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Madam teacher, fellow students, a pleasant day to you all. Today’s moot is Does Dancehall
For one to fairly answer this question we need first to expound on certain key terms.
1. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines dancehall music as a genre of urban folk music that
came out of Jamaica in the late 1970’s and is generally considered the direct predecessor
of “Rap”. It is in its most basic form a Deejay toasting (or rapping) over a riddim.
2. Youth is defined by Answer online reference as “the time of a life between childhood and
maturity”.
We can all relate to the idea that music and culture has always been important to the Jamaican
community and more specifically the inner cities communities, it is also a major part of our
Having established that fact it is clear to indicate my goal here then, is not to put down Dancehall
music but to point out the already established fact that Dancehall music does indeed have a
The Bible, which is most of humankind highest teacher on the topic of morals, states in Proverbs
22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”.
To add to this, research has shown that music is tied to the emotional circuitry of our brains and
Based on both the biblical example and the research stated it would be fair to apply the term
music is by far the most popular music in Jamaica, and has been for quite some time. Though we
have a wide variety of artists and sub-genres present in the dancehall arena, “slack lyrics” with R
The Statistics of our dancehall billboard are riddled and topped with songs such as:
• Wine up • Daggering
We could go on and on but my point has been noted thus far. I know most of us, if not all must
be thinking, these are meaninless words use mainly for entertainment purposes right.
Well if this was the case why are so much of us dressing to fit the part and not to mention doing
the actions suggested by the entertainer has they taunt us with their lyrics?
The truth is we eventually live what we learn if you feel that you are not learning
anything from these songs, why is it then that there are some thing we hear that we just cannot
Proverbs 18:21 states “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”. It is with this that I stand
firmly a say we may see some benefits from Dancehall in the sense of relaxation and
socialization but at what price a troubled spirit, filled with bitterness fostered by these songs.
My fellow colleagues I beg you please consider these things and bear in mind Right is right even
if no one is doing it and wrong is wrong even when done by all, thank you and have a blessed