Jamaican Government Bans Jamaican Music on Jamaican Radio (Basically)

February 23, 2009


In one of the most brilliant, liberal and open-minded decisions we've heard about this side of Burma, the Jamaican Broadcast Commission recently put a ban on "any song or music video that depicts sexual acts or glorifies gun violence, murder, rape or arson." Of course, the average person would read that and say "good idea, those things are bad," but the JBC has even banned songs whose explicit content is bleeped or edited from being played on radio and television, leaving almost all dancehall, soca and hip hop ostracized from the airwaves. The ban is meant to confine such music, especially the popular "daggering" songs, to clubs where consenting adults are free to kill, molest and set each other on fire all night long. Maybe we're jaded by Katy Perry actually making us not want to listen to the radio, but this seems anti-democratic, SO in protest (and because we just found out about it) here is part one of former FADER contributor Jamil GS' new "Jamaica Originates" documentary series for Chunnel TV starring Mister Hundred Stab Aidonia.

Posted: February 23, 2009
Jamaican Government Bans Jamaican Music on Jamaican Radio (Basically)