Cacophony Versus Symphony

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

The warm and friendly disposition of the average Jamaican, for which we are internationally famous historically, is no accident- nor does it derive from a servile instinct as some tend to think. In fact, the source is quite the opposite. Because of the unique geographical location of the island, for the last six hundred years or more, Jamaica has been in pole position as it regards world trade and the resultant cross-fertilisation of races and nationalities.

Although predominantly African, our relatively young nation by world standards has been such a successful melting pot of diverse world cultures, that our creative manifestations and lifestyle are authentic distillations, readily identified with by citizens from disparate regions of the world. Back in the heyday of Black nationalism, my African and Afro-American colleagues would ask me time and time again, to explain why Rastafari songs and our oral anecdotes tended to glorify Zion- which they identified with Jews/Israel contrasted with a persistent and strong admonition of Pharoah and Egypt- the pinnacle of Black civilisation and culture in ancient times- seemingly in sharp contradiction of their uncompromising stand and pivotal role in the struggle against European colonialism, which they all so admired.
Unfortunately, that is not a subject we can explore deeper today, because I wish to keep the focus on the gift of nature and historical phenomena that has literally propelled us to the forefront of a universal psychic connection between peoples and contemporary civilisations.

For centuries, Jamaica has been on every sea lane for commerce. Traffic going from north to south and east to west pass through our ports. Up to the present period we continue to be the main door through which trade and migration is passed on the way to Central and South America. Coupled with this, is the fact that our history of occupying this country is relatively recent. All of our forefathers came from elsewhere and the majority of us identify our ancestral roots- depending on our racial mix- in regions far from Jamaica, be it Africa, Asia, Europe or the Orient.

From the very beginning of our history in Jamaica, our forefathers have in various waves, continuously migrated and populated Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, North America, the UK, Europe, Japan, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana among other states. As a consequence, Jamaicans see life in Jamaica as a sojourn. This confluence of geography and history has served us well, but often produces an unfortunate flipside to our cosmopolitan instinct. We tend to have a very unorthodox, transient philosophical worldview, caused to a significant degree by split loyalties to heritage, country, community, family, profession, job and even religion.

Although it might sound convoluted and definitely there are big gaping holes in this short historical description of who – as a people- we are, this context is essential in understanding some of our most prominent cultural features and why people of all races and cultures somehow identify in our works, kindred spirits. I have posited it here, in proceeding to broaden the discussion which I began last week, and to which I have had an overwhelming amount of responses. In fact, it’s one of the few times I have only received positive responses to my Observer column and blog. But that does not sit well with me, because some of my respondents have gone so far as to blame Dancehall for all of Jamaica’s ills.

As I have often said, whereas I totally abhor those Dancehall lyrics which glorify violence, we must acknowledge that society continues to provide the social cradle for these lyrics, plus decadence and violent behaviour exhibited in the Dancehall. Now, don’t get me wrong. The music industry desperately needs to sever all links with criminals and criminality.

However, please let’s not delude ourselves. With very little state or private sector support, the industry may not have survived the 1980’s were it not for them. Since this time, the production of many events, records and cds have been financed by tainted money from this source. This is inevitable in a country where it is estimated that 60% of our gross national product is generated by the underground economy. That’s prettying up the fact that we have largely become a major drug transhipment centre, governed by drug dons.

Furthermore, the frustration levels in Jamaica are multi-layered. Recession, drought, distrust of public sector- including politicians and their links with drug dons, suspicions of nefarious deals and deeds in collusion with criminals by large private sector companies and organisations, high levels of crime- over 400 murders so far this year, along with a significant increase in burglaries and larcenies, joblessness, no social or economic prospects for poor people from our ghettos, are all putting us on the brink of a complete breakdown of the social order.

The sounds coming from the streets sound more like a cacophony than a symphony. To quote Mark Wignall (Sunday Observer, April 18, 2010), “the investment of our mainstream politics in the street elements who were once controlled by the politicians has spun around in a most dangerous manner, to the extent that much of the governance that the people are entitled to is being clogged up by seamy politics which has risen up like a walking, talking phantasm to haunt the […] administration.”

Orville Plummer, in the letter of the week (Sunday Herald, April 18) says more poignantly, “for […] thousand of Jamaicans in several communities across Jamaica, their dons are next to God because traditional values, the established social order and legitimate leadership are crumbling before our eyes…parenting and family life remain weak, churches and pastors remain indifferent and irrelevant, civil society remains dormant and political parties and their leaders remain visionless and uninspiring.” He goes on to express the fear that if we continue to cede parcels of the country to strong men and outsource law and order to others than the police force and the courts, then all Jamaica will soon be forced to worship at the altar of lawlessness and criminality”.

