The young Labourites suggested that the question of media bias (in favour of the PNP) was part of what explained the gap in the numbers between itself and the party currently in Opposition, which most people (according to the polls) are of the view will make up the next government. By this action, the G2K opened further an already ajar door, in the process, calling us to scrutinize the subject of media bias vis-a-vis
the political process in Jamaica.

The G2K also encouraged, though perhaps unintended, an exploration what, at least one member of the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) – Vice Chairman, Brian Schmidt, has called an increasingly hostile attitude toward the Jamaican media by public figures. In this regard, helping to foreground some central considerations about the issue of bias and the media in the, often virulent political culture in Jamaica.

According to Schmidt, in discussions with To The Point on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, the attitudes of hostility toward the media coupled with the
onerous fines levied against in Libel Laws, are justifiable reasons to be concerned about the G2K’s comments.  Indeed, the MAJ Vice-Chair argued that the media cannot remain healthy in a context where they must strive to prove their own credibility, especially considering that in other jurisdictions it is the other way around. He insisted accordingly that, public figures must operate by a higher standard. They rather than the media must prove their credibility.

This is, especially in the case like that in which the G2K has found itself – questioning the methodology of media research as well as the
integrity of the narrative around these issues. AS a result, the critique of media and the political process, as tabled by the G2K, must also take account of how such attitudes contribute to the growing sense in which the Jamaican media are constantly at the mercy of powerful public figures and organisations.

According to Schmidt, this prevents the media, in theory, from carrying out their tasks effectively. Significantly, the MAJA’s critique of the
G2K’s remarks also included actors in the last administration, who are now in Opposition. It cannot, therefore, be read as an effort to single out any one group, individual or party in what he defines as sending chills through the local media. This is in terms of conveying a sense of increased hostility towards the media; that is, in their look at the political process in Jamaica and ensuring that democracy works in the best interests of all.

According Schmidt, the media are increasingly under attack. The rhetoric of certain public figures only adds to this tense state of affairs. Thus, it is necessary to ask whether this is a reasonable contention, especially given the extent to which the media currently does not operate without a complaints or an oversight body. Such an organization, in theory, would sit in judgment of the fairness and professional codes of of the media.

In fact, Minister of Information, Daryl Vaz, has rightly raised the concerns about giving life to such an organization. He contends that such a
group would serve to ensure that where there are concerns about fairness of coverage, impartiality, among other concerns that these are addressed as a means of urgent action.

In responding to such a charge, however, Schmidt says that the issue of a complaints body is superfluous. In his view, it is neither sufficient nor necessary. According to the MAJ Vice-Chair individual media houses already are constrained to obey the broadcasting regulations, as well as
that there are options of appeal. These can be tabled before the MAJ, which is a body comprised of media managers and owners. Included in that group also, is the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), which acts as a quasi-professional grouping for local journalists.

Effectively, Schmidt believes that the media landscape is already ‘policed’ by various mechanisms to ensure that the Four Estate, as it is often
called, does what it is set up to do. However, one cannot help but ask whither the effectiveness of such groups and whether such a complaints body would, necessarily, be redundant given the highly partisan and ‘tribalised’ nature of the Jamaican political scene?

Is it sufficient to argue that the media are already under obligations and, therefore, do not require this means of regulation? That is, regarding the requirements of the PAJ, MAJ and the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ), itself a unique grouping in the discussion which warrants its
own analysis? What harm, in effect, is there for introducing a regulatory body for the local media? And should such a body be responsible for ensuring professional accreditation and possibly also offer ratings for journalists, broadcasters, columnists and talk show hosts?

Schmidt noticeably did not offer a position on those questions in his review of the subject, choosing to argue instead that the media are, effectively, already sufficiently ‘policed’ by the current context. He further maintained that hostile attitudes in the current economic climate, given the burdens of disproving culpability in the case of defamation lawsuits, could potentially harm the media. This is not an ideal state of affairs.

Still, it bears being asked now that Jamaica is constitutionally due another elections in the next year, how will those issues play out in the
ensuing period? This is especially, considering that the Fourth Estate plays such a key role in who gets elected to public office?

In fact, buoyed the poll numbers over which the JLP has raised concerns, the PNP has begun its demands for an election. According to Julian
Robinson, Deputy General Secretary of the PNP, that is partly the result of the public’s refusal to be contained within the mediocrity of the current administration (To The Point on Tuesday, July 26, 2011).

The electorate has grown impatient with the mismanagement and, one could argue based on Mr. Robinson’s position, corruption of the JLP in its
stewardship of the country, specifically on issues like the economy, the administration of justice and others. Thus, while the polls are not sufficient by themselves to underwrite the confidence of the PNP, his Party is nonetheless hugely encouraged in the stridency of its demands.

It is this context in which the JLP’s concerns about bias in the media must be investigated. Are the polling numbers being manipulated to
reflect a biased view of the political landscape at this time? Or, is it simply because they are behind and, in some instances, dramatically which warrants the tabling of this ‘new’ debate about how media operate and the need for greater regulations?

Is there merit, for instance in the claims raised by commentators like Kevin Obrien Chang (also a guest on To the Point) and others about the
biases of certain media toward the sitting administration? They have pointed out that the recent reveal, courtesy of the whistle blowing organisation WikiLeaks about the attitudes of Dr. Peter Phillips, the current PNP Spokesman on the Economy, toward Portia Simpson Miller, the head of the PNP, as one such example.

That story was broken by the Jamaica Observer and not the Gleaner. Significantly, the former has long been felt to be anti-PNP, whereas the
Gleaner has now come to be regarded by some in the JLP as being in bed with the Opposition. Has the G2K and by extension the JLP raised a legitimate concern, therefore, going into the election year?

This, notwithstanding an apology from the Gleaner about its failure to publish the story first, especially given that it had started the process by introducing to the public, cables presumably aimed at ‘getting to the (whole) truth’. Are there legitimate issues surrounding how media are
manipulated in the ongoing electioneering politics, locally?

This, especially, as the various candidates vie for status and advertise themselves as winnable and therefore, trustworthy ahead of the next national polls?

…Tell us what you think? Post your comments below.

(To the Point is a new radio interview, news and discussion programme aired on www.bessfm.com, every Monday to Thursday, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Listen and let us know what you think!)

Most people have wanted to know, perhaps with justifiable humour, whether he has travelled outside of Jamaica as a means of explaining his seemingly acquired ‘accent’ for which he has gained notoriety. Indeed, the curious case of Clifton Brown is that, he is a most unassuming gentleman, rather unflappable in the face of great ridicule heaped on him by the members of the middle-class media establishment in their arrogant presumption that only those who use the English Language (well) are intelligent.

In fact, it needs to be said that Clifton Brown has maintained much of his originality by insisting in almost all of the interviews done with him to date that his case of the inadequate bridge is still very much real. He has not veered from that position, even though it has been said he has since acquired a Manager and, possibly, a Booking Agent to take advantage of the rumoured earnings at his expense.

Note, I say rumoured not so much because I disbelieve that there is a cash register that keeps ringing up earnings unbeknownst to Clifton but rather to point out that the actual details of those earnings may yet be beyond his immediate understanding. This is not to imply that Clifton is not smart; just not savy enough, at this time, to understand the nuances of the earning potentials.

Indeed, I submit that I too am a little behind in my awareness of how this process actually works. Though, there is no doubting that the use of his intellectual property by the enterprising D.J. Powa is a key part of the problem.

Based on the last information received, the creative, young deejay feels that he both has a right to earn from Clifton’s efforts to represent his community’s lack of needed infrasture and has insisted that the remix of the news report is his intellectual product. Indeed, he has even gone so far as to create t-shirts with some of the more notable soundbytes from the TV J report, among them ‘the bus can swim’. Thereby, clearly making known his agenda – profit at the expense of the poor, on account of their desperate circumstances and, in the specific case of Clifton Brown, his evident lack of training in proper presentation skills and sufficient exposure to media.

In fact, it is necessary to say that media use and interviewing skills, as well as language abilities are all talents which are not easily mastered by most. Those within the confines of air conditioned television and radio studios with the capacity to edit themselves before broadcasting their messages know that only too well. They are also aware that, they are sufficiently ahead of the curve, given how dependent media are on the efficient use of language in a myriad of contexts. There is no excuse for ridiculing and laughing shamelessly in the face of one not as accomplished but who is nonetheless concerned about a very serious problem in his community. The safety of residents who remain at the mercy of the elements given their under service by civic and other government institutions is very serious business.

Indeed, that Clifton has taken it on himself to highlight that he is a Christian and not an artiste, though he has perhaps unwisely gone ahead to retain the services of a management team also speak to the nature of the problems presented by this exceptional set of circumstances. It highlights just how confused we can become after making what are clearly well intentioned interventions in terms of bringing attention to certain matters of egregious civic neglect. Clifton’s goodwill, in other words, has now been subverted, in part, by the disrespectful media narrative sustained in some parts of the public middle class culture to which we so often defer in Jamaica.

In this way, highlighting why the poor often do not get heard and understood in their efforts to gain access to the seats of power. This is perhaps part of why at election times people do not bother to ask about platform issues and elect instead to vote on the premise of who can finance their children’s immediate need for school fees, a graduation dress, or even more urgent a day’s meal. It is entirely shocking and especially disrespectful too that more members of the viewing public, have not made a greater public outcry against the evident exploitation and generally uncharitable manner in which Clifton and his well intended interview has been treated.

To suggest that, DJ Powa, however enterprising, has any claims on the language use of Clifton Brown and the contents of the TV J news report is ludicrous at best. Note, no one is denying his obvious creativity. As a matter of fact, so creative is he that his talents have been acknowledged in the CBS news report which further catapulted the unsuspecting Clifton and the eager DJ Powa to fame and, possibly, fortune.

However, hardly much has been said in all this as to whether the bridge needed in Mr. Brown’s community, as well as the host of others which remain underserved by the state is being addressed. Indeed, no one has indicated too whether Clifton’s rights are to be protected and safeguarded in the current context, given the wide circulation of the video in the US and the Caribbean and, possibly, beyond.

Mercifully, Professor Carolyn Cooper, who has resolutely defended the language rights of poor Jamaicans and is a known cultural theorist has offered to intervene on Clifton’s behalf. More power to her, I say. However, I would also urge her to ensure that the officials consider naming the, hopefully, soon-to-be-built-bridge in his community ‘The Clifton Brown Bridge’. And that, some of the proceeds earned from the mass marketing of his image abroad be used to ensure that any of his five daughters, should they so choose, may take advantage of the university education Clifton has openly acknowledged he aspires to but did not attain (for obvious reasons, lack of sufficient means). It is perhaps why he has opted to remind that though he is not an artiste, having been offered the opportunities to record Dub-Plates for several sound systems since the remixed news report went viral.

