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Mash Violent Music

Feb 22, 2012 Editorial

 

With Mashramani nigh upon us and a welter of musical concerts becoming permanent fixtures of our landscape, it might be time to revisit the vexed question of the possible effects some of this music might have on our youths. There are two concerns, not necessarily unconnected, raised about some of the music – that it is ‘vulgar’ and that it encourages violent behaviour in youths.
Over the last few decades in which we have witnessed the steady and seemingly inexorable rise of youth violence, it has been accompanied by forms of music that glorify and encourage the trend. In the US, we have ‘Gangsta Rap’, from Jamaica, Dancehall morphed through various increasingly violent variations to the current ‘Gaza’ and ‘Gully’ nihilism. And while comparatively innocuous and presently wallowing in self-inflicted violence (mainly rum drinking), Trinidadian Chutney shows definite signs of joining the genre of violence-provoking music. And they all end up in Guyana where our youths just lap them up and, it appears, heed the encouragement of the lyrics.
While there might be those that will protest that, “It’s only music”, from the dawn of civilization it has been acknowledged that music is one of the most potent forms of communication among humans – and even some animals. The reach of music is universal and appears to reach deep into the human psyche. While as far back as the 17th century it was asserted that “Musick hath Charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak”, there has been ample evidence that it can just as effectively accomplish the reverse effect. It is not for naught that there is the genre of “marital music”. There is no disputing that music affects us emotionally and psychologically and can powerfully influence our behaviour.
The genres mentioned above, explicitly encourage a wide range of antisocial behaviour, criminality and violence – especially against females. The language deployed encourages the use of weapons and homophobic attacks. They glorify such behaviour and because the artistes that spew the most outrageous lyrics – such as Kartel and Movado – are able to live in “style”, they become role models for their impressionable, young audiences. Buju Banton’s conviction in Florida on drug trafficking charges is not atypical of the lifestyle promoted by the new wave music. In Jamaica, and we have no reason that it has not spread to Guyana, partisans of ‘Gaza’ and ‘Gully’ routinely erupt into pitched battles against each other.
The music is also socially destructive because it consistently pushes negative stereotypes – especially about the poor and the powerless that the artistes purport to speak for. While these artistes claim that they are merely reflecting a reality that exists – in the end it is a very selective depiction of that reality. Poor communities are not all about wife beating, rum drinking and rumbling with weapons. By reinforcing the negative stereotypes, the music normalises their acceptance within the group that most need a vision of a way out.
We would like to propose that the Ministry of Culture look at the effects of the violence-inducing music on our young people and begin to take some action. We might have to look at some form of censorship of the more pernicious lyrics. We all accept the moral legitimacy of the government legislating and imposing sanctions against hate speech and invidious racially negative stereotyping.
There is an identically analogous situation with the music we are discussing. The government has a duty to act when public morality is being corroded but especially so when it affects the most vulnerable of our society – the young.
There is, of course, the danger of governmental censorship spilling over into more insidious forms of statist control. But we have to weigh the possibility of that danger against the clear and present cancer that is eating away the future of our society – our youths. We once had censorship over movies without suffering any appreciable harm. We cannot do worse with the music of violence. Let’s start this Republic Day.

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