By Stephanie Lyew – STAR Writer—
Luciano—
Veteran recording artiste Luciano has criticized the quality of music coming out of Jamaica, and is crying out for a statute to govern the songs that are released to the public.
“Me, The Messenjah, is crying out to the Government, or future government, for a sort of morality check for the music. The people who have the power to, need to come up with a legislation for the music or have a committee that tests the music, like a Bureau of Standards that checks products before they can be sold in Jamaica,” Luciano told THE STAR.
“The problem is not the genre of music, but the message that has been made okay to play in the public. It’s not playing in private homes, but in public transportation.”
Jamaican laws prohibit artistes from using expletives during live performances, and persons have also been arrested and fined for using ‘bad words’ in public spaces. But Luciano is more focused on the messages that glorify everything criminal, and even aggressive sexual acts.
“The message going out incites crime and violence and is more like pornography. This is not right for the spiritual growth of the people. Music can be vibrant and not have party turn war zone. Look from when dancehall deh ’bout. People did a have fun, it wasn’t so dangerous and doesn’t have to be so bold,” he said.
SAD TO BE A PART OF FRATERNITY
“Now, man a sing out the ways to kill man — give headshot and mek marrow fly. And this is also seen in the type of videos that the artistes are putting out to support and promote the music. It’s like the Devil has taken over the music fraternity. It is not the same to me. Sometimes I feel sad in myself that I am part of this fraternity, and I would give my life to have the standards improved.”
He argued that Jamaica is seen as a role model in different ways, with the music being used at the highest level of leadership globally for many decades.
“It’s not just our island that needs spiritual healing. We could say the whole world needs it, but especially Jamaica, because our little country with just three million or suh people is a role model for all. Look at the shape of Jamaica. It is the eye and Africa is shaped like the head, and yet Africans look at us like a Mecca,” he said. “In the days of Bob Marley, he sang Zimbabwe (released in 1979) and it became an anthem for the people fighting for their freedom.”
Luciano said that the influence Jamaica has on people is “undisputed” and that artistes worldwide are copying us.
“It [a change] doesn’t have to be so aggressive. It will just be like when we drive on the highway and there is a speed check … there could be a speed check with the music. If they can have a seat belt law, ban scandal bags for polluting the atmosphere, we can ban lyrics that polluting the musical atmosphere as well,” Luciano continued.
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