Jamaican former minister of Youth and Culture and present Member of Parliament for South Eastern St Ann, Lisa Hanna, wants to put a ban on the music of VYbz Kartel from radio.
Speaking on Nationwide 90Fm on Wednesday, Hanna argued that the popular dancehall DJ is a convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence and should not be allowed the freedom of producing songs that sways the minds of impressionable youngsters.
She cited the case of Reggae artiste Buju Banton, who is serving a ten-year sentence in the United States on drug-related charges.
“The issue where Kartel’s music keeps coming out [more] than any other person, because I haven’t heard any new songs from Buju since he has been incarcerated,” Hanna said.
The former beauty queen said a thorough investigation needed to be done in order to find out the method the DJ is employing to reel off hit songs at regular intervals and as a result keep himself relevant in the dancehall sphere.
“I think we need to get to the root cause of that. I think we need to find out how the songs are made. How they are getting out? Is there corruption in the prison system? And I am not only singling out Kartel alone, I am singling out all persons across the spectrum who are having an imprint on our children’s value systems,” Hanna said.
Hanna was adamant that Jamaica needs to set rules and make sure they are adhered to.
“We need to come to a decision that says in the best interest of our country to set examples we have to identify what rules are rules and what privileges are privileges. If you are convicted, until you are not convicted perhaps it is that your music needs not be played on the radio,” Hanna said.
Vybz Kartel was recently transferred from a maximum security area of the New Horizon Remand Center to the Tower Street Adult Correctional Center as concerns grew about the number of new singles that were hitting the streets since his five years behind bars.
He was found guilty of and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years for the murder of his crony, Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.
