HOW DANCEHALL MUSIC

AFFECTS OUR SOCIETY

Name: Mark-Anthony O. Chen

School: York Castle High School
Candidate Number:
Teacher: Mrs. Franklin-Foulkes

Plan of Investigation
In this particular theme of music I intend to highlight how dancehall music affects our society ,
which is why I chose to conduct my research on it. In my research the vast majority of people in
todays world there is an increase in drug abuse ,violence and sexual mortality however, rarely
do they think about the struggles they will encounter in order to get their life back on track and to
overcome there emotional and physical state. As an English student I plan to identifiy language
used as well as practice my English language skills.
 Source 1

Where the content of dancehall deserves to be scolded, it should be so scolded. When scandalous
parts of our culture elevate dangerous subcultures in the world outside of music (for e.g.,
'informa fi dead'), we must put a pause on our head-bopping and 'appreciation of lyrics' and make
an assessment of what we love.

"Dancehall is descriptive: a reflection of society" is a common mantra. But dancehall songs are
oftentimes not merely descriptive: they are quite often prescriptive. Said another way, dancehall
influences values and attitudes. Just as the rise in popularity of a song with the lyrics 'Murda dem
an' shub dem inna ground' won't magically create murders tomorrow, a general change of
dancehall into something sweet and nice won't stop the faucet of destruction Jamaica is facing.

Take the following lyrics, which may easily find their way into a popular dancehall song which
may be widely received by the defenders: "if a bwoi violate, him a get a shot inna him face/from
di nine inna mi waist/mek him face displace."

Now, let us try and achieve that same tone with a different theme of lyrics: "if a gyal violate, she
get a slap in 'ar face/now she cyaan escape/panty a guh get displace".

The former - which heralds gun violence and murder - will be accepted and may even be played
at children's gatherings (I've witnessed many a children's gathering where such music plays). The
latter - which heralds abuse against women and rape - would likely draw ire, and rightfully so
(i.e., assuming the song gains popularity).

ARTICLE DONE BY : http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20170224/andre-

sheckleford-dancehall-and-crime-jamaica
 Source 2

Look around and tell me wat goin on in dis society?

The Caribbean is not what we once knew it to be
Corruption, poverty and vulgarity is what we see
Echoes of HIV and teenage pregnancy
Messages of violence , drugs and sexuality
 
My eyes burning , meh belly groaning, meh heart aching
What happened to our Caribbean?
 Years ago we embraced a culture of diversity yuh know!
But a woman like me so old in she sixties got to wonder what we gon to?
Eh Caribbean man, West Indian woman?
Arise and see how morality tun so?
It riles me when I see how society do we
The woman them jus exposing they body
And the chil’ren jus exhibiting pure vanity
I’m telling yuh is de dancehall rhythm got dem so
 
Seems like only yesterday when I sing meh calypso, dance to de tassa drum straight into disco,
then I sip meh mauby and do some limbo
Mr. Watson passed and ask, “ Shirley, how do you know to limbo like that?”
I replied, “Well Mr. Watson, a West Indian could never forget that.”
You see these little things I recall
These precious memories will live on.
How we West Indians moved our bodies smoothly, appreciating the culture we held dearly
Now it’s a mere reflection
To relive that, is still an ambition
Jus because of the Gully and Gaza domination
 
Yuh see this Gully and Gaza thing, it really affecting the way we think
From back biting to bleaching we skin
It’s all for the wealth and fame, when the pickney dem struggling to get something in they brain
But yet I don’t know
Is why they acting so?
 
