Lady Saw, left, and Ce'Cile
Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
TO CENSOR or not to censor has been an ongoing debate in dancehall in recent times. There are those who believe that dancehall acts are incapable of censoring themselves for extended periods. However, some acts say self-censorship is possible, especially at events where children are in attendance.
From as far back as 1999, the issue of artistes censoring themselves has come in for heated debate. According to a report in The Gleaner of August 27, 1999, singer George Nooks was in agreement with censorship at that time, since some artistes 'shouldn't just come along and destroy what we have.' The veteran singer said that the government had a part to play to ensure that certain things are not played in public, whether on radio or over sound systems.
In that report it was recorded hat Prime Minister P. J. Patterson had called a meeting 'to appeal to the chief players in the industry, highlighting the effects violence in music has been having on the society'.
That meeting was called, as the Prime Minister had been concerned for a long time, about the content of the songs and how they are promoted on radio and by sound system operators.
The issue of censorship raised its head again in 2001 with the dancehall night debacle at Reggae Sumfest that landed several artistes before the courts for their use of profanity on-stage. Less than a month later, others were issued with summons for their behaviour at 'Champions In Action'.
Among the artistes who were served with summons for using profanity during that period were Bounty Killer, Lady Saw, Elephant Man, Alozade and Kip Rich. Several of the artistes mentioned receiving community service sentences for their actions.
However, while the Government has never stated its intentions to censor dancehall acts, several artistes believe they are able to edit themselves without external intervention.
"Yes you can censor yourself depending on where you're performing. If you are performing for students or at a student function you would not go for the raunchy stuff," said dancehall act Lady Saw, who added that children should not be allowed at certain stage shows where artistes were allowed to bare all.
Saw, who has had her run-ins with the law in relation to failing to censor herself, said even she has toned down in recent times and had turned the raunchiness down prior to that when it was necessary.
Ce'Cile echoed similar sentiments when The Sunday Gleaner asked her if artistes could censor themselves. The deejay said: "An artiste can tone down a bit. If you listen to the songs, sometimes it is not what is said in the songs but what is said in between songs. But there's nothing with doing a clean show."
The idea of artistes suppressing what has almost become normal behaviour for some is one that is embraced by promoter Worrell King, who believes that artistes whose lyrics are laden with profanity should be banned altogether.
"Dancehall deejays who have profane lyrics should be banned from performing in public. I don't think they should perform. These artistes need to realise their responsibility. I think they have a duty to uplift the public," said the promoter of 'Tribute to Peter Tosh' and 'Western Consciousness'.
While the artistes have never had to really censor themselves in Jamaica until recently, it has been said that they have had to tone down in other places, especially in the Eastern Caribbean.
"When we go to Trinidad we have to tone down. Some artistes are just being rebellious, as when we go to Trinidad or some of the other Caribbean countries we cannot do it, so we censor ourselves," said Ce'Cile.
Ce'Cile's point is reinforced by the fact that there have been at least two incidents where local acts have been arrested for failing to edit what they say on-stage in the Eastern Caribbean. In one of them in 1998, deejay Mad Cobra was arrested for using expletives on stage in Barbados. He was charged BD$360, or $6,600 for his misdemeanour.
Although toning down in Trinidad and the rest of the Caribbean, locally the artistes have practised the right to freedom of expression to its fullest. Several have done either violent or explicit lyrics on stage, much to the annoyance of Cocoa Tea, who believes most of these acts are incapable of toning down for an extended period because of the environment they live in.
"It's hard for a leopard to change its spots. The environment and how you were brought up has a lot to lot to with how they behave. An artiste can censor himself if he comes a certain way but it is hard for him to change fully. You need positive people around the artistes to change them," the singer noted.
LADY SAW TAKES A DIFFERENT VIEW.
"Sometimes you are performing and your fans want you to get raunchy. I have said I have toned down and some persons say 'You were not raunchy...' It's not that you are bowing to pressure, but you are only pleasing the fans," she said.
She points out that owing to the requests of her fans she was making plans to go back to her old self.
"Lately I haven't been doing it much and they (the fans) are complaining and other people are using my stuff and others not saying anything. I am going to revamp myself and come back as raw as ever," disclosed Lady Saw.
While not disagreeing with Lady Saw, Ce'Cile points out that at the end of the day artistes could censor themselves by performing the material the same way it was played on radio, or recording a cleaner version.
"Sometimes we can do it like how it's done on radio. We can even record cleaner version for radio and do it when we are on-stage," she said.
