I-WAYNE LASHES OUT AGAINST FELLOW-ARTISTS AND RADIO JOCKS FOR “PROMOTING FILTH AND IMMORALITY!”

I wayne calls fellow artists hyporcites—-

By Curtis Campbell—- 

Reggae artist I Wayne is asking the local music industry to promote more music with positive content in order to reduce the rate at which society is drifting into a path of immorality.

According to the reggae artist, known to be an advocate against prostitution, violence and other ills in society, though reggae music is regaining popularity, smut is still overpromoted in the media.

When accused of using music to influence negativity, many artists are known to use the popular excuse that music is art imitating life and is not a causal factor in the prevalence of crime, violence and immorality.

However, I Wayne believes artists who use that excuse to defend their production of music with lewd content are hypocritical.

According to I Wayne, the same artists who argue that songs with violent content do not influence society, will also tell you that positive music will influence positive behaviour whenever that excuse suits the promotion of a song with positive content.

I Wayne says if positive music can influence positive behaviour, then negative music is just as influential.

I-Wayne

“When they do a positive song they say it is to influence the youth. Yet when they do a negative song they say it doesn’t have any negative influence and how they are not responsible for parenting, and that is filth and hypocrisy. So mi a try mi best fi keep the vibes clean and sort out what mi can,” the reggae artist said.

I Wayne also blames some radio DJs for ignoring positive songs while emphasising violence and immorality. He says music is like hypnosis to its listeners.

“Some songs weh not even well put together, a play everyday and a hypnotise the people dem and foreigners feel like a pure filth a come out of Jamaica. Unnu guh find some song weh mek sense man,” a seemingly passionate I Wayne told The Sunday Gleaner.

I Wayne also rubbished another common excuse made by some DJs and recording artists who claim that lewd music is what the people want.

He says artists and DJs are the ones who are creating the need when they create and promote content that is unacceptable. The singer also believes recording artists and DJs have a social responsibility whether they want to admit it or not.

“It’s not everything people want they must get. They must be given what they need and that is righteousness. Guh duh some work and research and stop corrupt people pickney. Many of unno hide the slack music from unno pickney and don’t take consideration for other people pickney, some of dem artiste bwoy and gyal yah too wicked,” he said.

Kabaka Pyramid

The artist says he is using his music to promote positive living and has released a song called Versatile featuring fellow reggae artist Kabaka Pyramid, which he says is a message intended to curtail the actions of his fellow music practitioners.

Artist seh dem a clash

a now the tracing start and bullets bursting heart

The wicked love the pretty coffin and the grave dem.

Nuff get inna trouble and run to Rasta fi save dem.

Let’s preserve life’s music because a fiwi dis no need to

compete bout better vibes or lyricist

We have many rivers to cross like Jimmy Cliff

overcome the pest the stress and sing

True dem ego dem sey dem a di best and thing yet all

dem promote a just mess and sin.

Reggae artist Chuck Fenda in a Gleaner interview also asked for more attention to be given to reggae music due to its ability to influence positive thinking.

He says his rise in the reggae music industry, along with Richie Spice and Anthony Cruz, was to curtail the huge disparity between the playing of reggae music and dancehall.

“It’s the heartbeat of the people and you can’t kill the sector of the music. Bob Marley, Burning Spear and all the elders before us set the template and we have to carry on that energy. The DJs didn’t want to play any one drop on their programmes – pure fast music dem ah play,” he said in a 2013 interview.

Journalist and media personality Ian Boyne is often criticised for drawing the conclusion that lyrical content has the potential to influence crime and violence.

I Wayne is perhaps one of the few artists who has subscribed to those ideas.

Boyne received much criticism in 2004 by members of the music industry after he expressed the view that private sector spent millions to promote big annual shows featuring artistes advising people to kill informers, “spill out a bwoy marrow” and to “kill Babylon”.

“When the dancehall glorifies the shotta who ‘nuh tek foolishness and dissing’; when it encourages youth and youth to kill because disrespect was shown to their women; when it intimidates the informers needed to stop crime in Jamaica and when it promotes the ‘who badda than who’ contest, how is that advancing us as black people?,” Boyne questioned in his a piece called ‘Boomerang’.