Say what you will, Clifton suspects that something big is happening around, though he also appears somewhat overwhelmed by how to take advantage of what might well be an opportunity. I endorse, wholeheartedly, therefore, any project to get Clifton that bridge so that he can cross to the other side safely, especially as we are now in the Hurricane Season which started on June 1 and is officially scheduled to end November 30. That said though, I strongly believe Mr. Brown is also to be paid for the use of his image, against his wishes (‘I am not an artiste!). The benefits accrued from the subsequent creation and sale of t-shirts with his soundbytes should also redound to him in a meaningful way…

…This way, both Mr. Brown and the other concerned residents in his community of Robert’s Field will be able to cross the Yallahs River safely whenever it rains!

Fireworks indicating the end of Summer Jam 2010

Celebrating at the end of the Show: Students from the University of Vienna along with members of Riddim Magazine and me.

Disclaimer:

Below is the second of a two part report/ commentary on the state of the local Reggae and Dancehall music industries vis-a-vis what I regard as the ‘take over’ of these two Janmaican brands by others within the Reggae/ Dancehall Diaspora. The first post received interesting feedback.

In this entry, I hope to generate a discussion around likely solutions for addressing what I perceive as a serious decline, from Jamaica’s standpoint. Neither articles are intended to be either anti-American/ European or anti-gay.

On the contrary, they are aimed at building bridges and increasing awareness about this issue across the spectrum of the Reggae/ Dancehall universe. Your feedback is always welcomed.

Red, Green and Gold/ Green, Yellow and Red

Summer Jam 2010 utilized various aspects of Jamaican culture to promote itself. These included anything from the colours, foods and music. From the inverted ‘red, green and gold’ of traditional Rastafari – SummerJam used green, yellow and red, in that order, to the bamboo styled ‘Press Area’, in which all refreshments were sold, to the sale of pieces of coconut, kept fresh in a permanent supply of coconut water, ‘Jamaican culture’ was well represented in Germany.

Food

The food was somewhat reminiscent of local cuisine. Supplied by a Jamaican who has lived in Germany for thirty years, Koala Mini Catering had an abundant supply of jerk sauces, curries and even elements of the national dish – Ackee, but without the requisite Salt Fish. George Llewelyn whipped up several ‘Jamaican’ specialties. Minus the lamb from the very popular curry stew, or even that there was meat available in a major food spot in a Rastafarian themed event and you could have imagined you were slumming it ‘island style’ in Germany.

Representation

Asked about the representation of Jamaican culture at the event, one patron, a university educated, second generation Jamaican living in Britain felt the issue was merely a question of entertainment. In his view, whether Jamaicans see a need to be at an event like SummerJam was entirely up to them. He soon disappeared into the packed auditorium, after a passionate defense of his point, refusing to engage further in the discussion.

Jamaican Diaspora in Europe

However, Jamaica-German transplant and soon-to-be minted Ph. D. Marlene Calvin, a Diasporic Studies expert, feels that festivals like SummerJam afford some measure of connection to Jamaican culture, albeit small. Calvin admits that she is conflicted about how SummerJam and other European festivals appropriate Jamaican culture. However, she says it is the only means of connection which she has in this section of the Diaspora.

In Calvin’s view, the state needs to do more outreach to Jamaicans in Europe, in particular those as far north as Germany. She is sympathetic towards those Jamaicans who feel no conflict over the trade and consumption of their culture, out of context, especially in foreign spaces like Europe.

Calvin maintains that is part of the experience of being a migrant in a foreign land. Children grow up without the same sense of bonding their parents feel towards their homeland. According to her, sometimes they see it as a shackle, holding them back from being part of the mainstream home society.

‘Black Europeans’

Calvin believes they are effectively, ‘Black Europeans’ who also aid in the appropriation of Caribbean culture in their new home spaces. For some, this is their (only) connection, however limited to their parents’ cultures and societies.

Soca Fusion

The three day Reggae festival also had a mix of Dancehall thrown in for good measure. Even the performance of Trinidadian Soca star and Road March King Machel Montano proved just how closely SummerJam patterned itself off indigenous Jamaican Dancehall with its penchant for fusing various forms of popular music.

Montano, who performed on the smaller of the two stages – the ‘Green Stage’ on Sunday, rocked the house. The first Soca artistes and, possibly, first Trinidadian performer to set foot on a German Reggae stage, Montano had patrons flying the red, black and white of his country’s national flag.

Asked what explained the flag waving and continuous cheering and dancing, even to the slower Reggae ballads included in Montano’s repertoire, Pete Lilly of Riddim Magazine said, ‘well, they do not really understand what he is saying.’

Still, the sight of Germans attempting to ‘take a wine’ and ‘tip behind the truck’, while funny in some respects, resurrected the old concerns about Caribbean languages and how those are understood by Europeans and the rest of the western world. This is especially regarding the continued insistence of the hatred said to be associated with Dancehall music.

Patois/ Dancehall Translation

According to Lilly, Volker Beck, a member of the Green Party in Germany and an openly gay politician and a chief proponent behind the ban against Jamaican Dancehall and Reggae music in Germany, recently, translated at least one Jamaican Dancehall tune. In Lilly’s estimation this was completely inaccurate, particularly when read by Jamaican linguist and local university lecturer, Dr. Hubert Devonish.

While, the details of the actual translation were not expounded on, what was clear was the obvious double-standard in terms of how charges about a lack of understanding were applied to foreign music. While not a Jamaican language expert, Beck and others claiming to understand Jamaican Patois and its various meanings seem to know enough to institute bans against Dancehall and Reggae artistes, without hesitation.

Ironically, however, the German audience felt not to know much of what Montano said danced continuously to his lyrics just the same. Machel’s reference to national pride was also greeted with thunderous applause when he asked for people from the various Caribbean islands, including Jamaica and Germany to cheer to represent nationalist sentiments.

Hitler/ Xenophobia/ Homophobia

Germans are historically, conflicted over the theme of nationalism, given the intense xenophobia and racism which informed Hitler’s Nazi movement just over two generations before. According to Lilly, Jamaicans artistes have become some of the main victims to this new form of political correctness in Germany, which is ostensibly, aimed at stamping out all forms of hatred in artistic content. This is especially given the country’s history of persecuting homosexuals under Nazism.

Certain groups of musicians are barred from performing and earning in the German and other European Reggae markets, as a result. In the process, hijacking several sections of the local Dancehall and Reggae music industries; creating more than adequate space for foreigners to enter and take over.

White Rasta

According to Austrian academic and member of the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, Werner Zips, who is a self-described, ‘white, bald head Rasta man’, ‘the offerings of German Reggae artistes are really good. They actually sound like [real] Reggae from about a decade or so, ago.’

The unvoiced portion of Zips’ remarks are, before the blockades, boycotts and bans preoccupied Jamaican artistes, whose attentions have been reoriented towards defending themselves against these attacks. Left with an obvious void, others have stepped in to fill the deficit.

But, if the take over of the Reggae and Dancehall music industries is cause for concern, it appears to have escaped the notice of many on the inside of SummerJam’s organizing team, possibly many inside Europe’s Reggae scene. Journalists were, largely, unable to talk with artistes or even the promoters of the event, given the many boundaries and barriers created in the backstage area.

Boundaries

Personnel in the ‘Press Area’ could not readily enter certain sections of the event, and were actively prevented from doing so by the various numbers of security guards and green suited Polizei on patrol of the grounds, guns clearly displayed. There was no room for misunderstanding; ‘no entry’ meant just that. Otherwise, the consequence could be deadly.

Still, it is important to add that magazines like Riddim have featured Jamaican artistes who have been banned in Germany, as well as have suffered their fair share of homophobic smear because of it. What is doubtful, however, is whether that by itself is sufficient to build consensus across the range of the Reggae continuum in Europe, in terms of critiquing the bans against Jamaican artistes in the industry.

According to Lilly, Gentleman, himself, has also acknowledged the power of race and nationality in affording him passage through the turbulent international waters in which Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall music have found themselves. While, not fixating on race as the only cause for concern, Gentleman’s remarks are instructive in focusing attention on some of the critical issues and needed solutions facing the industry, albeit in Jamaica.

Wheel an Come Again! Pull-up!

Jamaican artistes will have to repackage and reposition themselves, or as we say in the local parlance ‘wheel and come again!’ The ‘pull up’ must as an act of necessity involve the merging of the popular and the historical as well as the academic. The classic class tensions which structure much of Jamaica’s internal politics need to be replaced by a greater sense of trust, partnership and communication between the various arms of the society engaged in the production and circulation of local popular music.

Reggae Reasonings

Shows like Sumfest, Rebel Salute and East Fest and have a great role to play by using the backdrop of these festivals as a meeting place for ideas. Regular folk should be invited to sit and reason alongside those engaged in academic and social research on popular music. Artistes should be centrally involved in these exchanges of ideas which are necessary for stimulating conversations about appropriate themes for production in their works.

Broad-based Education

Artistes also need to educate themselves fully beyond just the mere scope of the classroom or even the even the narrow interests of ‘the streets’, notwithstanding that this is a dynamic part of their music. Questions about the law and what it says in terms of the use of provocative language, expletives as well as choice need to be learned and attitudes adjusted to reflect these positions.

The rehabilitation of Jamaica’s public international image as a site of hate and fear, as regards questions of sexual choices need to be corrected urgently. The Government’s role in promoting a distilled position about Jamaican identity is central to this process. They need to say what it means to be Jamaican in clear and simple language. This should be broadcast to visitors and locals and alike and agreements signed by those entering the country to uphold the values of ‘Jamaican-ness’ expounded in such documents.

Government needs to say specifically why Jamaicans feel the way we do about questions of sexual choices, particularly homosexuality. Does this really matter in the overall construction of citizenship here and how does that prevent or promotes one’s access to the state and its resources? That needs to be clearly explained, given Prime Minister Golding’s 2007 announcement on British Broadcasting Corporation’s Television show Hard Talk that gay people are not allowed in his Cabinet.

Addressing the fall-outs from those destructive remarks means that Jamaica needs to show what the Government has done to advance human rights, within the context of sexual freedoms, by passing legislation empowering the protection of such minority groups. The Dancehall and Reggae music industries need to get onboard this bus. By advocating peace and tolerance, regardless of creed religion and politics, they allow their audiences and supporters see that Jamaica is a place of tolerance and brotherhood.

