Not OK!
Education official says no permission given for student’s risqué music video shoot at Trelawny school
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — A senior official of the education ministry on Tuesday assured that neither the principal nor board members of a primary school in Trelawny gave permission for a controversial music video to be recorded inside one of its classrooms.
The video, which has so far racked up about a million views on YouTube, was reportedly shot at two schools — a primary school in Trelawny and a high school in St Ann. Billed as the official music video for a song called Respect, it features a male student, in school uniform, belting out lyrics that are sometimes sexually explicit.
“Some part of the video was shot at a primary school in Trelawny. However, no permission was granted by the board or the principal. But the matter is with the board. The Ministry of Education already carried out an investigation of the matter,” said the ministry official who asked not to be identified by name.
According to the Jamaica Observer source, after the education ministry got wind of the video it alerted personnel at the school in Trelawny.
“Technically, there is a breach in the use of the [primary] school property,” the source added.
It is believed that the video shoot took place at the primary school on a weekend while school was out. Other scenes shot at the St Ann high school show the student surrounded by a number of his schoolmates as he performs; but it is unclear if school was in session or if permission was granted. Efforts to speak with the school’s principal on Tuesday proved futile as his cellphone rang without an answer.
The nature of the video and the lyrics to the song have raised eyebrows.
In one scene the student, backpack strapped to his back, is seen getting out of a high-end motor car. He is greeted by two skimpily dressed females who then flank him, caressing his chest. In the next scene — surrounded by a number of his peers as he rides a trap dance beat — the young boy sings of his preference for adultery with a married woman.
“Me nuh own no gal, me rather slap somebody wife,” says the sexually charged lyrics.
In another scene, a pedal cyclist is seen doling out money from a wad of $5,000-notes in his hand and a line of the song talks about easy money at a tender age.
“The money stink when it cake up like mud ova inna pig pen. Tun ova Range Rover inna zinc fence. Tun ova Range Rover inna dat and fix it. Me rich aready an me a one pickney,” the boy sings.
But some of the most talked about scenes from the video show the boy in sexually charged encounters with an adult woman. According to the Observer source, the matter has been reported to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).
“This matter falls under the Sexual Offences or the Child Diversion Act, so CPFSA is really dealing with it,” the Observer was informed.
A representative from CPFSA confirmed that the agency has received a report of the incident.