According to reports, Jamaica’s broadcast authority has moved to ban content that “glorifies illegal activity.”
The government said banning the material was done to put a damper on content that “could give the wrong impression that criminality is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and society.” The ban has arrived following Jamaica’s struggle for years to curb the high amount of gun violence. According to Insight Crime, the content reportedly correlated to Jamaica having the highest murder rate in the Caribbean and Latin America in 2021.
The Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica released a statement on the ban, saying the type of music and content banned “normalize criminality among vulnerable and impressionable youth.” The ban also specified that channels should avoid “urban slang” related to living a lavish life, making money, wire transfers, and more.
Jamaican Grammy award-winning producer and singer Stephen “Di GENIUS” McGregor spoke on the matter, saying, “Art imitates life, and the music is coming from what is happening in Jamaica for real.” He continued, “But because it doesn’t fit the moral mold of what they would like it to look like, they try to hamper it.” When Jamaica implemented a ban in 2009, McGregor noted that this music was banned from the airwaves because he mentioned guns and sex. However, the bans don’t usually last.
McGregor went on to say the bans serve as a way to shift blame for the failures of the state to address issues like the current economic crisis stemming from the pandemic.
source: Washington Post