These sentiments, however, need to become more than just words on a paper but must also be incorporated in to attitudes of those engaged in this kind of work. Public partnerships between the music industry and the Ministries of Education and Culture need to be explored as an urgent matter of course in this regard. These should include field trips into studio sites, as well as the dedication of land space and resources to set up of a Reggae/ Dancehall museum exploring the history of the music as well as that of the society and the link between the two.

Jamaica’s history must be foregrounded in the telling of the nation’s history and the construction of the national public identity by which they country should become known. Stories outside of the National Heroes need to be explored and told in relevant and easily understood formats for all to understand Jamaica’s commitment to the goals of democracy and human rights; that is, through the long struggle of African slaves and Indian Indentured labourers for freedom.

These should not be removed from the current context in which the obstacles towards the holistic development of the society are also acknowledged. While not aimed at highlighting crime and violence, these stories should nonetheless inform how the narrative of ‘Jamaican-ness’ is constructed as a means of informing visitors who Jamaicans are and how they seem themselves in relation to others.

Documenting Jamaica’s Role/ Funding

Documentaries outlining and documenting the history of Jamaican music industry should be made available readily digested formats and easily understood portions for a range of audiences. As part of that thrust, the Government needs to make grant funding available for such projects through state and community agencies like Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Jamaica Social and Development Fund (JSIF) and the Social Development Commission (SDC).

They should also incorporate programmes at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the Edna Manley College School of Music into this process. The exploration of the idea of attachments to other schools and media and music training programmes in other parts of the Jamaican musical Diasporas need to also be part of this process. The Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), as well as the Reggae Studies Unit at the UWI and the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) have a key role to play in this regard.

Research Resources

Dedicated music programmes should be incorporated into public libraries and information made available via the Internet to facilitate students conducting research, as well as those interested in leisure reading. Graduate funding for ongoing research projects should also be explored and be made available for those with such interests.

Students should also be encouraged to see the Reggae and Dancehall music industries as legitimate places in which to gain employment by encouraging their participation. They should be advised, through the provision of scholarships, bursaries and endowment funds attached to the music, more highly skilled and formal training to the sector. Professionals trained in music marketing and promotions, branding as well as research and development should be encouraged to work in the sector.

Media

Media managers and publicity and promotions people involved in the industry also need to conduct more face to face workshops and seminars aimed at facilitating understanding on matters of entertainment and the question of the public’s interest. The Broadcasting Commission should be incorporated into this process, as well as Disc Jockeys.

‘Payola’

Issues of ‘Payola’ would, therefore, need to be fully ventilated and updates given as to the state of the legislation aimed at addressing this; in the process, regularizing the industry. Media training for artistes as well as producers is also necessary and vital.

The curtains came down on SummerJam 2010 with a barrage of fireworks in the still bright night. The sun sets in Cologne near eleven o’clock in the night give or take fifteen or so minutes.

However, the unsettling feeling that the work of the international gay lobby, while certainly noble in getting local artistes to change some of their tunes, has also had a devastating impact on Jamaica’s ownership of the music unless the recommendations noted above are addressed. Before long, local artistes will be completely removed from the picture, only able to perform in local circles.

The massive transference of Jamaican culture to foreigners is happening with rapid speed and in a format equivalent to the rise of a new form of imperialism, in which cultural resources are colonized and controlled for the benefit of more powerful elites, resident within the developed west.

The time has clearly come for a game-change. All within the Dancehall and Reggae universes, specifically those in Jamaica are called to immediate action.

Patrons Chill Out in the "Press Area", at SummerJam 2010

The decline is the result of a complex set of factors. Chief among them the coordinated attacks by the international gay lobby coupled with the use of effective media campaigns and unofficial political and economic blockades. The Jamaican music industry is in deep trouble, as a result.

Foreign Reggae

Indeed, the development of other forms of Reggae music across the globe while obviously a testament to the reach and coverage of Jamaican music, should nonetheless be cause for concern for local artistes and producers. In fact, the SummerJam Reggae Festival held in Cologne, Germany is a telling example of some of these development. Among others, there was a noticeable absence of big named Jamaican acts at the July 2-4 show. Underlining in the process, the extent to which foreign produced Reggae/ Dancehall shows are able to successfully organise themselves without the heavy involvement of Jamaican artistes.

Europe

One of several concerts scheduled for European Reggae circuit this summer, SummerJam’s line up, organization, brand and marketing clearly indicate a growing trend in industry practises, internationally – the creeping disappearance of Jamaican control of the Reggae brand. The consequence of which is that, anti-Jamaican sentiments as they affect the performance and selling of local Reggae and Dancehall music in some of the biggest markets in Europe and the United States has impacted the musical outputs from ‘the Rock’.

Thereby, resulting in a breakdown in some of the key thematic concerns generally associated with traditional Reggae music. This has created space for the emergence of European and other foreign nationals who are able to colonise, as well as to organise and profit from the various brands.

Coupled with the recent spate of United States (US) Visa cancellations affecting some artistes, the gravity of the situation is made all the more apparent. Reduced travel, especially during peak summer tour seasons mean reduced earnings and bans equal less air play.

The sum of which is decreased earnings by Jamaicans, particularly big namd stars like Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel and others. Consequently, enabling the re-branding of Jamaican music as a risky business investment and politically unappealing. That is, given the other messages associated with Jamaican musicians internationally. Placing, in the process, local Reggae and Dancehall musicians at risk of developing not only a bad reputation, internationally, but also casting an impression of Jamaica as a nation of unprofessional bigots.

Homophobia

Part of the reason is that, Jamaican artistes are felt to be homophobic bigots who constantly preach the violent deaths of homosexuals as a group. As a result, wholesale pressure has been brought to bear on the local industry; effectively, stymieing its development and bringing with it the eventual replacment of Jamaican control through increased foreign participation, management as well as profits. Shortly, the brand will no longer be ours.

SummerJam 2010

SummerJam celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary this year under the theme: ‘Let the Spirit Rise’. The three day concert, held in Cologne, Germany is an interesting case study in some of these dynamics. From the limited numbers of Jamaican artistes on the show to the inversion of the colours of the Rastafarian religious icon often used to brand Reggae and even Dancehall, to the wholesale trade in and consumption of Rastafarian/ Jamaican craft items by Europeans, the massive transference of controlling interests in Jamaican culture is actively underway in the ‘Old World’.

Trade/ Brand Jamaica

Vendors at the popular Reggae event claimed that they stood to gain as much as forty thousand Euros from sale of Jamaican and Rastafarian icons. This, after paying only two thousand Euros to rent the small space. Part of that arrangement, they say, comes with providing their own security.

However, none of the vendors were perturbed by the small inconvenience. After all, there is much to be gained from trading in ‘Brand Jamaica’. Jamaican made and represented craft items like carvings of Rasta men with guitars to blankets and shirts with the Jamaican flag emblazoned on them, to photographs of Bob Marley and other Reggae paraphernalia provided the means for a stiff trade in local brands at the event.

Still, with the absence of an official Jamaican delegation at the concert, benefits from the mass marketing opportunities, or even a chance to promote accurate information about Reggae’s history and its association with Jamaica were not available to the patrons. At nearly a hundred Jamaican dollars to one Euro, the monetary implications may become more apparent and serious to stakeholders.

German Artistes

German artistes controlled the opening night of SummerJam, which was dedicated almost exclusively to European Reggae acts. Headlined by blockbuster Gentleman, the foreign performer was accompanied by a slew of other German acts including the Jamaica-Trinidad connected Cornadoor, as well as Nikitaman and others. Of the four big named artistes on the show, only two were Jamaicans, Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley and Toots and the Maytals. American, Hip-Hop star Nas was the other headline entertainer.

However, the absence of Jamaican celebrity artistes did not completely escape the audience’s notice. One Gambian complained that, for a twenty-fifth anniversary staging there was no Beenie Man, no Vybz Kartl or even Taurus Riley.

But that could easily be explained. Jamaican artistes are blocked from working in certain international markets due to their ‘homophobic lyrics’. At least eight Jamaican albums have been banned from German airwaves, having been placed on a list of music considered dangerous to children. They cannot earn from the music whether in recorded or video formats.

Unprofessional Jamaican Artistes

Speaking at the Reggae Conference in Kingston in February, German Reggae promoter Klaus Mack, head of Contour Music and organizers of SummerJam noted that Jamaican artistes may no longer be needed in Europe. According to Mack, their ‘unprofessionalism’ and super large egos are costing European promoters monies some are not willing to invest (anymore).

Mack’s insensitivity aside, his comments were spot in gauging the mood in Europe, currently. German Reggae and Dancehall artistes are coming of age and Jamaica is rapidly being routed from the picture.

In the estimation of the Gambian vendor, European Reggae events like SummerJam are a rip-off. He should know.

Gambia recently awarded deejay Sizzla a Diplomatic Passport and routinely conducts Dancehall Queen Competitions as well as Passa-Passa street parties. There is a great deal of supporters for Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall in the African country. Summer Jam, according to the Gambian vendor, has become ‘too commercial’. He feels that the promoters presented a less than spectacular show.

Commenting on the cost of the three day pass, the foreigner who has lived in Germany for approximately eighteen years pointed out that the promoters stood to gain a lot from the one hundred Euro fees. Given the nearly forty thousand or so patrons at the event, many of whom live in tented residences on the festival grounds, as a means of cutting costs, the economic reality may become more apparent.

But the jury is still out on the weakness of the German Reggae and Dancehall industries. Some European Reggae insiders believe Reggae music (in Germany) has come of age. According to Pete Lilly of the German Reggae magazine Riddim, there is even an indigenous Dancehall industry in that part of the world. He notes that that process is now actively underway.

European Dancehall

The Chief Editor of the German language magazine says that, while some singers have mimicked Kingston’s hardcore themes of guns and ghetto youths, more and more German Dancehall artistes are focusing on things unique to their experience. According to Lilly, they are even engaging in clashes and sound system competitions, as well.

European Pride/ Sound Clash

Lilly’s statement reflects pride, an emotion also noted in the attitudes of others on the inside of Europe’s ‘niche’ music scene, as they call it. They are proud they are able to rival the Jamaicans at their own game. In fact, sound systems like Sentinel and Pow Pow have also won clashes with their Jamaican counterparts and were even doing dub-plates.

And there is some truth to the remarks. The play out on the unofficial ‘Dancehall Night’ seemed more like a Jamaican ‘Passa-Passa’ styled set. The Selector played a slew of current hits in the Dancehall, as well as Reggae and even Soca.

However, there was none of the fashion and preening associated with Jamaican street dances. The patrons were mostly dressed in cargo shorts and not much else. The strong smell of perspiration clearly indicated that not all elements of ‘being Jamaican’ has yet been mastered by teh Germans.

