Positive News for Dancehall - Vegas given keys to city

[Mosiah]

MR VEGAS GIVEN THE KEYS TO CITY IN HONDURAS
Tuesday, April 06, 2010

At a time when the reggae music industry is being buffeted by numerous artiste controversies and challenges, internationally known singjay Mr Vegas has earned a major honour in the Central American country of Honduras, where he was presented with the keys to the city of La Ceiba.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/enter...nduras_7522169

[Historian]

Won't Change a Thing!

MR VEGAS GIVEN THE KEYS TO CITY IN HONDURAS
Tuesday, April 06, 2010

At a time when the reggae music industry is being buffeted by numerous artiste controversies and challenges, internationally known singjay Mr Vegas has earned a major honour in the Central American country of Honduras, where he was presented with the keys to the city of La Ceiba.

While this purely symbolic action will no doubt look good on Mr. Vegas’ resume, it is doubtful if it will have any impact whatsoever on dancehall and its perceived effects. Be assured that no one (aside from Vegas and his cronies) will remember this by tomorrow!

For the well-earned dancehall criticisms to abate, it’s going to take a concerted effort by dancehall artists and others within that industry. The question is this: Can dancehall artists, producers, promoters, etc. make the mammoth shift in consciousness and awareness to ensure the resurrection of and desperately needed respect for this genre? Looking at the mindset and social orientation of many (one might even say most) in the industry, I doubt it at this time!

Any change in dancehall and its symbols and messages will have to start in the artists’ personal lives at the level of the home (family) and, secondly, the school. There has to be a complete reorientation of mindset and value systems, and only a proper family structure along with effective education can achieve this.

[Muadib]

"You have a certain love come from hard struggle, long suffering..." - Higgs

If it were only that..

[Exile]

I know your views on dancehall but don't quite understand "proper family structure" and "effective education". How can the artists and industry fix this?

[Mosiah]

shaggy to the rescue?

[Muadib]

Why can't more Dancehall artists loo..um act like Shaggy and Sean Paul ?

[Mosiah]

heh heh! i know!

[Historian]

Good Question

I know your views on dancehall but don't quite understand "proper family structure" and "effective education". How can the artists and industry fix this?

You’ve in one brief question touched on the core of the problem, and also why I personally have little hope for dancehall, mirroring as it does -- and spreading in infectious ways -- the deepest, darkest problems of inner-city Jamaica! (These inner-city problems, I might add, should not have been present in 21st century Jamaica, but that is what we get from leaders who have never given a damn throughout our heady, post-independence decades!)

The sad answer, in my opinion, is that until education is finally pushed to the forefront of Jamaica’s priorities, then dancehall will continue to have its problems and in turn be a problem! Education, more than anything else, should be at the core of Jamaica’s development push!

Next comes the home and family. To put it bluntly, many of those with little positive social family orientation (which a well-ordered family structure involving mom and dad raising the children and teaching them positive values such as respect for themselves and for others, etc. will generally provide) cannot be expected to become effective spokesmen and spokeswomen or ambassadors at large for Jamaica!!

In fact, even with access to wealth and the opportunity to use such newly acquired wealth to build the lives of others in meaningful ways, without the necessary foundation of meaningful family input and relevant education, such success will often merely provide the artist with a bigger stage on which to spew his/her garbage!

I trust that you see Jamaica’s dilemma here! As I said before on this forum, change in Jamaica will not be easy because obvious things (obvious to everyone, that is, except for Jamaicans) that should have been put in place decades ago were not. Now that the horse has bolted the sh!t of a stable, we’re all panicking and blaming this and that for our unenviable status.

[Assasin]

Trust me there is enough positive dancehall music out there. Dancehall will eventually clean itself.

You know mi nuh like certain tunes but with the current clamdown on many suspected Drug dealers who buy out the music and pay heavily for some people to be played and the artist realising that they are going to be grounded in Jamaica if they can't do better, and the badman selectors and radio DJ under pressure, I can only see a bright future.

If you listen to the current Dancehall tunes that are getting airplay on a wide scale, they are well written songs without anything combatitve and story telling. This goes from Laden song to gyptian etc. The current "badmen DJ" are literally killing themselves and their careers.

IT is time for a new set of stars anyway.

[Hortical]

These artists need fi stop the foolishness if dem waan fi extend their careers. Sumtin wrang when doors are being slammed in their faces worldwide.

[Jangle]

Over the past 2 - 3 years, most of the dancehall artistes have stayed away from homophobic lyrics. The last of such songs that became popular was "Step pon Chi-chi man" by TOK (I stand to be corrected by those in the know). After the uproar by the gay community, the lyrical contents shifted. I listen to FAME FM everyday and i haven't heard any gun songs played for years. With the ban on bleeped out words (LAZIE), there has been a conscious shift also sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. A perfect example of trying to be clever with words is Vibz Kartel, where in one song he talks about taking away a girl's "versatility" which makes absolutely no damn sense.

Now that their pockets are being affected, the industry WILL clean up itself.

[Mosiah]

Obviously, you have not been listening to dancehall music.

[Lazie]

Over the past 2 - 3 years, most of the dancehall artistes have stayed away from homophobic lyrics. The last of such songs that became popular was "Step pon Chi-chi man" by TOK (I stand to be corrected by those in the know). After the uproar by the gay community, the lyrical contents shifted. I listen to FAME FM everyday and i haven't heard any gun songs played for years. With the ban on bleeped out words (LAZIE), there has been a conscious shift also sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. A perfect example of trying to be clever with words is Vibz Kartel, where in one song he talks about taking away a girl's "versatility" which makes absolutely no damn sense.

Now that their pockets are being affected, the industry WILL clean up itself.

Suh yuh basically a say I was right? hehehe ... Vybz have another tune on the Go-Go Club riddim which was cleaned up for air play and it sounds okay to me. The next step now is to stop the sounds from playing the vulgar stuff in the dancehalls. Start with those open air sessions that are blasting the music over the distance and fine the sound system or the promoter $5,000 for every sound of lewdness that is blasted into the night.

[Hortical]

The next step now is to stop the sounds from playing the vulgar stuff in the dancehalls. Start with those open air sessions that are blasting the music over the distance and fine the sound system or the promoter $5,000 for every sound of lewdness that is blasted into the night.

That would be going too far, broadcast music is in a different category from sessions. You can not legislate the content of session music.

[Mosiah]

i don't think we should censor anything. if you pay your money to listen to vulgar lyrics, then that is what you should get.

i have a problem with people playing vulgar music from their car systems for everyone to hear. that now should be illegal. children and others should not be subjected to your filthy music if they don't want to hear it.

now, if the dancehall can't keep the vulgar lyrics within the environs of the dancehall itself, then yes, there should be sanctions!