Stop putting artistes in a box - Konshens considers giving positive songs to more 'suitable' acts

Dancehall artiste Konshens says he is considering giving the positive songs he pens from now on to entertainers who are considered more 'clean cut' and conscious.

In an interview with THE STAR, the entertainer said he has noticed that there is a far greater appreciation for his 'gyal songs' than the songs with a positive message, and he is willing to pass on the latter to some of his colleagues to ensure they get the attention they deserve.

"I'm seriously considering it (giving away certain songs) because it is more important for the message to reach, and maybe it will reach people if the more 'clean cut' artistes sing these songs," he said.

"Me a pree things fi miself, enuh, and it look like when me do certain songs dem get overlooked because me sing fi di gyal dem too and maybe that a send mixed signals."

With that said, Konshens said that he does not plan on changing his image to make it easier for people to gravitate to him singing certain songs, and said that shouldn't be the case for any other dancehall artiste.

He expressed the need for people to be more open-minded when it comes to music, and accept that their favourite artistes may want to switch things up a little from time to time.

"People want to keep us boxed in as entertainers, when if you are a true artiste, you know that you cannot do one type of song your entire career," he explained.

"Some of my earlier fans will tell you dem think me a Rasta when me first come out because a di type a songs weh me did a do. Then me change things up a little and take on the female audience. A just so things go as an artiste, we have that creative freedom. It doesn't mean when me start do back the positive song dem, it fi get overlooked because people see me as a 'gyal artiste'."

EQUAL ATTENTION

The entertainer wants the populace to stop 'boxing artistes in' and give good songs the attention they deserve.

Pay equal attention to the songs that are not talking about woman or guns, but are just as good," he said. "Deejays need fi play dem as much as they play the other songs, and the media need fi promote dem as much as the others."

Konshens first expressed how he was feeling in an Instagram post earlier this week. Highlighting the difference in views between two songs he did, the entertainer described the disparity in the attention both songs received as the only thing in music that 'stresses him'.

One of the songs Turn Around - a supposed 'gyal song' - received more than 400,000 views on YouTube in two weeks, while the other song, Beautiful a song which encourages women to embrace their beauty and love themselves received just 54,000 views. Konshens' post received a great deal of support from fellow entertainers including Tarrus Riley, who expressed similar sentiments. In his comments Riley said artistes are always blamed for the "ills and negatives going on, and when we do songs to get a message out, people often turn a blind eye."