Clash - gays vs dancehall
published: Wednesday | October 6, 2004




Vybz Kartel, left, and Bounty Killer

This is the final of a two-part feature on the debate on anti-gay lyrics in dancehall music. Part one was published yesterday.

Donna P. Hope, Contributor

DANCEHALL LYRICS are not directives and Jamaicans are not mindless lemmings. Jamaicans enjoy wide-ranging freedom of speech and these lyrical metaphors provide an outlet for men to vocalise their fears and tensions about male homosexuality. This vocalising is underwritten by the wider sphere of Caribbean/Jamaican disease with homosexuality. Trinidad and Tobago's Sexual Offences Act of 1986 makes sex between men punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment and that between women by five. Bahamas' Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act of 1989 makes male and female homosexuality punishable by up to twenty years' imprisonment. Jamaica's Offences Against the Person Act prohibits "acts of gross indecency" between men in public and private.

Section 76 of this same Act provides for up to ten years' imprisonment for buggery, defined as anal intercourse between a man and a woman, or between two men. Under an order from the Privy Council, Britain recently scrapped anti-homosexual laws in its five Caribbean territories, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos after their legislatures refused to decriminalise homosexual activities between adults in private. Jamaica, however, remains a sovereign nation which cannot be 'ordered' to divest itself of its own archaic colonial legislation. At the same time, I see no concerted rush by the Jamaican middle-classes to support the submissions made to Parliament by J-FLAG for the anti-homosexual legislation to be expunged.

CONSUMER DEMAND

The marketing practices of the local and global corporate investors are driven by their perceived responses to consumer demand. The corporate conscience is energised by money and profits. It has no racial, colour, or sexual tone. If dancehall is making it big then everyone piggybacks to success.

Now that dancehall is under fire from a tiny group of gay activists who are devious enough to use slander, half-truths and outright lies as their weapons of choice, these corporate entities, like Cable and Wireless, feel they must protect their bottom line. They have to use the necessary PR to project the image
of the 'responsible corporate entity', and this includes the withdrawal of sponsorship and endorsement deals from popular dancehall artistes.

MUCH FAULT

Needless to say, dancehall is as much at fault as it is a victim of its own historical circumstance. Popular artistes like Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel are the most visible portion of dancehall. They represent an internationally popular cultural group that has been labeled 'Jamaican ambassadors-at-large' by default. They use their own experiences and speak about Jamaican life. They draw on the historical experience of Caribbean/Jamaican people to mimic anti-homosexual feelings in extreme, condemnatory performances using creative lyrics and slang. These anti-homophobic lyrics are oftentimes extremely crass and biased, but they follow dancehall's tendency to deal in hard truths and tear away the mask of hypocrisy that has cloaked the lives of homosexual men (and women) in Jamaica.

We can all agree that dancehall has led the charge and opened the door for some real dialogue on this issue. Now that dancehall has become this international movement, it is time for artistes and supporters to come to terms with the fact that gay people are very visible elsewhere and politically empowered.

There is now a real contention between freedom of speech and religious freedom on the one hand, and the rights of homosexuals to be protected against discrimination on the other. This clash between local/regional and global attitudes to homosexuality cannot be tackled as a national issue through radio talk shows, television programmes and middle-class newspaper dialogue. It must be treated as the sensitive, global issue that it rightly is and must be backed by the research and dialogue necessary to ensure a speedy consensus.

It must simultaneously protect the rights of dancehall artistes to earn a living that eases the pressure of unemployment and poverty and brings much-needed foreign exchange into Jamaica; while responding to the demands to excise anti-gay lyrics from dancehall music.

Many Jamaicans like me pursue educational, economic and personal goals that force us to live 'ah farin' for extended periods. I treasure the opportunity to see Jamaican artistes perform at foreign venues. I am proud to see the international rise of Jamaican music in its current dancehall genre. And I am disturbed by the current state of affairs. Dancehall megastar Shabba Ranks fell from grace and his entire career was destroyed because of his support of Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye. Buju refused to 'bow' and his international career was stillborn.

I have no intention of daring any artiste to 'bow' or 'not bow' to maintain their hardcore authenticity as dancehall artistes. My role as a dancehall academic and researcher is to provide the best possible advice to ensure that what happened to Shabba and Buju does not happen to Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel and others who have sweated blood and eaten salt to build their careers. It is becoming radically clear that the public response of choice is either to retreat into our class enclaves and point to the nastiness emanating from 'dose dancehall people down dere'; or to humorously dismiss the entire debate as a temporary part of the usual 'excitement' of those 'battymen'.