Still, the cause for worry is real. Jamaican music is in urgent need of an image make over. That reality cannot continue be brushed aside by industry insiders as an ‘uptown/ academic fixation’. Self criticism and an active move to clean up the music and professionalise the standards must become one of the hallmarks.

Artistes need to educate themselves about the world and learn how to conduct interviews with foreign press without seeming defensive. They need to recognise that an advertisement of their personal beliefs and in such a very public way, as conducted in Dancehall, will continue to result in them being sidelined, internationally.

More work has to be done with the artistes and state agencies like the Culture Ministry as a means of closing the gaps in this process. We have to actively work at changing Jamaica’s image in a very comprehensive way. Otherwise, all three brands – Dancehall, Reggae and even Jamaica will all become foreign owned and controlled.

A Woodside resident tends the fire in preparation of the 'coarse cuisine' delicacy - 'Roas' Plantain', which would later be eaten with roasted Salt Fish.

Posing beside the goddess: members of ‘Writers’ Routes’ admire ‘One Bubby Susan’, an Amerindian goddes said to be worshipped by the early Arawak settlers in Jamaica.

- Erna Brodber (left) chats with Carolyn Allen (centre) and blogger Annie Paul (right)

The near two hour ride into rural St. Mary had finally deposited us at our destination. We were in Woodside, home to celebrated Jamaican author, academic, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ‘Black Space Limited’, Dr. Erna Brodber.

The familiar sights came back to me, slowly at first as my sensibilities adjusted, then with a rush. Not much had changed since my last visit over a decade ago. There, perched on the gently sloping hill was the one room structure which doubled as church and community centre.

Even the few birds above who had turned out to see who the visitors were, this time, seemed familiar. The lush green of the undulating hillside stood in stark defiance to the baking heat surrounding us. Woodside was preserved in time environmental factors notwithstanding.

I was happy to disembark from the cool air-conditioned coaster bus, which stood throttling as the weary but excited passengers peeked out into the sleepy, rural Jamaican countryside town. I had previously been part of another group from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus which had also journeyed to Woodside.

Then, it was mostly students registered in the ‘African Diasporic Women’s Writings’ course (E21G), taught by Professor Carolyn Cooper. She was also the chief organiser of that trip. I smiled as I recalled that I had got an ‘A’ for my efforts in that class. But I digress…

Naively, we had all thought of ourselves as budding intellectuals and academics, at the time, largely on account of having read through the very complex, though very entertaining narrative of ‘Jane and Louisa’. Named after the Jamaican Ring Game (nursery rhyme) of the same name, we had managed to convince ourselves that we were the heir-apparents to literary greatness, as a result of that small feat. Or so we considered it at the time.

The deceptive simplicity of the ‘Jane and Louisa’ story mirrored much of the manner of the woman who now stood at the door of the community centre, broom in hand, tufts of wooly white hair exposed. Erna Brodber had come to greet this new cohort of visitors to her hillside haven.

Brodber is perhaps better known for her concept of’re-engineering black space’. Premised on the notion that ‘African-ness’ is crucial to constructing black identities across the length and breadth of the African Diaspora, her point-of-view seeks to interrogate multiple historical sources. These are vital to her telling the Jamaican story, appropriately.

Uncluttered with the limitations of ‘authenticity’, Brodber’s worldview incorporates various untraditional sources. Her pioneering interviews with the fabled, if not much feared ‘obeah men’ of Jamaican legends form part of her investigative repertoire, which is also reflected in her deliberately complex stories like Louisiana and to a lesser extent Myal and others.

The links between the Caribbean and mainland North America explore the interconnectedness of the themes of ancestry and notions of spirit messengers in Brodber’s novels. These are crucial to how she strategically deploys concepts of history, time and place. Her cast of largely female heroes is routinely offered crucial advice in the present based on familial lessons of the past. From psychic disintegration to reconstituted wholeness, the tales emanating from the Woodside based author are a constant source of wonder, intrigue and history.

Woodside had grown in importance, as a heritage tourism site, since my first visit. This rural hillside community, nestled in the mountains above Highgate had played host to several local and international groups, even receiving commendations coming as far away as the United Nations (UN) for their work in community tourism. Things were undoubtedly happening in this neck of the Jamaican woods.

Like before, though, meeting and talking with the popular author was one of the main highlights of our trip today. There was also the likelihood of the food. As I recalled Woodside cuisine came with its own personality. From the sumptuous Rice and Peas and succulent ‘Brown Stew Chicken’, to the potato pone, which the women had jokingly referred to as ‘puddn’, swallowing the ‘i’ and ‘g’ at the end of the word, I was eagerly anticipating lunch from ‘Miss Meeva’.

This time, the menu was Fried Chicken and a Veggie Stew. Earlier, somebody had commented that lunch was one of the highlights of the trip. I found myself agreeing. As if reading my mind, the heavens silently observed the activities below, an overcast pall washing over its face. Puffy grey clouds kept still, the threat of rain suspended in the intrepid heat. Nothing moved.

Dr. Brodber greeted us with her usual inimitable charm. She seemed fairly regular, even ordinary, far from the image of the celebrated, academic about whom much had been written in various theses, essay questions and commendations. In fact, had I not met her previously, I could have mistaken Erna for one of the regular community folk among whom she lived and work. That was part of the Brodber appeal.

Today’s group of writers had come to Woodside eager to learn the stories of ‘One Bubby Susan’, a carving of a woman with one breast, guarding a limestone cave – the entrance to which had long since sealed by time, at the bottom of a wooded hill. She was said to be worshipped by the early Arawak settlers in Jamaica and was the subject of much folklore and legend. At the community centre, I was just in time to overhear our hostess narrating one of the stories to a group of her students. It involved a woman who had the power to fly – ‘in the spirit!’, as the author was clear in emphasising.

According to Dr. Brodber, the woman and a male apprentice had come to Woodside at some point in the past, though no specification was given as to when, at least based on my recollection. Perhaps out of curiosity, the man had gone off to explore the limestone cave and stone altar which on my earlier trip I had been told was carved naturally by the elements.

No sooner had the young ‘spiritual’ man left did the woman leap into action, claiming to have heard a loud scream for help. Alarmed, the woman – a Yoruban priestess – if memory served me correctly, flew to the man’s assistance. Apparently, stronger than the man in the art of spiritual warfare she successfully staved off the threat of the angry spirit housed at the stone altar just below.

The true extent of ‘Susan’s powers were easily missed by the silly antics of the tourists who had come to see her. Today, we/ they, irreverently, posed for pictures running our/ their hands over the cold, lifeless breast of the sightless deity. Her eyelids had been sealed shut by the passage of time and the elements.

`Sphinx-like, the unseeing stone goddess wordlessly guarded the entrance to the now impassable cave, once a shrine for native worshippers. Hardened mammary exposed, Susan was, indeed, a powerful contrast in the study of the sacred and the profane. The ‘strong spirit’ housed there, thankfully, was nowhere in sight today, at least as far as we were aware.

‘Daddy Rock’, was another of Woodside’s attractions. A rock monument, gouged into the foot of another hill, there were in-laid stones put there by families in the community as a way of tracing their genealogy. Head of ‘Off-the-Pages Productions’ and event organiser, Carolyn Allen doubled as our tour guide. She explained that each year there was an Emancipation celebration held at ‘Daddy Rock’.

According to the UWI Lecturer and former Staff Tutor at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA), the occasion was one for much speechifying and ritual. She urged us to come back for that event, reminding that the bicentenary of the ending of the sale of Africans as slaves in the Trans-Atlantic Trade in humans (from Africa) in 2007 was a big deal in Woodside.

Carolyn spoke of the ‘Breaking of the Waters’ production, a dramatic piece done in honour of African souls lost at sea, during the inhumane trade and enslavement of the peoples from the ‘Mother Land’. Behind us, men in rolled up pants, stained with mud and sinewy arms tended a fire, a bunch of green plantains laid out beside them. We were eager to see what was going to happen with the plantains and the fire.

Then, someone sang out ‘roasted plantains’ to which I jokingly respond, ‘I am only aware of roasted yam and salt-fish.’ We became totally entranced with the activities of the men tending the roasted plantains, ignoring almost much of Carolyn’s remarks. However, we hear enough to know ‘Daddy Rock’ is an important historical site in Woodside.

After all, one of the in-laid stones on the rock face shows that some of the residents had settled in the community as early as 1835. This coincided with Dr. Brodber’s own remarks earlier, that Woodside was also connected with Trench Town in Kingston, via some historical factors which completely escapes us now because of the possibility of indulging our fantasies of Jamaican ‘coarse cuisine’. The term is largely used in reference to the presumably unsophisticated food of Africans who were enslaved during slavery and colonialism.

‘Are you aware that they also eat ‘roast corn’ with coconuts?’ I asked my companion. She shakes her head in the negative: ‘never heard of it!’ Her response was curious to me, however, given that she had lived in the country for much longer than I could have legitimately laid claims to. Still, I regaled her with my limited knowledge of Jamaican ‘country life’, which admittedly I had only picked up from hanging out with my colleagues at work, some of whom had grown up in the country. To burnish my credentials I had sought out and sampled ‘coarse cuisine’ delights at every opportunity such as agriculture fairs and rest stops like ‘Faith’s Pen’, in St. Ann.

Today was a pleasant reprieve from an otherwise mundane Saturday. It marked my active return to considering writing as a legitimate option, if even in a part-time capacity. Only earlier this year, I had committed to updating my blog (rawpoliticsjamaicastyle.wordpress.com), more regularly. I was very keen on the prospects of hearing the group read their works, the main idea around which the Writers’ Routes workshop was being held.
The trip to St. Mary was also a re-acquaintance of sorts with some friends from whom I had become recently estranged – not through any personal difficulties between us. Rather, because I had become so preoccupied recently, I had overlooked to keep in regular contact.

The shock of the surrounding heat was palpable. Some began visibly adjusting to the change in temperatures, with comments on the humidity. ‘There will be rain!’ one woman piped up, almost as if in response to our collectively unvoiced question. The camaraderie established on the bus ride had spilled over into our later interactions that day. Like water on flattened river stones; it seeped lazily into our pores, all the time marshaled by the aggressive heat. This group of neophyte writers, including some more established professional performance artistes and bloggers, seemed at ease with each other, at least for now. They were comfortable in each other’s presence.

