The Lion's Roar
A Weekly column by Lion Coore
Published Letter of the Day Jamaica Gleaner 2008
The Editor, Sir:
How can politicians tackle crime when they are so far out of touch with the lifestyle and psyche of the youngsters who perpetrate crime? Barack Obama's campaign proved that if you want to communicate with the younger generation, it has to be a grass roots movement using the media they use, which, in the case of the United States, is text messaging, email, YouTube, etc.
I am a ghetto man, and I did not grow up listening to Budget presentations and prime ministers' speeches. Instead, I listened to Bounty Killer, Buju and Beenie. Why not use them as a medium for change? There is an age-old debate about whether songs with violent lyrics lead to violence. I am suggesting that we use a social experiment to solve this enigma once and for all.
Mr Prime Minister, many before you have tried different conventional strategies with the same disastrous results. I believe the time has come to think outside of the box. I suggest that you invite to a meeting, the top deejays, party sponsors, radio station jockeys, media, etc, and ask them for a show of solidarity to ban all gun lyrics for one year (from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009).Over the years it seems to be true that 'informers must dead', whether figuratively when they are demonised in songs, or literally, when they are not properly protected by the law. We must do our best to protect these people, using all appropriate means.
Powerful messages
Also, the DJs/artistes must do their part to change the image of the informer. Imagine a television ad campaign with a Buju Banton saying, 'If I see my neighbour kidnap a little girl, I am going to inform. I am an informer!'
Imagine Vybz Kartel saying, 'If I see my neighbour murder an innocent woman, I am going to inform. I am an informer!'
This would be a powerful and radical
way of changing the face of the informer - and we should know by now that it is informers who solve crimes and not overpaid foreign detectives.
Mr Prime Minister, Jamaicans need you to ask them to do something about crime and violence, but unfortunately, politicians have tricked them so many times that they have muted your voice. I urge you to find another medium - use the voices they trust and understand, i.e. music and the musical prophets.
I am, etc.,
Lion Coore
Lion,
ReplyDeleteI totally understand your desire to have the most impressionable yet the most powerful members of our society, our youths, be positively influenced by music. Music is a powerful vehicle that can initiate social change.However the themes that are epitomized by popular musicians have less to do with paving the way for a productive, peaceful environment and more to do with sex,promiscuity, violence and drugs..including weed and alcohol. These themes are seductive to our impressionable youths who are struggling with establishing their Identity versus Role Confusing( Erickson's stages of Psychoscocial Development). Musicians are aligned to with this fact and prey on the subliminal influence of their lyrics and infectious beats. Sad to say, many of our so called dancehall and hip-hop legends are more concerned with the almighty dollar than coalescing and uniting the world in a floral unit of love, peace and happiness. They market women with big butts and assets,their ice(jewelery), their grill in their mouths and yes their green dollars. This is what a poor ghetto youths see and process as an escape from a life of poverty, who will do anything, even sell their soul to get a piece of the "good life" . Music is powerful and perhaps can promote violence subconsciously( a personal,unresearched theory of mine), but "is the fruit of life...so play on"...(Shakespeare).