The vulgarity and promiscuity is all a cycle of shame
Sexual objects they say, de man dem spoiling they name but Lady Saw say one man can’t satisfy
she but two or three gon light the flame
I jus don’t understand dis, how we Caribbean people can’t pick sense outa nonsense
The Caribbean we once knew is no more
Frustration and agony
I jus can’t bear it no more
 
It’s not just profanity and sexuality, but it’s corroding us psychologically
Like when the clarks song released
It had everybody rushing, the price dropping and the sales booming
It’s a pity to see this dancehall frenzy
That the youth being bombarded with
Literacy they can’t proclaim
But to pull a trigger is they aim
Like I’ve had enough
I can’t sit down and let this dancehall fraternity continue to erode we morality  
 Source 3

[Verse 1]
Bwoy haffi lie dung flat, cyaan get up back
Me friend dem weh me par with no tek tuff chat
When bwoy a sleep, walk up on dem block
One out a the 'K inna your head back
Dem know how we gwaan, bun dung village flat
Fifteen meter nozzle like a rocket a drop
Shot a 'top inna eye, and a 'top inna back
One a lodge inna neck, me see and it a pop

[Chorus]
Dem no bad like we, talking about
Shoob shot inna head side, mek it crawling dem out
Me friend dem no sleep 'pon bed inna house
When war start, man a bleed in the road
Dem no bad like we
Try no make dem try fi boot, so hope you no bad like we
Yo, Jahvi
[Verse 2]
Shot inna the P90, try fist fight me
Me roll up a dem ends and deal with the grimy
Man a killer from me born, me beg you please style me
You no see the whole a me friend dem, dem a G like me
Shoob the 'K through the window, squeeze it precisely
MAC-90 clip end up like discern weh deh 'pon the Nike
Me tell me mother say no cry if a dead she find me
Mek sure me likkle son no grow come be like me
Rifle a claat, v change gear
Catch dem a group up, brain easy fi tear
Catch dem a ?? me up ?? foreign blood a run out in the square
See nobody out there at all mek me fear
And if me tek this serious ?? shame
Every duppy weh we tek, haffi have name
Rifle it a sing like it name ??

[Chorus]
Dem no bad like we, talking about
Shoob shot inna head side, mek it crawling dem out
Friend dem no sleep 'pon bed inna house
??
You no bad like...
Talking about
Regular me friend dem murder bwoy front court house
Dem no bad like me...
Me...

[Verse 1]
Bwoy haffi lie dung flat, cyaan get up back
Me friend dem weh me par with no tek tuff chat
When bwoy a sleep, walk up on dem block
One out a the 'K inna your head back
Dem know how we gwaan, bun dung village flat
Fifteen meter nozzle like a rocket a drop
Shot a 'top inna eye, a lodge inna back
One a 'top inna neck, haffi 'top inna back

[Outro]
Dem no bad like we...
You no bad like we, no, no, no, no
Ravers
Jahvi
 Reflection 1

The first material that I sourced was an article. I have seen many cases of individuals reporting
their alleged, sexual assailant and personally, I blamed them for not coming forward soon
enough or for allowing it to happen to them. However, this article made me more open-minded
and empathetic towards the victims of these situations. This article also made me understand that
sexual harassment is not just ‘rape’, it can be mere as a hand gesture. I now understand the
severity of this and that it should now be taken lightly. This has inspired me to be a personal
advocate to students who endure sexual harassment daily and won’t come forward.
The second material sourced is an article about the effects sexual abuse has on individuals
(mostly women) in the working world. Reading this made me sad to see the debilitating stress
reactions most of these women encountered after experiencing such a demoralizing and
traumatic event. In addition to that, I realized how much women are victimized and “thrown
under the bus” than men.
My third source is a touching music video by Lady Gaga named, ‘Til It Happens To You’.
This video contained many obscene scenes however, this caused it to greatly convey the
message/feeling to me. The video made me understand how sexual harassment can happen in the
blink of an eye and how hopeless/helpless the victim is left feeling; also how hard it is to
recover. The song made me feel very emotionally unsettled throughout watching because of its
intense lyrics.