‘For those who want to use the bathroom, it is down the road and around the corner, at ‘Black Space’, Dr. Brodber had instructed earlier, shifting into her role as host. The group of mostly women hastened at the invitation, eager to relieve themselves of any excess baggage taken with them from Kingston. After a moment’s pause, I realised that I too needed a bathroom break and ran off in the distance to join the small group, who had already made their way down the road and around the corner.
I was slightly worried, though. My entry for the reading later was not a story. It was a blog (http://rawpoliticsjamaicastyle.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/from-the-dancehall-diaries-no-duddus-no-passa-)passa/). One about the recent State of Emergency and the likelihood of a discontinuation of the international Jamaican street dance ‘Passa-Passa’; that is, in light of the fact that Tivoli Gardens’ strong-man-turned-fugitive, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke was now on the run.

More than this, the blog had been recently published, then, without my permission on two websites: dancehallusa.com and later on ‘On the Ground News Report (OGNR)’ on Face book. Flattering though the compliment was, I was uneasy about the mass circulation of the entry without due acknowledgement, though I was also conflicted about being recognised as the commentator on such a tricky subject. After all, I had recently had an unpleasant online exprience with a former Facebook contact about my comments on issues pertaining to the Prime Minister’s earlier apology, arising from the controversial Manatt, Phelps and Phillips issue, itself, part of the real life, unfolding ‘Dudus’ saga around which my blog was based.

I was also keenly aware that there were those who may have missed the disclaimer at the top of the post in question that the entry was, largely, a reaction to the events of the West Kingston security offensive on Labour Day (May 24, 2010). They may have missed the aim of entry which was to catalogue the impact of the aftershock of this major upheaval in the community which housed ‘Passa-Passa’ and how also that may be implicated in the war for Tivoli fought by the state and the gangsters. The blog was, in effect, part of my field research on issues pertaining to politics and popular culture in Jamaica, currently.

Still, I was happy to read the post and even more excited to get direct feedback from the group, though I had to read it from my Blackberry. I had overlooked to print it before the trip. So, it was a pleasant surprise to hear it referred as an ‘essay’ and that I was encouraged to enter it into the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Festival of the Arts in June.

At the end of my reading, our hostess said: ‘all I have to ask is did you read it from that thing (the Blackberry phone)?’ My simple answer was, yes! She replied: ‘It sounds like a documentary. Then, Carolyn spoke up. She said that, ‘the format you are using is an essay. Lots of things can be said in an essay. In fact, there are just as many essays with lots of interesting themes and issues. Yours is an essay.’ I smiled, at the compliment.

I was pleasantly surprised at the reaction to my reading. It certainly was not a regular story and did not have dialogue, which I had learned years ago make for a story. While, I may not have been sure I agreed with that definition of a story, I was certain about one thing – I wanted to write. It was a means of releasing pent up emotions and I actually did enjoy it. It was even more interesting to hear the comments.

I chose to look into the Festival of the Arts option, as well as to send it to a reporter from the BBC, who I had learned on the ride back to Kingston had said that Jamaican reporters, apparently, missed an opportunity in their coverage of the Tivoli offensive. In between being encouraged to send the reporter the link to the page and an accompanying email[1], I was again reminded that I was using a documentary technique. I was pleased, as I had a real love for documentaries and for writing – two things I was really interested in pursuing more fulsomely. This was a wonderful half-way point.

 -30-

The security forces launched a massive offensive in one of Jamaica’s highly touted crime centres, Tivoli Gardens, four days ago. At the end, the body count in the West Kingston community registered seventy-three, including also some security personnel.

However, there is still no sign of the man they are seeking. The most notorious fugitive this side of the hemisphere, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke has managed to elude the security forces’ grasp.

Tivoli Gardens which is reeling from the aftershock, following the upsurge in violence and instability, is also home to the internationally renowned ‘Passa-Passa’ street party event. Housed in what former Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin referred to as ‘the Mother of all garrisons’, ‘Passa-Passa’ is rightly also the mother of all Jamaican streets parties. It too has been affected.

A garrison is a Jamaican reference to communities in which political parties establish strong men to mobilise votes through fear and intimidation and even death, in exchange for government and other kickbacks, when the party gets into power. Tivoli notoriously embodies these features.

On March 24th, this year, ‘Passa-Passa’ turned seven. The celebrations were marked by a bigger than normal extravaganza. Several Dancehall celebrities, including artistes and dancers participated in the late night event.

In retrospect, however, it could be argued that the widely regarded mysticism of the number seven may have suggested that some significant eruption was in the offing. On Wednesday, that unintended prophecy came to pass. Spanish Town Road and its environs were caught in the vicegrip of a looming crisis. The noise of the boisterous street party extravaganza had been extinguished; the thronging bodies stilled under the relentless fire of enemy forces.

There could have been any number of reasons, however, for the change in the atmosphere. Choose one. From the unrelenting assault of ‘Operation Take Back Tivoli’ lead against the community considered a hub for criminality, to the untenable conditions of those hold-up inside, as water and electricity were turned off to help smoke out the alleged crime lord; or even the stench of putrefying human flesh, as the resident crow ‘John’ circled above, savouring the options below.

Still, there is one greater reason – ‘Passa-Passa’s main patron and benefactor, Christopher ‘Duddus’ Coke is still at large. The strong-man-turned-fugitive has been on the run from unrelenting police and military fire, as the state declared war on criminal elements felt to be hiding inside Tivioli Gardens.

As a result, there was none of the usual bustle and excitement Wednesday; where the music generally pierces the night or the sea of dancing bodies and riotous colours defy the early dawn in their surreal transformation into unparalleled urban partying. Only the sounds of gun fire punctuated the dark, last night; the smell of death hanging heavily in the cool night air.

The drought appears to be lifting now. The much anticipated rains have started but only come intermittently; partially relieving the long endured heat which has hung over the capital like an unwanted veil. But even as the straggling clouds struggle to provide relief, the blood inside ‘the Garden’ has flowed freely, already soaking the parched earth below. The combination of rain, blood and death make for a morbid cocktail, not soon forgotten, even as the world watches with rapt attention.

Callers to local radio talk shows are not shy in their descriptions of what has transpired inside Tivoli; that is, in the absence of official media images and sound bytes. Journalists were barred from entering the war zone for three days. On ‘Day Four’, media personnel were given strict instructions by ground commandos of what to film and where to go. Left with little choice they had to rely on the reports given by the residents as their only ‘on-the-ground’ insights.

Conventional wisdom suggests, however, that onlooker accounts should be viewed with suspicion. After all, garrison communities are notoriously defiant in their responses to the perceived intrusion of the state. The media are considered a key part of that group. In fact, on the first day of the offensive, gangsters in the now dead zone made several threats against some journalists, in their efforts to penetrate the criminal fortress with their coverage.

The residents are the chief witnesses to the violence. While, they generally lack the sanitised vocabulary of the anglicised middle classes they conveniently make-up their own words like, ‘be-front’ and ‘dead-ing’ to epigraph their trauma. The latter underlining the conjugated continuous tense of a noun/ adjective dramatically converted to a verb for effect.

The speaker is animated now; her anger clearly showing. The wanton misuse of the English language is accentuated only by a violent choreography of arm movements while some of the other residents simultaneously perform ‘be-front’ the news cameras and recording equipment. They are re-enacting their panic and anger. In true, Jamaican inner-city style, sagging breasts fall out of skirts hurriedly hauled above distended bellies, as hairnets shift out of position, young children clutched in their mothers’ clenched fists. Everyone is seeking out their fifteen seconds of fame.

This is war. There are no pre-prepared media briefs, no eloquent spokespersons. Only grief, bloodshed and anger remain. And there is lots of that to go around. The impromptu performances help mediate the despair, offering meagre consolation to tired bodies and beaten spirits.

Now, the bawdy call of the deejay on electrifying sound systems disrupting the otherwise expected calm of the early morn has fallen silent. There is no prescription to nubile young women to ‘skin out’ because their ‘holes are good’. Or agile young men costumed in garish Dancehall paraphernalia, sweating profusely as they writhe in agonising pleasure to the latest dance tunes for awestruck audiences and the ubiquitous searchlight of the videographer, known in these parts as ‘the video man’.

Now, the once confident Tivoli Gardens’ residents are suddenly bashful. They hide their faces with pieces of cloth and old clothes from the glare of the media spotlight, as it harshly captures their darkest hours of death and starvation. They violently berate the security forces reserving their worst bile for the government, specifically their Member of Parliament (MP) and Prime Minister Bruce Golding. They have vowed never to vote again.

While that remains to be seen, however, the events of the last four days indicate a dramatic turn in events. It is all seriousness now. The music is gone and only the reverberation of gun fire and the spontaneous protest to register the collective disgust of the remaining few, the only orchestrated performances.

Stripped of the illusion of peace, Tivoli Gardens is now seen for what it really is, another impoverished and under-developed Jamaican inner-city enclave caught in the fight between the state and gun-toting thugs for ultimate control. The gangsters have wielded power for many years, calling themselves ‘dons’ and harnessing resources enough to repudiate the official advances of the state in restoring civility.

There is much here that the offensive has taught, even as the government battles the great public relations nightmare that must surely follow from this onslaught, internationally. The still resonant calls for the PM’s resignation are now hinged on why he came to make this decision after delaying for nine months and whether the bloodshed could have been avoided, altogether.

What happened to have caused a reversing of the hold-up in signing the extradition request by the United States Government? Is there any truth to the claims made by the US media organisation ABC that Mr. Golding is a ‘known criminal affiliate’ of Mr. Coke and that he was caught, along with other Jamaican government ministers in electronic communications with the reputed crime lord?

Notably, the Government has vehemently denied the accusation, threatening legal action if there is no retraction. All wait to see.

In the meantime the question of whether it is sufficient to just ‘bring back the love’ to the now decimated inner-city community seems more than appropriate though only an afterthought.  After all, ‘Passa-Passa’ absorbs the boundless energies of unemployed young men, as they dance their troubles away, under the watchful surveillance of the ‘President’s’ men. 

Tivoli operates under the well constructed narrative of being well organised. Everyone knows that breaking the rules of ‘order’ will have dire consequences. Indeed, any kind of action which threatens to sully the already tarnished image of this garrison community as disorganised attracts deadly penalties. Hence, ‘Passa-Passa’. It is the ultimate illusion of power, calm and relaxation.

Except today, the complaint is different. Bodies are allegedly being burned in the community, while others are said to be buried without dignity in mass graves. All semblances of order and civility are gone now. Jamaica has slipped in the international ratings. There is no civility, stability, modernity or democracy here now, as per the recent Tivoli offensive.