The two quotes above encapsulate sufficiently the greater sources of Jamaica’s social dilemma. Dancehall simply compounds it. But we must remember that the artistes are influenced by the coarsening of society plus all other factors discussed above. We are all cut from the same cloth. Also our politicians and sections of the media especially, are equally complicit.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

Host: Jamaica Observer

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The Music Industry's Achilles' Heel

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

THEY say it never rains, but it pours. Following closely on the heels of my last article, I too watched the Ricky Trooper video on youtube.com. It would have been hilarious, were it some kind of fictional movie, but in real life, it was both pitiful and despicable. I have to admit that the word 'moronic' kept popping up in my thoughts throughout, as an apt description of Trooper's behaviour in this video.

Two scenes, in particular, provoked this thought. The first one is where he brandished what seems to be a Springfield Armoury XD 9mm compact pistol. He finally points it directly at the camera, with explicit instructions that it be put on youtube.com. It was completely asinine and juvenile of his camp to put out the release, after the video's presence on YouTube, claiming that it was not a gun, but a cigarette lighter. Do they really think they are fooling anyone with this line of argument? Especially the Feds?

TROOPER… ’Merica, yuh cyaan get me out, a two visa mi ’ave. ’Merica, mi pay me tax, a two visa me ’ave


The second scene had Trooper saying "'Merica, yuh cyaan get me out, a two visa mi 'ave. 'Merica, mi pay me tax, a two visa me 'ave." He goes on to display both his working visa and his 10-year visitors' visa and instructs the person recording the drama to put it on YouTube.

While I am not sure what role this played in the cancellation of his visas, it certainly did not take long for him to be proven wrong. The YouTube video surely could not have helped his cause.

What is more debilitating is the impact behaviour like this is having on the Jamaican music industry by extension. It provides fodder to those who describe dancehall as 'duncehall' music. Furthermore, as per usual, when there is bad news, the media conveniently classifies this outrageous behaviour as typical of all Reggae artistes. The distinction between Reggae and Dancehall music is discarded, to our collective detriment. This, then, is the classic Achilles' heel of our Jamaican music industry.

A natural instinct of most Jamaicans, I know, is to protect and defend our own, because the world seems always to be coming down hard on us. No one in their right mind, however, could defend Ricky Trooper in this instance. He is clearly not a good representative of the majority of our people or our music industry -- much less should he be even allowed to claim the role of ambassador of Dancehall music on the international stage.

In a sense, the non-conformist nature of our popular music was essentially revolutionary in instrumental and lyrical content. This has traditionally been a main strength in its universal appeal to the alienated and downtrodden people of all creeds and nations. It was always soul food for the weary and oppressed; it was battle anthems for the militants struggling for their freedom. In Jamaica, from the late 1950s onwards, every 'bad man' saw himself as a nascent revolutionary, joining a worldwide movement to 'beat down Babylon', to shake off the yoke of colonial and class exploitation. Unfortunately, that image is fast being eroded by some devious miscreants in and out of our music industry. Now, when they refer to themselves as 'bad man', it simply means unsavoury links with criminality, drug running, bullyism, bad-word mongering, misogynist, female abuser and vile lyricist. If we in the industry do not expose these elements and reject their behaviour outright, we are not only hypocrites, but also shooting our industry and ourselves in the foot. Please forgive the violent analogy, but it seems quite apt in the circumstances.

If we remain silent, however, we are only going to speed up the death of the very industry on which Jamaica has, to a large extent, pinned its future economic development. How many people heard or read the comments of the USA diplomatic representative at the opening of the new Red Bones Restaurant, where he spoke about no longer tolerating artistes who continually disregard their laws against discrimination and, in contravention of them, promote violence in interviews and on stage, while on their performance tours of the United States?

For more than two years I have been calling on my colleagues in this industry to self-regulate or face sanctions from civil and government authorities in Jamaica and around the world. We must urge all the members of our Jamaican music industry to respect and obey all the laws-- including taxation compliance -- of the host countries, in which the ply their trade. There can be no more compromising on these issues, as the livelihood of our artistes and very survival of our industry is imperilled.

We had already seen the trends developing in Europe, and should therefore not be surprised at the latest counter-action from the American authorities. If we are not careful, by the time we awake from our drunken slumber, there will be no roses to smell.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I urge my readers to listen to On the Promenade, with Tony Munroe on Hot 102FM on Monday nights from 10:00 pm to midnight. For those couple hours, Tony takes you on a jazz scene of R&B and Reggae-influenced music. The programme is a must-listen for jazz enthusiasts, interspersed with titbits of information on what's happening on the international jazz scene.