Outside with the ‘Dunce Thugs’

There was pandemonium at the National Park last Saturday morning. The ‘Baderation’ concert was one of the events hosted by Hits and Jams Entertainment during our 56th Independence celebrations. The headliner for the concert was Jamaican artiste Skeng, whose birth name is Kevaun Douglas. One of Skeng’s most popular songs is ‘Protocol,’ which is a collaboration with Tommy Lee Sparta. They rap about guns, killing and drugs. Some of the lyrics are:

“Protocol, wi have hundred strap

Molly get pop, whole place get hot

Rinse out everyting outta di Glock

Hollow point dat a lodge up in a bwoy headback”

Another verse is:

“Better buy twenty-eight or one cah somebody go dead. The rifle it have on a extra eight inches

Yuh coulda guard up, wi aguh break dat spell

Blood start run inna yuh hair like gel”

Another popular song by Skeng is ‘Gvnman Shift’ (Ratty Gang). From the lyrics one can deduce that there is nothing about promoting life, healing, or love. Chaos can ensue when the ones referred to as ‘dunce thugs’ in Guyana look to artistes like Skeng as their heroes or inspiration. But it is not only ‘dunce thugs’ that follow these artistes; children listen to the music and people of all social classes.

Music such as Skeng’s can incite chaos and violence as was seen at the National Park. As individuals we should be cognizant about what we allow to enter our souls through music. Subliminal or explicit messages in songs can affect our behaviour in negative or positive ways.

According to reports, when Skeng began performing the song ‘Protocol’, gunshots were heard, glass bottles were thrown, people ran to escape being injured, some were injured, and some were robbed. This raised concerns about security. How were people allowed into the National Park with guns?

The Acting Commissioner of Police called a meeting with Hit and Jams. One can assume that because of the meeting, for the J’ouvert event on Saturday night there was a full body scanner, and the police confiscated an alarming number of scissors and knives. We hope that for future events strict safety measures will be in place.

Often when Guyana celebrates its Independence or Republic, the headliners at our concerts are Jamaicans or Trinidadians. During the recent Independence activities, local artistes also performed but the fact that most often than not, the headliners of these concerts are foreigners even though we are celebrating significant events in Guyana’s history, is revealing about how we regard our local acts.

It is often said by locals that Guyanese artistes alone will not attract the thousands that these international artistes do. We know the talent exists here to produce good music and entertain.

If we had a culture of promoting Guyanese music above all others, our artistes would be more revered. If we had a culture where most singers could live off their music in Guyana and not have to worry about their work being pirated, this would not be so. However, we are still waiting for Guyana’s intellectual property rights legislation to be revised.

Guyana may have gained Independence from the British in 1966, but how independent are we now as a nation? The fact that we can bring an artiste who is known for promoting gun culture, murder and drugs during our Independence celebrations and the fact that the concert culminated in gunfire, robberies and injuries is a reminder of how we continue to degenerate as a society. We know that promoters often do not care about the messages in the music and will go with popular demand once they can make money.

It is troubling that at this stage of Guyana’s development some embrace the promotion of gun violence and drugs. Within the last two decades Guyana went through a period when gun violence was at its worst. The faces and bullet-riddled bodies of mostly young men were on our front pages almost daily. Some were killed, bodies buried, and their families do not know where their graves are. Some disappeared and were never seen again. And there are still incidents of gun violence. Just last week 43-yearold Colin McPherson was executed in Sophia.

As a creative, I know that it is vital for creatives to express themselves. However, we also choose how to express ourselves. Do we choose to be agents of positive change or agents of chaos? Do we promote destruction and death, or do we promote love, healing, and life? What is good for the advancement of society?

It baffles me – when did gun violence become cool? When did it become acceptable to celebrate killing? How is glamorizing drug use helpful to the society?

It was just a few weeks ago that there was a report about school children being hospitalized from alleged drug use. The allegations about drug use among our in-school youth are nothing new. In the 90s when I was in school there were students smoking marijuana. But now, young people are not only indulging in the use of marijuana, but they are also using drugs like molly and ecstasy. Both these drugs are MDMA, which is an illegal stimulant and hallucinogen. The fact that the use of such drugs is being seen among children is an indication of failed parenting, peer pressure, societal failures, the influence of social media and one cannot deny that music such as Skeng’s would also encourage it.

I understand that we are living in troubling times and sometimes people want to escape reality if only for a short time. However, it seems the more we evolve, the more we also regress. Some of what was previously thought to be bad, illegal, or disastrous for the society is now being regarded as good and safe and celebrated in some circles. Degeneracy is being accepted as fun. At the ‘Baderation’ concert those labeled ‘dunce thugs’ were out to not only celebrate ‘Skeng’ but the criminality that is often associated with the group was seen with people being robbed. It was not a joke and was not just fun for those who were injured, robbed or simply left fearful for their lives.

When parenting is poor or role models are few or there is no sense of one nation or pride, there is likely to be a moral breakdown in society. It can affect us all. When we endorse that which promotes violence and drugs, eventually the actions of those caught up in that lifestyle can affect us. Whether it is they choose to go take from others to feed their habits or fund their lifestyle or whether it is we get caught in the crossfire when they battle, the risk to the society is too great.

Guyana’s people, especially the youth, need positive influences. Parents are their children’s first role models. Whether poor or rich, parents and guardians need to set a foundation that will encourage their children to be proud and that will inspire them to contribute positively to the world. Their first heroes should be in their families and in their communities so that they will not be easily swayed by the overwhelming negative influences in this world.