Mel Cooke - Dr Donna Hope-Marquis, senior lecturer, Cultural Studies, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

CURTIS CAMPBELL, STAR Writer

With the police probing into the lives of some artistes in the music industry, and the recent arrest of Vybz Kartel, the link between some dancehall artistes and crime has once again come to the fore. This link has caused many to wonder if the police are targeting artistes, or if some are really involved in crime.

Donna Hope-Marquis, who lectures in Reggae Studies at the University of The West Indies, said, in her opinion, the alleged affiliation between dancehall artistes and gangs is because dancehall is a reflection the of society.

"My informed opinion, based on my research in dancehall culture, is that this cannot be divorced from the fabric of everyday life in Jamaica. Jamaica has a very developed gang/gun subculture that is interwoven with the fabric of everyday life in many instances," she said.

Hope said dancehall and its linkages to the underworld are related to its informal connections.

"Dancehall culture's linkages with the underworld are part of our music culture's long-standing informal connections that are based on two primary facets. One, the relationship of communities that have a higher percentage of gang/gun activity with Jamaican music, including dancehall. Second, the love affair of dancehall in particular with violent and deviant activities," she said

She also said that male artistes align themselves with gangs as they see the alignment as giving them power.

"We are talking about male activity, and you will find that the reggae and dancehall artistes who have been involved with violent or criminal activity in different ways are all men.

so we have to engage with the role of the gun as a tool of male power and also as a tool of security for reggae and dancehall artistes," she said.

dancehall and crime

While Hope sees a link between dancehall and crime, Stampede Lammie, promoter, manager and CEO of Stampede street charts, believes that some artistes have been labelled wrongly.

According to Stampede, many artistes were born in ghettos, and it is almost impossible to separate themselves from their communities.

"Nuff artiste come from garrison and they grow up with certain youth in the community. Some choose good way and some choose bad, but at the same time, yuh cyaah disassociate yuh-self from dem because yuh and dem grow up together," he said.

"If yu grow up wid miss Jane son and him tun bad man, him still a go hail yuh and talk to yuh same way. Dem naah guh see a successful community member and nuh talk to dem, and that nuh mek the artiste a bad man. Him cyaah stop a bad man from hail him up or come round him," he said.

According to Stampede, the two main assets to inner-city communities are music and sports, and if an individual becomes successful in either, it is automatic that that person will develop a huge following from that community.