Reflection 2
The first source contained very informative, formal and denotative language of which was easily
understandable. The language in the article aided in my understanding of the topic tremendously.
As there was no shortage of explanation and the points being made were very vivid.
My second material sourced had very formal, descriptive and denotative language hence it was
easily understood. However, there were a few words higher than my level of vocabulary
consequently I had to use a dictionary to define these words. Which helped me to better
understand the articles message.
My third source was the music video ‘Til It Happens To You’ by Lady Gaga which contained
very harsh and emotional language. However, it was because of her choice of language why I got
such an intense understanding of the message she was trying to convey. Also, her use of
repetition created a profound effect on my mental grasp of the issue.

Reflection 3
Doing this SBA has benefitted me in many diverse and tremendous ways. In particular my
vocabulary has been boosted significantly and also my analytical skills. I have also developed
my cooperative skills because of working along with my group members to complete this SBA.
Research for my sources and the relevant information related to my topic also aided in
developing my mental and interpersonal skills.

Initially I would blame victims for not coming forward as soon as an incident of harassment
occurs because I did not understand the depth of the situation. However, after reading my first
source I understood all the factors that come into play after an individual is harassed and this
information was very eye opening. This information compelled me to change my view of these
situations and become a more empathetic individual.

My second source raised my awareness of the effects of sexual harassment in the work place and
developed my understanding of how these individuals are perceived and treated. And my third
source inspired me to report individuals at my school who make other students uncomfortable or
scared by making provocative comments towards them or touching them inappropriately.

In conclusion, this SBA was very beneficial to me and has developed many of my skills
significantly.

Written Report
In May 2018 our teacher allowed us to form groups of 4-5 and then we picked our theme. My
group members decided on the theme ‘sexuality’ because of its diversity. We did our individual
research on the topics we selected. Consequently, we met as a group, shared our resources with
each other and used our discretion to select the best three (3) sources. Thus, our knowledge on
the topic ‘Sexuality’ was widened and improved, as a result our grammar and vocabulary was
also improved. We selected information based on the most dominant sub-topics connected to our
themes. Also, the dynamics of the group was very good since everyone was so enthusiastic about
the theme.

For the first source we choose a video sourced by George Moses about gender discrimination in
the workplace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvmnhCQ1XXg&feature=youtu.be. It was
especially chosen because of its vast information on how differently the genders are perceived
and treated in the working world. It gave us a better understanding on how to promote gender
equality. The video also showed many examples of how we can construct our sentences better,
and make full use of punctuation marks. Hence, it was an ideal selection.

The second source we chose was a powerful poem by Ella Linero found by Cavin King about
Gender Inequality https://www.powerpoetry.org/poems/gender-inequality . This poem was
chosen because of its shocking authenticity. We were appalled at the points given on the limits
society has set for us because of our gender. We also noticed figures of speech such as repetition
for example, “wishes” used in lines 11 and 12, that put great emphasis on how she felt about her
standard set by society; a metaphor, “But, I am not one who should be played with like a puppet,
much like the woman” which we thought was very discriminating to women.

The final source we choose was an article about why victims of sexual harassment don’t come
forward sooner procured by Dreanna Williams https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-
compassion-chronicles/201711/why-dont-victims-sexual-harassment-come-forward-sooner . We
found this very informative and captivating, particularly because we could understand this point
from a psychological point of view. It contained vital information on reasons that hinder victims
from coming forward sooner. This information has contributed significantly to our knowledge.
Schedule of Group Activities

Date Activity

September 6, 2018 Group members met and selected their

individual topics of choice

September 13, 2018 Plans of investigation were constructed by

each individual

October 26, 2018 Each group member brought their samples

and it was read by the teacher

November 2, 2018 We met as a group and discussed each of

our samples

January 18, 2019 Group members met and picked the best 3
samples to use for our written report
Oral Presentation
 Bibliography

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-compassion-chronicles/201711/why-dont-
victims-sexual-harassment-come-forward-sooner

http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/svaw/harassment/explore/4effects.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWBrN7QV6Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvmnhCQ1XXg&feature=youtu.be.

https://www.powerpoetry.org/poems/gender-inequality