Perhaps some of the very dancers often decked out in their colourful scarves, form fitting jeans and braided hair, during earlier editions of ‘Passa-Passa’ now lay dead in the mass graves – faceless, nameless and without dignity. Their bodies unceremoniously disposed of in holes in the nearby May Pen Cemetery, itself reeking with the stench of death.

In all this, however, one thing is certain – the music has stopped. There is no ‘Passa-Passa’ and still no ‘Duddus’!

-30-

The comments were all peppered with questions of the hanging Balance of Payment agreement between Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also the United States Government’s request for the extradition of West Kingston ‘strong man’ Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. Included in that list also were other concerns about the Crime Plan unveiled by the Acting Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington and other related issues of known criminality, for which the police are also now implicated. So, how is it that the Prime Minister in his infinite wisdom could either find the time and or the energy to entertain the chief architects in the ongoing dispute between the Portmore or ‘Gaza Empire’ lead by Adija Palmer, also known as Kartel and or the ‘Teacha’ and the ‘Gully Squad’ ably lead by Mavado?

Please bear in mind that the Ministers of Information, Education and National Security will also be attending this meeting which will, presumably, be convened to discuss ‘confidential matters’, ostensibly aimed at ending the Gaza-Gully dispute in the Jamaican Dancehall. Now, beyond whether this issue is legitimate or whether there is a basis for convening such a meeting is not really the purpose of this post. Indeed, I am significantly less interested in the way that the Political Directorate has abdicated its responsibilities to a group of otherwise idle entertainers and more with whether there is a justifiable way in which Jamaicans should be outraged by this action.

In fact, not only am I interested in hearing whether the Administration could reasonably explain its position in the face of all else that impacts the country, but to also determine from this, whether the expectations of solutions to these problems are to be mobilised within the context today’s meeting. It is worth noting, as a consequence, that the meeting is being conducted with people whose values the PM has been on record as saying exemplify ‘what is wrong with Jamaica’.

Indeed, insofar as the Mr.Golding and his Cabinet feel vested in a meeting of this kind and with people, who previously were the brunt of very harsh criticism, both by himself and others reflects not only the changing importance of Dancehall to Jamaican society but also points squarely the failures within the governance structure that help to promote this state of affairs. As a result, there can be little in the way of denying that Jamaica is in a state of full blown crisis. Any belief otherwise, I would hazard, is a clear case of denial that will, ultimately, be our undoing.

JLP’s Annual Conference:

Indeed, only weeks ago Mr. Golding’s gave a forceful critique of the Dancehall artistes and their less than sensible conflict about who has ultimate bragging rights at his Party’s annual conference at the National Arena. Reading from which, it might be useful to argue that the conflict discursively reflects a construction of the ‘Gully-Gaza’ dispute which suggests a weakening within the structures of governance in Jamaica. If the agenda of a political party in its sixty-sixth anniversary of existence, in other words, is comprised of issues pertaining to entertainment – however questionable or even deadly, in the midst of a global economic crisis which now threatens to irrepparably undermine Jamaica’s economy and a crime rate that seems, at best uncontrollable, clearly indicates that we have headed over a cliff and our driver has jumped ship.

The wreckage that will ultimately become Jamaica, as per this analogy, points clearly to how political leaders have not only abdicated real power to non-state actors, especially in times of crisis, but also how that act is, itself, representative both of an inability to lead, as well as a refusal to learn. In that regard, the PM’s meeting while, on the face of it, useful in bringing national attention to the question of violence and criminality in Jamaica does not get to the core of the problems, whether of crime or that which plagues Dancehall.

Crime and violence are are not only overlapping and intertwined, but are also a systemic part of the relations of governance here. Politicians routinely resort to the use of violence whether in the form of provocative speech acts/ rhetoric, or what is widely rumoured, though rarely ever proved – of handing out guns and such like during turbulent and difficult periods of governance such as, inter alia, elections. To which end, the genuflection to Dancehall as a space in which non-state actors are allowed the freedom, if not the mobility to use state resources, both in terms of media attention, as well as the needed time and energy of important leaders of Government to discuss trivial concerns which do not get to the heart of the problems in Jamaica, is very telling.

Dancehall and Violence:

Indeed, this analysis is not to suggest that Dancehall is not directly implicated in questions about criminality in Jamaica or that Dancehall’s leaders, including the likes of Kartel and Mavado have not had their own responsibilities in championing such violence, including that manifested in the form of sex. On the contrary, rooted within the acts of regard in which political leaders who, on the one hand, demonise Dancehall deliberately or as a routine act of inconsideration about real issues for national discussion; and, on the other implicitly encouragie the overly inflated sense of importance of their champions, is a clear gesture to a problem of governance.

Both the state and those who are set up to run its have failed to articulate a meaningful vision in which much hope for a future can reside. This is not to suggest that the picture of nihilism suggested by this perspective is solely the responsibility of Dancehall and its supporters, producers and consumers. Rather, it is to argue that not only is the Dancehall being utilised as a strategy to deflect attention away from real issues but also that, by that very act of deflection the state, itself, reifies many of the intractable and, indeed, unacceptable values within which Dancehall is implicated.

Dancehall Values:

By not calling Dancehall artistes to book when they promote songs about taking the virginities of young women/ girls, as well as to suggest that the level of discourse on Dancehall needs to be raised to acceptable standards flies in the face of civility and respect. It questions the integrity of political processes which claim to champion productivity and, with that value intelligence and wholesomeness.

In effect, the Dancehall needs to be cleaned up but not by way of a closed door meeting with significant members of the Cabinet, supposedly in an effort to end the much touted, though disputable turf war being fought in the name of ‘Gaza-Gully’ proponents. What would it take, therefore, for these erstwhile members of Government to learn that there is significantly more that hails Jamaica than is suggested by these acts of posturing which themselves do very little, if anything, to speak to some of the core failures of the structures of governance?

Noise Abatement Act and the Usain Bolt 9.58 Party:

In fact, I could not end this post without also commenting on how the issue of the Noise Abatement Act is currently being politicised in an effort to suggest that the police force is hard at work and that much is being achieved in the way of addressing questions of public and civil disturbances. Most notable among the instances which gesture to this problematic, of course, is the recent 9.58 Party hosted by Triple World Record Holder, Olympic and World Champion Usain Bolt in the interests of charity.

‘Lightning Bolt’s party was eventually shut down at 4:00 a.m. However, not before he was instructed two hours earlier that the proceedings had to come to an end, in keeping with the terms of the permit issued for the party and the requirements of the Noise Abatement Act. Indeed, it was also reported that the Irie Jamboree entertainment event, attended by no less a person than the Deputy Leader of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, which ended at 6:00 a.m. did not have the requisite permits.

Notably, both Mavado and Kartel performed at this event. However, if the reports are true that there were no permits given for the event and the activity was allowed to go on, four hours after the required time. Obviously this event did not abrogate the law, as per the Noise Abatement Act and its 2 o’clock cut off time. What explains this inequitable balance of (in)justice?

More than that, the fact the Police have since reminded party promoters that, come this festive season, there will be a zero tolerance approach to the issue of enforcing the Act, is itself telling. What is to be achieved through the curtailment of the enjoyments of an otherwise stressed out population, particularly with the impending dilemma of a shortage of funds all round, including also in Government?

Indeed, while it is obviously important that the law abiding members of the citizenry like me, who also contribute to the tax net, presumably, through the act of gainful employment sleep before heading off to work the next day, it does raise the question of how best to meet at a crossroads. This is especially now that the economy is as bad as it is and the murder rate as high as it is and the people are as dissatisfied as they are.

Bob Marley and the 1978 ‘One Love Peace Concert’:

Is there no consideration in the esteemed halls of the Cabinet that these forms of entertainment, however contrary, are part of what keeps people hinged to some semblance of reality in an otherwise seriously dysfunctional society? Is it the case that these matters will be discussed in today’s meeting? And, if they are how will this reflect on the largely role reversal of the ‘One Love Peace Concert’ held at the National Stadium in 1978, when entertainer, Reggae icon, de facto National Hero and unheralded (Black Nationalist) prophet Bob Marley brought together the leaders of the two main political parties, at the time, Leader of the Opposition Edward George Seaga and Prime Minister Michael Washington Manley?

Note, the entertainer in the personage of Marley saw the obvious need for unity in a country reeling under the pressures of entrenched political violence, as reflected in the holding of hands between the two leaders and the symbolic act of the striking lightning in the background. Hence, the 180 degrees that we have come to since then, in terms of the Head of State farcically bringing entertainers to book and, in no less a place than behind the closed, if not largely inaccessible doors of Jamaica House resonates in contradictions.

Dancehall Research:

This is not so much to criticise the lack of foresight demonstrated by this act of political will. Rather, it is to determine whether the PM considers, carefully, how such demonstrations of high office are to be perceived in the wider Jamaican body politic? How much consideration, in other words, is given to the political implications of this short-sigted and short-term ‘fix’ to what is clearly a much more complex problem? This is compared to, for example, empowering researchers to conduct real analysis of the Dancehall and, therfore, report recommendations to meaningfully understand the complexities of the problems represented by and in this form of culture?

Scholarships:

Where are the scholarships and the Research Chairs to engage with these issues? Who is going to suggest that through a real promotion and enshrinement of appropriate values and attitudes in Jamaica that the values championed by Dancehall though reflective of many of the problems in the country, are still in need of being fixed? Until this has happened today’s meeting is a grand waste of time.

Indeed, until the Political Directorate gets it that, ceding its powers to otherwise irresponsible, non-state actors, albeit symbolically, further compounds the problem inherrent in what the meeting is supposedly aimed at fixing then we really have not achieved much. We are, obviously, in urgent need of an alternate route towards achieving the noble goals of governance exhorted by the two political parties in heat of the 2007 battle for national office. What now obtains is very far cry from those promises.

Whiter the rest of the nation in all this? Will we also be entertained at Jamaica House? And, if we are, will this fix the problems threatening to cripple our productivity? I wonder…!

Indeed, one of the obvious readings of the PM’s actions in terms of making the announcement, while the nation slept and the fact that it contradicted earlier pronouncements that Civil Servant could rest assured that their numbers would not be cut is that the country is in a deep hole. After all, the remarks were not only made at night, they prefigured, if not confirmed the deep sense of foreboding that now obtains in several areas on account of the impending return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and what it will mean in terms of curtailing financial and other freedoms, collectively.

Most critics have complained that there was not only a need for more details about Jamaica’s application but also that the agreement would definitely mean a cut in the Civil Service. Further, the inflation of the budget by as much as $6 billion dollars, following last week’s tabling of the Estimates of Expenditure in the House of Representatives, also means more stress for the regular consumer/ citizen. This is on the heels of a freeze in public sector wages as well as an increase in taxation in several areas, among them Departure Tax, telecommunication, fuel and energy.

