Dancehall Producer Shab Don: “The Only Way To Stop Gun Songs Is To Ban It”

Dancehall producer Linval “Shabba” Thompson Jr. says that the only way “gun” songs can be stopped is if they are banned online and by the radio stations.

During an interview with DancehallMag, Thompson Jr.—who is popularly known as Shab Don—was initially hesitant to give his take on recent comments made by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister of Entertainment and Culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, and the Queen of Reggae Marcia Griffiths, amongst a host of other notable figures, who have expressed concerns about the grimy and lyrically violent content in contemporary Dancehall music.

“Bwoy mi nuh really wah touch dah one yah enuh, because hear wah gwan now, most of the artists dem sing bout wah dem see and what’s happening around them, and certain artists you will try and tell them certain ting but is like you cyah talk to them,” Shab Don said.

“A nuh like back in the days [when a] producer would a talk to the artist and him haffi listen to him, dem yah artist yah nuh listen to nobody. Dem will vex wid yuh and if dem nuh voice it for you they will for another producer. Suh, the only way gun song and dem ting deh ago stop is if radio and internet ban it,” he proclaimed.

Last month, Holness said his administration will continue to maintain its hands-off approach, and will not be censoring any Dancehall artists or their lyrical content, even if depraved or degenerate, but will, instead, utilize the usual gentle persuasion.

“There are many people who feel that the message has been diluted, diverted, and that though there is still talent, the talent may not be directed towards the social good,” the Prime Minister had said. “And that is a concern, what can government do?  It is a tricky issue.  When Government gets involved in these things, it tends to always create more problems sometimes.”

In early February, during an interview with Television Jamaica’s Anthony Miller, Marcia Griffiths pleaded with Jamaican musicians to record more positive songs, as, according to her, music has proven time and time again, to be the only tool capable of uniting the violence-plagued country.

For her part, Minister of Entertainment and Culture Olivia “Babsy” Grange called on Jamaica’s artists and songwriters to steer clear of gun lyrics, and instead, use the island’s music to push the positivity for which Dancehall and Reggae have been long-known and embraced globally.

Shab Don Records, which comprises Thompson Jr. and Carlos Clarke, became one of the most sought-after production houses in Jamaica around 2019.  Specializing in Dancehall and Trap fusions, it initially formed as a production outfit for the Squash-led 6ixx group in Montego Bay and is best known for Vybz Kartel‘s Bad Mind and Any Weather, TeeJay‘s Henne & Weed and Shub Out, Squash’s Money Fever and Jahvillani‘s Nuh Rate Dem.

DancehallMag further probed Shab Don about whether he felt responsible, as a producer, for the unsavory content in much of the new Dancehall music being released.  He firmly stated that he was not at all responsible and noted that “gun lyrics been a sing bout long time before me born, from the early 80s and 90s.”

New Music

The 31-year-old shared that he will one day be making music with his father Leval Alphonso Thompson, professionally known as Linval Thompson, the respected Reggae Dub singer and record producer.

“My father is a musical legend so I would hope one day to live up to his expectations; we are planning to work on something soon,” he shared.

Additionally, Shab Don was happy to provide an update on his new projects recently released from his label Shab Don Records and those to come in short order.

“I have a song with Yaksta out called Mirror Mirror and a spanking new production with Vybz Kartel and Shaneil Muir, Squash, and a track called Off Guard with Silk Boss, Boasy with Shaka, and one called Circle done by Carlos.

Ride It, the new collaboration with Vybz Kartel and Shaneil Muir, features raunchy melodies on an upbeat riddim and has picked up over 125,000 views on YouTube since its release yesterday.

Though contradictory, Shab Don who describes himself as “shy”, went behind the microphone and into the recording booth with Shaneil Muir for a collaborative track titled, Drugs Dealer (2020).

He said of that experience:  “Behind the mic was fun, deejaying is something that I have loved from a tender age growing up, being around sound systems, playing on sound, and clashing with other friends. It’s something I love but I don’t really take it seriously, I stick to the producing thing you know, I kind of like that more as I am kind of shy.”

Shab Don declined to comment on his current legal battles but confirmed “two court dates coming this month” for the illegal possession of a firearm and bribery.