“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, referencing 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, an indirect reference to Tommy Lee Sparta and former Rising Star contestant Laden.

In early May, Bounty Killer lashed out against artistes who are engaging in criminal activities, and associating with gunmen and arming them with guns, saying that they should perish.

The Coppershot artist who recently joined the Crime Stop initiative, made his comments after a video surfaced of a gunfight in broad daylight, during which the police shot and killed two gunmen, who had, minutes earlier, murdered a businessman on Old Hope Road and stolen his licensed firearm.

“Anyone who is friends or associates with any kind of pussy ole like this should be treated likewise Especially Some Artiste gal and boy who is buying guns and mining gunman and criminal; bullet unuh fi get to str8 up.  Mi nuh hide and talk…,” he wrote.