The implications are, of course, obvious. More people will be out of work. Less people will have disposable income to spend on the basic necessitities and fewer still will be able to absorb and, therefore, effectively deal with the shocks caused from the fallouts in the system. That means, even darker days ahead for Jamaicans, particularly those accustomed to having a job and providing for their families. The realities are very stark, indeed.

However, the more aware I become of the harsh economic realities as they impact Jamaica, the more I wonder about the types of solutions which are to be used to address this problem. The Prime Minister, for instance, talks of the need for a ‘paradigm shift’. Yet nothing about the return to the IMF or the presentation at midnight, either suggests that there is a change of any real effect that such policies address, or that the policies themselves indicate change.

The current set of economic policies clearly highlight that politicians are still not characters that inspire a great deal of faith and that public policies, themselves, especially as they impact the lives of the ‘common man’ – whoever that is, are still quite onerous in their effects on peoples’ daily lives. The plight of the ‘working poor’ is that, we are doomed to remain that way under the current policies of Government.

This is not to say that some are not able, through frugal management of their finances – however meagre, to eke out some levels of existence beyond mere survival. Still, the implications for ‘regular folk’ is that living from pay cheque to pay cheque is now very much the norm.

In addition to which, the experiences of this kind of poverty also suggests that there is hardly much in the way of hope that can be had by those who must contend with the daily struggles to make ends meet; that is, in terms of seeking real relief from their especially grim realities. The life of the ‘working poor’, pretty much remains the same from the cradle to the grave in Jamaica.

Education the Only Solution!

Which raises the question of education, where there has been reports of several activities; among them, the private schools demand for public funds to sustain their survival. Most recently too, Government announced an impending cut in the fees used to pay which it pays for students for the Caribbean School Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) subjects, at the end of their five years in secondary school.

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness just last week advised that this is the last year that the fees would be paid as the programme is currently being reviewed to determine the most effective means of addressing the fallouts. Students who do not show up for the exam, after having recieved the benefit of having four of their subjects paid for from the public purse, as well as those who do not do well in the exams can expect little support in ensuing years, as a result. 

While, obviously a smart move in terms of reducing the stress on Government’s budget in terms of the returns on the public investment in education; what is not immediately clear is whether there is a recognition that Government will need to reallocate funds to the system in a very targetted and thoughtful way so as to reap the maximum benefits. Government will have to consider investing heavily in providing schools – public as well as private, with the resources to properly educate Jamaica’s children.

Not only should there be an improvement in the quality of students who can recieve the benefit of having their subjects paid for from the public purse; Government should also beef up meal and book programmes with the right resources. Children need a steady diet of the right nurtition for their systems and their minds in order to produce the maximum outputs at the end of their five or seven year stints in the secondary system.

Student/ Teacher Ratio

There is need to reduce the student teacher ratio to levels which will place Jamaica on par with those of our neighbours who do well in the Region, as well as to attain international standards in this regard. We need also to increase classroom spaces; library and computer as well as recreational and sporting facilities. The needs of all children should be addressed as much and as far as is possible within in the limits of the public budget, as well as Government’s own capacities to provide for the total development of its people.

After all, we need to diversify skill sets and, therefore, adequately prepare our youngsters for the rigours of life in the real world when they come of age and will be called on to participate more meaningfully in charting the nation’s future. Additionally, extending the learning hours and revamping the curriculum to include values and attitudes programmes which instill esteem in self and civic pride, are critical.

Practical National Ideology: Education and Development

The goals of national ideology and a keen sense of history are not merely academic interests without any real value in peoples general lives. Far from it! The Jamaican education system needs to become first rate. It should equip the nation’s future with the sense of imagination, occassion and ability to rise to the highest levels possible, whether at home or abroad. This is neither empty or even meaningless rhetoric either.

On the contrary, the need to strongly support education will mean that we may well be educating the whiz finance and labour ministers to help pull us out of the doldrums, currently, and, therefore, achieve and maintain the ambitions of Developed Country status even before 2030. It also means that, problems related to discipline and civic pride as well as an apparent lack of a developed risk taking culture occassioned by the spirit of entrepeneurship might be overcome in the former and deepened and further enhanced in the latter case, in short order.

National development is not just a matter for politicians to be concerned with – whether at nights, or throughout their lives as public servants to the state; rarely ever touching the experiences of the ‘common folk’, with the exception of when their is trouble. Quite the opposite! National development spans the entire gamut of stakeholders, whether the big investor in hotels on Jamaica’s north coast; the mother of two racing through traffic to transport her charges to their various afterschool programmes; to the stuggling cricketer juggling training while holding down a ‘nine-to-five’, to the man pushing his cart to earn a decent, if not difficult, living in Coronation Market. All are invested!

Greater efforts will and must be made to include each individual in the national conversation about the search for real solutions. Perhaps it is the case that, the mother fasting and praying that her son gets off the street and take to his books, or the deejay travelling to glitzy metropolitan centres also have ideas about how to push Jamaica forward. What can be done to harness their insights into transforming our collective vision of self and saving us from financial ruin?

National Anthem

Is it enough to just stand at attention at the cinema and other public functions when we hear the National Anthem and not also see how that act of genuflection registers an abiding committment to helping Jamaica to grow? We have to push education in a way that we have never done before and we will have to talk straight with the Jamaican people! It is just that simple!

More of us have ideas as to how to start businesses and improve on our situations. What is being done to enable these sectors in a real way? Is it enough to just say that we need a change or is it the case that we also need to articulate, very carefully, what that change is and how we will get there and when? Where are the timetables and the considerations for policy? How will we make that impact peoples’ lives positively and meaningfully?

Until we begin the conversation around these questions and not just talk but also act on them, there is little in the way of faith that midnight speeches inspire, or even criticisms from the other side. Opposition must have a moral fibre and integrity that are beyond question, even inasmuch as they remain political. Narrow partisanship will never save a people that had the courage and the audacity to survive five hundred years of oppression.

Creative; Honest Solutions Needed

On the contrary, our service to Jamaica requires creative, honest and inspired leadership that speaks not in parables and veiled statements but with respect, insight and commitment of purpose. This has to be one of those moments in history where we rise up to our greater selves. It has to become a watershed experience that benchmarks our severance with the past but also our embrace of the solution oriented possibilities of the future, defined by real earmarks and a consideration of all the stakeholders in ensuring appropriate governance.

Our work is, indeed, cut out for us! Let’s see how much of it we can get to before the next generation comes a-calling for their own stake in the process!

The historic events in Berlin heralded our dominance in the sport of Track and Field Athletics. This follows on the heels of Beijing, last year, where Jamaica announced its presence to the world as a Sprint World Power by bagging all the sprint events; in the process, setting three World Records and shutting out all other countries in the Women’s 100m Final from the medal podium.

But, there are still unsettling questions which must be answered meaningfully and for which the heads of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) and other sporting organisations in this country must urgently consider. What is the role of management in the development of sports in Jamaica, especially given where the JAAAs had the unsavoury distinction of being the management team that wrote to the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) – the world governing body, requesting that its own athletes be thrown out of the Games?

How does the JAAA’s rationalise leadership issues against those which recognise the need to market Jamaica as a stable and competent nation committed to the goals of excellence through hard and dedicated work? What too, is the actual role of the athletes in terms of this forward thrust into branding Jamaica as a positive place to do business, not only in the sense in which we are an athletic world power but also as a competent, organised and brilliant people capable of working hard, smartly and fairly?

These questions must be answered, not just because we are interested in putting management under pressure, but because implicit in their responses is an indication of where we wish to position Jamaica, in terms of sport as a tool for positive social, economic and political development. We are not just running on a track, we are also marketing a nation of people on a global stage. Good management is critical to this process.

Those who lead cannot just get into their positions, simply because there is a need to have people in suits at major sporting events on the taxpayer’s dime. Indeed, the very presence of the Minister of Sport at the Games clearly indicate the seriousness of the issues that are represented by Jamaica’s sporting traditions at the WCA level.

However, it remains to be seen whether the Minister herself contributed to smooting over any of the concerns inherrent in the problems which plagued Jamaica before as well as during and after the Champs. The move to throw out the MVP athletes from the meet and eventually not doing enough to respond to Veronica Campbell-Brown’s needs to be accomodated in terms of the configuration of the Women’s Sprint Relays were two of the lowlights of the Games.

Was Minister Grange’s role to ensure that issues like these were addressed before they escalated into the ‘passa passa’ that they eventually became? Indeed, the Minister in an interview with TVJ Sports on the final day of the Games said that, she spoke to the team and Campbell-Brown, in particular, about her feelings in relation to the Sprint Relay. What was not said by the Minister, however, is what the sum total of those discussions were and why they never resulted in Campbell-Brown showing up for the event.

In taking the matter further, particularly regarding the need for seriousness about Jamaica’s attitude towards sport development, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett claims that there were ‘front of house’ tourism initiatives which were being engaged in, by the Jamaican delegation who represented the nation in Berlin. However, Minister Bartlett also gave no explanations as to what actually were ‘front of house initiatives’ and how Jamaica stood to gain in a real way from seeing important ministers of Government cheering incessantly on television, alongside other mesmerised Jamaican and international spectators.

Indeed, the Minister’s response to the charges from the Opposition Peoples’ National Party (PNP) that, too many people formed part of the Jamaican delegation and that the costs were clearly prohibitive, in terms of Jamaica’s impending reopening of a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), indicated no clear understanding of what Sport Development is. This is especially considering that the Opposition’s questions about the actual value which Jamaica recieved from sending as important a political delegation as that seen on TV, to Berlin, were very solid. Minister Bartlett’s challenging of the claim that fifty people made up the Jamaican delegation does not, after all, address the real issues in the those questions.

Certainly, there are more important assignments that Jamaica’s Tourism and Sport portfolios have to carry, other than ‘front of house’ marketing (in Berlin). Hence, given that there was Government representation at the highest levels at the WCA, the question of the real gains from the event are, indeed, warranted. How did we benefit economically from these activities? Will the heads of Sports and Tourism, indeed, the Jamaican Government, tell us what are the plans for visioning the role of Sport Tourism as an effective and powerful brand for which Jamaica is to become known?

What too, is the role of the young people in this initiative? Will they be trained not just to run but to also speak and represent Jamaica as true ambassadors? Where are the scholarship programmes for training people to become effective sport managers and marketers so that they can participate effectively in this very important sector?

