Jaevion Nelson | Dancehall is not the problem

We have a penchant for scapegoating in this country and the well-to-do have been fishing desperately to blame dancehall music for the quandary, especially among men and boys, that bombard us on a daily basis.

I have lost count of the number of times over the last couple of months of persons who I have come across who are trying to blame dancehall as to why we are in such a pickle. They have become so frustrated and convinced of their fallacy that even the most ridiculous of songs such as Gunman in She Hole has made it to the catalogue of songs deemed to be the problem.

In identifying dancehall as the problem, people have suggested that some kind of censorship might help limit the proliferation and popularity of songs they determine to be contributing significantly to the societal issues we are grappling to address.

What fascinates me is how we pretend that songs with lyrics related to sex and violence, for example, are new, as if it isn’t a mainstay of our music for many years. I do believe we’ve always had these kinds of songs glorifying one thing or another that isn’t representative of the value we want to espouse as a society.

We have to think of more practical and efficacious ways of treating with this. One can easily find songs from a time in reggae and dancehall that are upheld as the example of what good music should be that celebrated paedophilia, violence, promiscuity, etc.

Of course, these dancehall songs (as do other genres not produced locally as well as movies) do have an impact on people and society. I won’t pretend they don’t, but might it not be better we think about why some of us are able to listen to them and not be impacted in a particular way and use that to guide interventions going forward instead?

I’m always wary of these kinds of arguments that seemingly suggest that we need to stop these kinds of lyrics from being produced and broadcast, or shame people for liking them and thereby suggesting that they’re part of the problem (without nuance). Censorship does not teach people how to be responsible, how to solve conflicts, etc. It solves very little, in my humble opinion.

I think there are enough ‘good-decent’ songs, some of which get just as much airplay in various spaces across the country, to help disrupt some of these negative messages portrayed in some of the songs that many of us frown upon and consider to be part of the problem.

What is often missing from these discussions about negative dancehall songs is how we get people to a point that they can interrogate these lyrics, enjoy them and not be impacted in particular ways. Censorship is not the answer. We have to help children, youth and adults engage these things better.

Why are some able to enjoy songs that glorify scamming but have no interest in becoming a scammer? Why am I able to play badman songs and not get involved in that? Why was I able to sing all those negative dancehall songs as a child and not do as they say? I believe this is the same for the vast majority of us.

Ultimately, the success of any intervention that seeks to engender a more orderly society hinges on a holistic and multifaceted strategy; not chastisement for the songs produced and broadcast that we the people love and enjoy, and certainly not censorship.

Dancehall artistes have such big impact on society because of a breakdown in our society; not simply because they are producing and broadcasting songs glorifying badman, gun, promiscuity, scamming, rape, violence, etc. The solution, I believe, lies largely in us helping people to engage the music critically, while enjoying it, as those who blame artistes often do.

As Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in February 2017, “You combat negative information with positive information …So if you have a well-educated society that can place these things in context, and say this is art, this is from one’s own belief, it’s not what I necessarily believe, or I know that what this person is saying is wrong, then your society can survive that … So, the solution to Jamaica is not censorship, the solution is to increase our education; our teaching has to place things in context.”

Jaevion Nelson is executive director at Equality for All Foundation Jamaica, and a human rights, social and economic justice advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com or tweet @jaevionn