Barbados music lyrics
Written by staff user on June 9, 2021
‘Root of the issue’ or ‘low hanging fruit’?
Written byJanine Mendes-Franco
Posted 7 June 2021 12:44 GMT
Read this post in English
Prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, speaking at the 16th Raúl Prebisch Lecture, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 10, 2019. Photo by Timothy Sullivan, UNCTAD on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
On June 1, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressed the nation about a matter on which she said it was “impossible […] to remain silent”. She was speaking out against a music video compilation put out by Barbadian dancehall performers, all riffing over the “Trojan Riddim” track. Their lyrics, Mottley said, “glorified gun violence.”
Riddims, the Patois version of the English word “rhythms,” provide an instrumental beat, usually created and sold by music arrangers, over which musical artists, especially in the genres of dancehall and soca, can overlay their own lyrics. These vocals give each song an individual feel, despite the fact that one riddim can be used on scores of songs.
Prime Minister Mottley said she was “horrified” at the video, and “personally disappointed in the artists who have not recognised that there is an obligation on their part [to accept] that to whom much is given, much is expected.” Her statement also dismissed the “artistic license” defence by noting that some
Reader's opinions
Continue reading