Unless these questions are meaningfully answered, in the aftermath of Berlin and following on the opening credits of Beijing, then there is a very big hole in Jamaica’s future whether as a Sprint, Track or Sporting World Power. This is especially in a context where Sport Tourism is a clear economic opportunity for Jamaica, particularly when one sees just how full the stadium was in Berlin and all the media that were present at the event. Obviously, the spin-offs from this kind of promotion are untold.

The Tourism Minister is obligated, therefore, to state the details of the plan as to what ‘front of house’ initiatives were undertaken in Germany and how Jamaica stands to gain from such efforts. This might give a more appropriate indication of how we will promote ‘Brand Jamaica’ in future, using these World Championships as the launch pad.

Everybody gets it. This is Passa-Passa. Take it or leave it, the rules do not really apply here. The laughter masks our wordless comment on his brazen disregard for the rule of law. After all, the police station is only a few chains away. He moves on; lazily, looking for more customers in the now crammed streetside venue. I am awed by his daring!

And that is not the only thing! The dancers are all out now in their wonderful array of ‘Dancheall fashion’. Their high energy and choreographed movements, including what I have now accepted as the ‘outrageous Daggerin’ dance, are all on display. The audience is mesmerised.

Stunt men from Germany and Jamaica are also riding by, giving us a taste of the melange that is Passa-Passa. They are promoting a stunt riding competition between Jamaica and German bikers, in a few day. Like the Red Bull truck – obviously one of Passa Passa’s benefactors, they and Red Stripe are helping to ensure the success of the event.

Something is definitely happening ‘Down Town’. The patrons are fired up and they know the ‘vibez’ will bubble till ah mawnin’! Oh, that is right, it is already dawn. The streaks of red flame across the grey coloured dome above us. Night is not yet ready to yield to the ways of daylight. Like the dancers below, she is far more interested in milking the curious energy of the throngs assembled beneath her on Spanish Town Road, the folds of fabric of her gown rapidly disappearing in the coming dawn.

Morning would be here soon and with it, his brother the Sun! But, still and even more curiously, the dancers remain steadfast in their vigil, dancing their troubles away, almost as if ode to the Night.

We had been here almost two and half hours now, having been the first to arrive at 2:30 a.m. Then, the residents all looked at us – one man and five women; three white, one Indian (from the Caribbean) and the other, well, she could almost pass for Jamaican. Her black skin fitted in perfectly with the black shiny pant suit she is wearing. No one can bother themselves with the ‘strangeness’ of her accent, or even that she is British! For now, she and the night are one and we are all caught up in the incredible energy of the Passa Passa moment.

Even the near unbearable heat of the shop across the road, in which we seek refuge, upon disembarking from the taxi cab, seems cool in this ‘out there’ universe. Women dressed in their everyday clothes lounge about expectantly behind the walls enclosing the street behind us. They, like the man smoking marijuana from the bong beside us are all regulars. All have come out to witness another chapter in the soon to be unfurled excitement.

Like everybody else in a ten mile radius, we can hear the ‘Selector’ warming up on the mic. He instructs the Red Bull truck and the two pretty girls who accompany it in their small car with the Red Bull sign plastered over it, where to park: “Not out in di way!” he says! “We ah regular inna dis! We know how Passa Passa go! Yuh cyaan park deh so!”

The drivers heed the warning, even while more patrons continue to trickle into the venue. It is now three twenty in the morning and we are seated across the road, near the wall with the women in their everyday clothes. They are partially hidden from view but we can still hear the excitement simering in their muted voices. Bottles align the wall in front of them. They have been building their own vibe all night.

Then, the men to their left see us! “Brederin! Gimme one ah dem nuh!” one of them says, gesturing to the five women. The petite Indian girl is already buying liquor and drinking in the flavours and excitement of Passa Passa. She is a foreigner. She does not understand him. I explain that, “he apparently wants one of your!” They all smile.

The dark skinned girl, enveloped by the folds of night, responds in mock amazement: “wants one of us?! Wow!” I smile, too! I know that this is but a taste of the energy to come. My friend from Australia, who even seems paler under the fluorescent street lamp, smiles broadly. She shows him her ring finger: “I have a ring!” she says in almost nasal Australian twang.

The Indian girl, hair flowing down her back, midriff exposed, is smoking and drinking now. She too points to her ring finger for the man to see her wedding band. As if, on cue and not wanting to be outdone, the man shouts back and holds up his finger for all of us to see: “Me ave a ring to!” he says in bawdy excitement.

The dark skinned girl, with the British accent, suddenly suggests that we should move to the front, nearer where the dancers have converged. She says she is not afraid, just not completely interested in going further with the discussion about ring fingers and gifts of adult, albeit foreign women. We comply with her wishes.

In the streets, more of our colleagues can be seen now. They are coming from ‘Fiction’, the newest and suppousedly very ‘Uptown’ club, on the other side of town – literally, it is more than twenty minutes away. They are all chilling out from the conference earlier in the day.

One girl, with reddish brown dreadlocks looks at me and says, more like shouts: “Your paper today was very good!…Now, I see what you were talking about!” I nodded back in acknowledgement, momentarily curious about what may have seen at Passa Passa that relates to what I talked about earlier. I push the question out of my mind, though transfixed by the sea of colourful costumes and the unbridled ebullience unfolding before me.

Even the Japanese men who were sitting beside us dressed in the most thugged out of urban wear, with dolled up Jamaican women beside them are nearer the dancers now. We all know that something big is about to happen!

The Indian girl, says to me: “People from all over are here!” There is another group of white patrons and one man who sounds like he is from somewhere in Africa, beside us! I nod in agreement. This time more certain I know what was said to me.

I am the unacknowledged tour guide. The only Jamaican academic in the crowd, at least from what we can tell! My paper earlier, briefly touched on issues like this. It focussed more on how political issues of subjectivity are in popular culture, specifically Dancehall. I am now the resident expert!

Passa Passa marked the completion of a long, hard day of much thinking and presentation of academic papers, arising out of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) Conference in Kingston, from June 1-5, held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel. This was actual field work. Or, so we tell ourselves.

At any rate, it is a wonderful time to catch up with old friends and make new ones; hang out and take in the scene. Passa Passa lives up to expectation. Even the young boys dancing with the university professor and Dean of Graduate Affairs, who also taught me in undergrad, incidentally, is part of the moment. We all smile!

The Trinidadian television presenter with the long flowing red hair, to whom I was introduced by the Dean, is ‘irie’ now. She has had a few liquors and her partners are all looking on in rapt attention to the girls grabbing their crotch and acknowledging the Selector’s explicit remarks for their show of support; that is, if they are ‘good in bed’!

The TV presenter is shouting questions in my ears about, but only because it is so loud. She remarks also that she would like to do a project about the love of the Road! Whether Carnival in Trinidad, or Brazil, or even demonstrations in Italy, people all seem invested in the Road. She says we should work together and writes her email on a piece of paper. I place it in my pocket.

But, not nearly as carefully, unfortunately. We are pumped. This is all adrenaline now, though! Some of us have been up for close to twenty four hours, starting with early morning presentations the day before.

The TV Presenter says that, “next time I am here (Passa Passa), I want to see you out there dancing with them!” She points a red lacquered finger to the dancers, looking meaningfully at me. I smile and gently rebuff the invitation. After alll, I am an observer I remind myself.

I am sweating profusely now from practising the array of popular dance moves. However, only those which seem easy enough to pick up on spot. The others are a little more complex and require will more practise. I am not so sure I will be afforded that time.

I laugh raucously, at the invitation, a combination of disbelief at the suggestion, as well as a slight sense of nervousness from all the video cameras snaking their way through the crowds. I still work…outside of the academy. The feelings there are not always as liberal about events like these.

I do not wish to be seen on camera. So, I place my hand over my face. The camera man is not daunted. He shifts focus and turns his attention on the pretty TV Presenter, parts of her body are also exposed, though perhaps not as much as the girls grabbing their crotches beside us. They are swept up in the excitement and brashly performing for the video recording crew with panache and style.

Some of the other girls in the street, with their backs to the all purpose shop in which we bought our drinks earlier, increase the tempo of their gyrations. They must be seen too! Between that and the Selector’s continuing encouragement for even more explicit behaviou from themr; his acknowledgement of the ‘graduate students from UWI’ and the air conditioned coaster bus with market people ensconced inside; their produce piled high for all to see, Passa Passa has lived up to its billing. It is a show stopper!

The shop with the combination of weed, cold drinks and general purpose oils for achieving wealth, keeping a lover or bannishing unfriendly spirits; however, is a bonus. It is both haven and a study in contradictions – an ideal space for our anthropologising exploits.

We did not anticipate too, the unmatcehd cammaraderie of the resident. Though, I always knew it, I was still shocked. Spanish Town Road was an odd combination of urban malaise, youthful energy and rustic Jamaican charm. Looking at the energetic dancing, I was reminded of religious Jamaican folk rituals in which people ‘get inna spirit’ at night.

Even the women in their everyday clothes proved an invaluable part of the experience. They encouraged us to park behind the wall where they stood, the next time we are there. Everyone, including the old man and two women who were dancing in front the shop were in the moment, as if conspiring to show us another side of ‘ghetto life’ in Jamaica.

The mad man – we can tell from his attire that too many pieces of mismatched clothing just did not fit into the glamour and excitement of the other dancers, was off in his own world. But, his place was assured. He danced uninterrupted by the crews of young male dancers in their scarves, overall jackets, even windbreakers and multi-coloured shoes.

The cars were coming quicker now. Their insistent horns, indicating that Night had ultimately lost her grip in the battle for daylight. Her brother Morning was singnalling to his companion Sun that he was about to call off the party. From over the horizon, Sun shot out his first rays across the sky, every minute reminding that it was time to go.

We hugged everybody – at least those from the conference and went in search of our ride. The cab driver smiled upon seeing us: “Mi did ah wonder if onnu did ah go stay!” His smile betraying the seeming seriousness of his remarks.

“It did hype!” I say, emphasisng the last word, embodying the excitement! My voice hoarse from the constant shouting, the night air and the high voltage performances. I was tired. My feet leaden from the all night standing only just make it to my seat. The five women chimed in: “it was fun!”

“Wow! What an amazing party!”

“This was definitely better than Fiction!”

“A____________, we must do this again!” the Indian girl says to me, her eyes sparkling. She meant, when next she is in Jamaica.

I am happy. I have managed to entertain my friends/ colleagues, even while enjoying the experience myself. I will have to enter this as part of my field notes, I remind myself. The cab pulls away. Spanish Town Road and the energetic sounds of Passa Passa drifitng away with each second.

Still, the memory is so real it is hard to see how we would soon forget this. My friends’ excited chatter reliving every moment!