Dancehall turns pornhall
Trooper disgusted by No-Underwear Challenge
When the video of a female fan throwing her underwear on stage at Dexta Daps, while he performed, went viral last month, many predicted that the practice would become commonplace in the dancehall. Not long after that, Yanique ‘Curvy Diva’ Barrett created a social media firestorm when she removed her underwear during a performance on stage.
The Lifestyle singer’s action has sparked the ‘No Underwear challenge’ where ladies are prompted by selectors to take off their panties.
Popular selector Ricky Trooper told THE STAR that while dancehall has always been raunchy, he never imagined the space would become what he could only describe as ‘pornhall’.
“Sex sell enuh, but sell at what level? This is disgusting and that is not dancehall. Weh dem a do is ‘pornhall’. Weh dem a do nah value the dancehall, it a bring it down,” he said.
“Dis a nuh my dancehall, dem supmn yah nah gwaan a one Ricky Trooper dance, or a Stone
Love dance, or a Bass Odyssey
dance. It nah gwaan weh none a di sound dem weh a uphold dancehall keep. It only gwaan a di show dem weh have the likkle ‘laptop man dem’. Dem a nuh selector. Dem nah uphold the craft or dem wouldn’t allow dem slackness deh fi gwaan.”
EXTREME LEVELS
While admitting that the practice of women taking off their underwears at events may not be new, Trooper said the action is being taken to extreme levels now because everyone wants a chance at the spotlight.
Patrick ‘Curly Lox’ Gaynor, of dancehall duo Twin of
Twins, says nowadays, dancehall supporters and artistes have taken things to extreme lengths as far as ‘raunchiness’ is concerned.
“One time people were raunchy and that was it, but now its complete ‘go-go’. There are levels to this (raunchiness). Once upon a time, yuh inna one belly skin and that was the problem. The limit and boundaries just keep moving and my problem is not with these limits being tested, it’s that nobody is owning it when they do push these limits,” he said adding that the creation of alter egos is not the way to go.
“Dem a try explain it away by saying it’s their alter ego and people supposed to understand that it is entertainment but people are defined by how they present themselves. You cannot separate yourself from the consequences of your actions by creating an alter ego.
“If that was the case, why dem never make Adidja Palmer stay home wid him kids and lock up Vybz Kartel? Or why Mark Myrie never stay a Jamaica and Buju do 10 years a prison? You don’t get to be a decent woman and a john crow at the same time ... . And I don’t have anything against her, but you have to choose one.”