My own research on dancehall and my ongoing discussions with Jamaicans in the USA, Canada, England and at home shows that this issue is being viewed very differently from the outside by non-Jamaicans somewhat to the effect that all Jamaicans are 'those little island people down there who must be brought into the light'. Therefore, this issue must be viewed as a national problem and tackled with some degree of focus that responds very clearly to the international perception of individuals, many of whom have never even been to Jamaica.

MUST GIVE WAY

Yes, it is clear that dancehall must give way to this global pressure if it is to continue to thrive. Dancehall artistes will have to temper their anti-homosexual lyrics. But this is definitely not the time to engage in gleeful cackling and finger pointing. This is a national issue and yes, I stand on my nationalism. Jamaicans cannot sit by and allow the gains made by dancehall artistes to burn on the altar of social divisiveness or fragmented responses.

Dancehall music culture forms an important part of the music sector which contributes significantly to the foreign exchange earnings in Jamaica. The international debate on this sensitive issue must not continue unabated without a speedy, unified and informed national Jamaican response from our political leaders, our religious leaders, our dancehall academics, and those at the forefront of the Jamaican music industry. Donna P. Hope is a doctoral candidate in Cultural Studies, George Mason University; dhope@gmu.edu

Taken from: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead6.html

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So now Kartel and Elephant man is banned from BET and Buju and Beenie from the US. (So I heard on the BET news).

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Can we all say:

F_ _ _ERY!!! Really loud and let's start up the bad man anthem again!!!!

Bad man uh bad man....

I'm getting really irritated by this BS now... they want dancehall, Jamaican culture... they beat Jamaican flags but they want to change people's values and force them to conform to the North American status QUO'S and the FCC's idea of what's approprtiate and what's not!!! F-ERY!!!

Furthermore I've always said the music stations in the USA ar b***sh*t.... they're only about censory and keeping their nation brain washed!!!

F BET if that's that it's going to be!!! F BET and MTV ... watch MUCH MUSIC and VIBETV (these two stations have ben supportive of artists since I was a kid) if you want to watch real music videos!!! Further more... every Saturday afternoon a station in Toronto called TORONTO 1 has PURE YAAD videos for like 3 or 4 hours in the aternoon... no censory..straight YAAD VIDEOS!!!! Richie Spice, Anthony B, Capelton, Bushman, Vybz Kartel, Bling Dawg, Bounty, The entire Turn Me On video WITH SPRAGGA'S part!!! Not the one BET cut off. People outside of Canada get statelite and support those who really support real music of ALL genres!!! Big Up MUCH, VIBETV, LOUD, etc...

I'm really mad now because you're going to have idiots like NINA flipping SKY banking on the "dancehall" sound but REAL YAAD DJ's get banned for being real about their values. Whether I agre with them or not..why should I stop them from putting out lyrics that they believe in? Anyway, the AMERICAN music industry is too TEIF!!!! They want to bank off Jamaican music but don't want to pay the REAL Jamaican artists... that's what this homophobic BS is about!!!

The Toronto Jamaican culture is huge and has been supporting DANCEHALL hard since the 80's... I grew up with it. Yaad artists should just say F the US and do their thing up here like they have been from time!

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Beenie isn't ban from the US,, ironically he was on BET on Thursday October 28th, 2004. I believe evryting is blown outta proportion in the USA, but no matter what America you can never stop a black man, we always find a way.... trust me.......

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I have this one thing to seh on the whole matter. Mi nah bun fire pon the ******** dem... if dem wah live life the way they live it, so be it.. simi. But yow.. keep certain things to yourself... is tru when dem seh certain things should not be seen or said. IF dem wah f*** batty then go ahead, I just dont want to know.. ignorence is bliss at times. But yow.. just shut your raas if unno feel seh dem should be shot.. people in america.. are for gays .. sadly.. and dem doh wah hear our talk. So keep the anti gay sh** at home, and for the commercial dancehall.. play to what the americans wah hear.. simi.. thats my piece.. .likkle more

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Bashment girl I totally agree with everything you said. In fact u touched everyting so I aont got nuttn more 2 add except that DANCEHALL WILL PREVAIL! NO MATTER WHAT REAL JAMAICANS WILL STAND BY IT. **** BABYLON BIATCH!

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