The Reggae and Dancehall community has high hopes for Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness for his second term.
The local music industry gave Jamaica’s 18th general election a much needed buzz as campaigns went virtual due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) recruited several entertainers such as Spice, Shenseea, D’Angel, Skillibeng, Stylo G, Jahvillani, Dovey Magnum, Masicka and many others for dubplates.
The industry is now expecting that Holness and the JLP will reciprocate that support and help make the dancehall culture more sustainable in the economy.
The Star has spoke with several artistes from the industry, expressing that they are looking for a change.
“As you can see, music was one a di main things inna dis election on both sides (JLP and PNP), and now dem (the Government) see what music bring to the table and how important music is to the people,” Elephant Man stated. “Now we need dem fi do supmn fi dancehall. Mi wah dem make sure the artiste dem have somewhere weh dem can go party.” he continued
The government imposed a Noise Abatement Act which has restricted party and event hours for quite some time. They also accused the dancehall industry of being a negative influence having no economic benefit.
D’Angel who contributed to the election campaign, stated that she was happy to be apart of it and she hopes that the support of the culture will continue.
“In light of the recent fanfare with the election campaigns, it was quite refreshing to see the dancehall fraternity being included and bringing a fresh vibe to the atmosphere” the singer stated. “I would love to see the recognition continue going forward because we artistes contribute greatly to the economy and the culture.” she continued.
