Dear Editor,

I applaud reggae artiste Tony Rebel for his continued unapologetic stance in support of positive and clean Jamaican music, although he seems to be in the minority of an industry filled with many lyrically unsophisticated artistes.

The continued huge support for entertainers like Tony Rebel is proof that there is still a place for decent music in Jamaica. I hope that like-minded entertainers will join Tony Rebel in cleaning up our music industry.

We ought to appreciate more meaningfully that a lot of what is being touted as music poses a greater threat to the maintenance of an orderly and decent society than it seeks to provide satisfying entertainment. The sooner we realise that and deal with the threat, the better.

The unattractiveness of the negative and violent music to people in other countries and the restriction of some of our so-called entertainers from performing in some other countries should be further reasons for us to consider changing course where our contemporary music is concerned.

It is really a tragedy when you have an event like the Shaggy and Friends fundraising concert being spoilt by the remarks of one of our dancehall artistes. The promoters of the concert should have been more responsible in determining the performers, especially given that it was in support of a children’s cause.

While I accept and do defend our rights as a people in a democratic society, we cannot continue to allow those whose actions continue to undermine or threaten peace, decency, and order in our society to use our constitutional protections as cover for their actions.

The government has a responsibility to limit or restrict the freedom of those whose actions threaten the ability of others to enjoy their rights as citizens or where the general society is threatened. Such, in my view, is the situation with a lot of our modern-day music.

We are not dealing here with a situation where such musical expressions or lyrics are considered offensive by people like me. What we are dealing with is a cancerous situation where the very fabric of our society is being whittled away or destroyed by indecent lyrics. To that end, the government has a legitimate right to regulate the music industry and therefore save our society from further decadence.

Kevin KO Sangster

sangstek@msn.com