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Havana, Oct. 13 (AP) Jamaica’s broadcast regulator has banned music and television broadcasts deemed to glorify or promote criminal activity, violence, drug use, scams and weapons.
The government said the ban was aimed at reducing material that “may give the false impression that crime is a recognised feature of Jamaican culture and society”.
Jamaican artists criticized the measure, saying it excluded people affected by increased gun violence from the conversation and did nothing to stop crime.
“Art imitates life, and music comes from what really happened in Jamaica,” said Jamaican Grammy winner, music producer and singer Stephen McGregor.
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“But because it doesn’t fit the moral model they want it to look like, they try to hinder it.”
The ban comes after years of efforts by Caribbean nations to curb high levels of gun violence, which led to Jamaica having the highest murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean last year, according to research center Insight Crime.
The Jamaica Broadcasting Commission said in a release that such music or video on public radio “normalizes criminal behaviour by vulnerable and vulnerable youth”.
The directive also said channels should avoid “urban slang” related to making money, wire transfers, acquiring wealth or a lavish lifestyle.
It references specific words such as: “Jungle Justice”, “Bank/Foreign Account”, “Food”, “Wallet”, “Wallet”, “Burn Phone” and “Customer”.
But artists like McGregor (known by his artist name Di GENIUS) say he sees the ban as a free speech issue and that the Jamaican government will do a better job of addressing the root causes of violence, such as the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic.
The Broadcasting Commission declined to respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on the criticism, nor did it immediately detail the consequences of the violation. But the committee asked the public to report anyone suspected of breaching the rules.
Jamaica has implemented such bans before, including one in 2009. McGregor, 32, said his own music had been banned throughout his career for references to sex and guns, but said the restrictions never really lasted.
Other Jamaican artists such as Rvssian, NotNice and Romeich have publicly attacked the directive on social media.
Many have mentioned that such measures have little real impact on violence, especially since young people get their media from streaming platforms like Spotify or YouTube.
Rather, McGregor says, it’s a way for artists to fail on behalf of the larger country to address local problems and grievances.
“The resulting music, in this case, people don’t create a happy, feel-good kind of love, music of a heart,” McGregor said. “You can’t force creatives to paint pictures that aren’t in front of us.” (AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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