Orville Taylor | New Year Vybz

Not the peace concert of 1978; not the national athletics championships, none of the Reggae Boyz’s matches and not even the ISSA High School Athletics Championships. In fact, just from the lights, none of the last two annual conferences of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People’s National Party (PNP) had such a crowd.

Remember! In the case of these political rallies, busloads of supporters are shipped in to fill the venues.

This is only from second-hand film footage. However, nothing in my recollection has seen such a packing of the National Stadium.

Vybz Kartel’s Freedom Street concert was a numerical success. Some estimates are that more than 40,000 persons were in attendance.

Doubtless, the majority of those were fee-paying patrons, who dug deep into their pockets, and paying full homage to the ‘Rerl Baws’ made sure that the ‘bleachers’ were fully filled.

From this display, some things are beyond dispute. Kartel has a humongous following, and a lot of appeal across the entertainment spectrum.

During my recent trip to the fatherland. Ghana, it became clear that he had a large fan base among the dancehall entertainment demographic. In fact, in a low income community outside of Accra, Jamestown, I met a pair of identical deadlocked twins, who were running a school/shelter for abandoned and semi-neglected children.

Both did a short video, appealing to Kartel to “Come to Ghana to perform. We love you, we like you!”

Still, the line up was essentially Jamaican and comprised a squadron of artistes from his musical genre.

Never mind that American rapper, Busta Rhymes, was also present to perform. He is a second-generation Jamaican, who is called ‘ Chevva Simit’ by some of his relatives.

IMPORTANT POINT

This is an important point, because despite the large numbers, the crowd is a particular demographic and may not represent an appeal to the majority.

Let me make this point very clear. Hip hop is extremely popular in the US among black Americans. However, one would be mistaken to think that the hip hop crowd is a representative sample of black Americans culture.

Nonetheless, hip hop, like dancehall, appeals to a particular segment of our society/race, that is vulnerable and ‘at risk.’

Among young males and females between the ages of 15 and 30, he has a large following, which gets higher, when one adjusts the data to exclude university educated youth.

Kartel is a genius, his creativity is off the chart, and I will not be hypocritical in denying that I like a lot of his recordings, including one famous duet. Absent from the stage since 2013, his comeback and performance exceeded expectations.

Honestly, given his medical challenges, he could have been excused for only being ‘stellar’ but not ‘stulla’. He delivered a solid set of three hours, with more hits than a losing MMA fighter.

Veteran entertainer Bounty Killa, accurately indicated on stage that Kartel is a ‘king’ in his own right. His body of work earned it. Interestingly, a close ‘bredda’ of mine from Portmore, reminded me that he was that little youth, who we used to see, when Anthony B’s career was on the rise.

However, despite my own background, I am not in that category which is subject to his influence.

With great ability, comes awesome responsibility and having escaped the belly of the beast, he must not squander his second chance.

Enough of the middle class patronising from my intellectual colleagues. Dancehall music and culture are not mere reflections of life. They directly and indirectly influence behaviour. All music has impact on emotions and unless one is in a hostile relationship with one’s conscience, we know this. That is why they do ‘praise and worship’ in songs.

Of course, this is coincidental. However, I cannot resist the temptation to point out that in 2024, the year that Kartel was released, we saw the lowest number of homicides since the year he was convicted. Moreover, the last week of the year, was the best in seven years.

A set of young men, have been brought up to believe that life is not sacrosanct and that every attempt to resist them or guide them along a proper path, should elicit a reference to perform ungodly acts with a maternal figure.

DISCONNECTED

Some of these very youth are disconnected from the consequences of their behaviour; and like the hapless ram goat, underestimate their anal proportions before swallowing the mango seed.

Being unruly might be entertaining, but if the average youth follows many of the conduct and words of some entertainers; their corners will be as dark as my closet.

In December, in fulfilling the responsibility which comes with my own influence, I gave up a paid day of Radio Jamaica Hotline to spend with boys and their parents at the the Metcalfe Street Juvenile Facility.

What a revelation!

While a correctional entity within which boys between 12 and 17 are locked down, it is not prison.

Yet, it is not a bed of roses. Prison is infinitely worse and Kartel must tell the boys and his mentees and ‘entourage’ that there are consequences to certain goings on, and police, as well as ‘badder man dem’ will act swiftly and decisively.

While not wanting to engage the tirade of his former Gaza Empire member, Deva Bratt, Kartel has to handle the impasse with maturity in a fashion which if his ‘worshippers’ emulate it; it will keep them outside of the walls of the prisons and perhaps premature death.

The Ga dreadlocks from Ghana asked me to tell him to “Stop breaching (bleaching)”. Given his medical condition, he should discourage youth from doing it.

While I would encourage him to continue his music; he now must move to the next level, because, approaching 50 years old, he will not be able to perform as he did when he was in his 30s.

And in all this, he must monitor his health, protect his income and maintain a livelihood.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com