By Stephanie Lyew – STAR Writer—

Warrior King

Veteran entertainer Warrior King is encouraging his colleagues to “be the change the world needs”.

The recording artiste, who has for long championed for women’s rights, the teachings of Rastafari and education for the youth through his music, told THE STAR that he was displeased with the direction in which the culture was headed.

The artiste said, “We are so powerful – Jamaicans – anything we do, people want to do it. The direction is not positive. So, I want to appeal to the reggae-dancehall community, whether deejay, reggae singer, selector or dancer, let’s be positive with each other and be deliberate in the way you portray yourselves in the public and online spaces. By this, I mean the way everybody brands themselves … it also being a reflection of the culture.”

He added that seeing images and videos of individuals in street dances jumping off roofs and participating in unsafe challenges for entertainment has irked his spirit.

“People from the outside are seeing it and saying we are crazy,” he said. “Even though artistes like Yellowman and Shabba Ranks and dancers used to do certain things, dem used to keep it on a level and know the right time and place. I never imagined I would be seeing videos of women hitting their vaginas with concrete blocks as entertainment. How is that our entertainment? I want us to bring back that reggae where we praise Jah inna the dance, the holistic type of vibes. That’s the whole purpose of music,” Warrior King said.

Warrior King, who resides in St Elizabeth, has released several hits which earned him recognition in various cities such as Buffalo, New York where the mayor declared June 11 as Mark ‘Warrior King’ Dyer Day. He anticipates that his latest single Skank will inspire positive dancing and socialising.

The artiste said that regulatory strategies, like the recent ban on ‘choppa music’ from free-to-air platforms, were long overdue, but that they mean nothing for the culture or the practitioners if they are not enforced.

“[So] if a selector or television host should go against it, they should be penalized. Radio and television is for the whole family and if your music is not for the whole family, it should not be played on that platform,” he said. “It’s the same for artistes who go into a school and sing tracks that are not appropriate, whether it is the edited version or not.”

He also called on educators, stating that as role models, some have gone against their better judgement and invited artistes into the schools who perform the inappropriate tracks.

“We should all be working towards wanting to be a good influence to the world, knowing our power as a nation,” the artiste said.