By Claude Mills, Staff Reporter 
Performers at a 'PNP Bashment' earlier this year. - File
TO WIN an election, a candidate must do two things - develop a message that resonates with voters and deliver that message with panache.
Political pundits are predicting a tight race in the upcoming General Election, so the impact of the messages is even more important than ever. And as such, from the calypso-flavoured 'Who Yu Voting For?' to the reggae-influenced 'Don't Stop the Progress', political ads are littering the nation's airwaves as the political heavyweights duke it out in prime time in a bid to win the popular vote.
The PNP is pegging its chances for re-election on its ubiquitous 'Log on to Progress' message.
"We put together a think tank to come up with ideas for our campaign and we're confident in the 'log on to progress' idea that we came up with," Maxine Henry-Wilson, general secretary of the People's National Party (PNP), said.
In the meantime, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is countering with its frank, tell-it-like-it-is 'Make The Change' campaign.
"Our theme is that Jamaica should make the change happen now, it is a call to action for the populace. The JLP already has a CD with four tracks out including 'Who Yu Voting For?', the hip-hop and dancehall versions of 'No PNP' and 'Conscious Leader'. We like our product so far," Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, the JLP Member of Parliament for St. Catherine Central, said.
There are also plans in the JLP pipeline for a second CD.
"The second CD will have gospel-flavoured 'Make the Change' to drive home our message of peace, along with selected titles from the first CD. We are using original songs, but we will also release songs we've released in the past such as 'Deliverance is Near' and 'Spread Out'," Ms. Grange said, adding that the party has 'a reggae Latin song with crossover appeal in reserve for later'.
The People's National Party is opting to go the original route this year as well in formulating songs that trumpet the successes of the party during its 13 year-long stranglehold on power.
"We are going the original route for the first time in a long time. We don't want to use somebody else's material and create any sort of negative vibe out there for them. Plus we are using artistes like Neville Martin to voice over old-time favourites like 'My Leader Born Ya," Patrick Roberts, who is running for the West Central St. Andrew seat, said.
However, for all the PNP's caution, one man, Donald Morgan a.k.a 'Lala Ranks', a deejay/taxi-driver who plies a route in the St. Catherine area, is already getting a lot of flak from the use of his popular festival song, 'Can't Live Free', at a PNP rally recently.
"One man even go so far as to suggest seh 'ah mi friend dem mi do the song for'. Others say PNP pay mi fi do the song, but the song was not meant for political affiliation," Lala Ranks said.
"It was written well over 12 months ago before the whole free education debate, so don't brand the deejay," he pleaded.
The lyrics of the song go:
YU caan live inna dis country ya free, anyting yu do, yu affi pay tax money
You ah go a school, yu haffi pay school fee
Buy school books, that is necessary
Computer, video and TV
The woman ah yu yard, tink she a live free?
Give her tings everyday fi keep har comforts, yu see
"I don't really have a problem with any party using the song, because I wrote it for the wider Jamaican public, but with the nature of the competition between the parties during the upcoming election, one could see it fit to use it in a negative light, and that's dangerous for me, because I interact with the public on a daily basis," he added.
Festival Song winner for the year 2002, Devon Black, is also a little perturbed at the use of phrases from his winning song as radio blurbs for the PNP political campaign.
"I've heard the PNP use different phrases and even whole sentences from my song, all they do is change around the words a little to get a different meaning," Craig Barrett, whose stage name is Devon Black, said, adding that he hadn't signed any agreement with anyone to use his song, 'Progress' in such a manner.
"People were saying it was a PNP tune long before mi even win, so me not even surprised they were using it. It is a national tune, so I have no problem with dem using it, it's just that mi not getting no exposure out of it; dem not promoting me in any way. From festival done, everyting stop fi me. When I walk in my community, people seh 'see him de, ah him do the PNP tune. And when mi go downtown mi tremble sometimes," Mr. Black, who is a resident of Greenidge Town, said.
The use of music had always been a contentious issue in the colourful Jamaican political scene. Last year, one of the most stinging broadsides launched against any party in recent times was the use by the JLP of TOK's anti-homosexual anthem, 'Chi Chi Man' at its major rallies in North East St. Ann.
"We didn't set out to use the song in any political way, but people loved the song, its hypnotic melodies and harmonies, and we didn't realise what the song was saying until later," Ms. Grange explained.
