By Aaliyah Cunningham
Observer writer—
Patrons light up the sky at Fully Loaded
Dr Andre Haughton, Opposition senator, intends to move a motion which seeks to allow the use of Jamaican expletives in dancehalls.
Haughton said he was influenced to do this after police warned Japanese sound system Mighty Crown not to use profanity during the Fully Loaded show on August 2.
“This motion is important because this is our culture,” he told Jamaica Observer’s Splash. “Too many aspects of our culture have been unnecessarily vilified. These little things, these words contribute to the uniqueness of the Jamaican culture and is what sets us apart from countries across the world.”
Haughton believes the dancehall space should be a place where artistes can express themselves and those who attend should be aware of what to expect.
“When I say the dancehall space, I mean anywhere, wherever you can go get a permit and keep a party. We want to make it like how you have X-rated movies, that way people already know what dem a sign up for,” he said.
According to Haughton, there are few people in Jamaica who are affected by the use of these ‘bad words’. Furthermore, he says, overseas these words are considered comical.
Veteran artiste Bounty Killer has chimed in on the argument through his Instagram account. Yesterday, he posted two photos — one of the flyer for Bom**cl** Festival to be held at Zeebrugge Beach in Belgium; the other showing Bom**cl** Pico Brew.
He captioned the photographs “Idiot dunce head, bad-minded police and governments of Jamaica unuh look pon that bl**dcl**th di B**B*CL**T FESTIVAL the word B**bocl**th bigger than di government and di force and what’s the true meaning of b**b*l**th though who defines that since it’s not in the dictionary???
“Another B**bocl**th product unuh stay deh fight and hold down unuh own b**bo***th is loved and embraced all over the world more than in Jamaica,” he wrote.
In July, Reggae Sumfest’s Dancehall Night was halted by police due to profanity during the performance of deejay Javillani. In the past, hip hop artiste Nicki Minaj was fined at that show for using b**c**t on stage during her performance.
Haughton says he and a team intend to go through the Town and Communities Act to decide the next move to get things in motion. He urges Jamaicans to embrace what is their profitable culture.
“Jamaican people need to start focusing on substance over form. A lot of things here are just form with no real substance. People across the world a have how much festival and products with our culture an’ a profit off it while we vilify these harmless words,” he said.
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