Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has again expressed his concerns about some of the dancehall music being produced on the island, saying the content has presented Jamaica in a very limited way.
Speaking at a meeting of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in St Catherine on Sunday, Prime Minister Holness said he was concerned and worried about recent developments in dancehall.
“When another country says that “I don’t want your artiste in my country”, it’s an embarrassment. And we see it trickling down into the fights in the schools. We are concerned, very, very concerned, and worried about it. What has happened to us as Jamaicans is that we are being defined by some very limited things,” Holness said.
His comments come a few days after it was announced that popular dancehall artist Skeng is now banned from performing at public events in Guyana. The ban stems from a shooting incident at the artiste’s concert in the country recently.
Prime Minister Holness also expressed concern about the content being produced by other dancehall artistes, which he said should not define the country or its people.
“Whap Whap and Chop Chop and Ensure and all a dem… all of those things have their place, but they can’t define us, we should not allow that to define us,” Holness said.
The Prime Minister was referring to Skillibeng’s hit single ‘Whap Whap’, which depicts murder and violence, and Brysco’s ‘Code’, which contains sexually explicit lyrics. Both songs are on the list of dancehall songs currently trending and receiving heavy airplay on local radio stations.
This is not the first time that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has expressed concern about the quality of music being produced on the island, specifically, dancehall.
In 2021, Holness said he was of the view that some of the local music contributes to the high level of crime.
“In our music and our culture, in as much as you are free to reflect what is happening in the society, you also have a duty to place it in context,” Holness said in April last year.
“Dat yuh tek up the AK-47 and tun it inna a man head … That is not right. And though you have the protection of the constitution to sing about it, you also have a duty to the children who are listening to you.”
