MoBay councillor responds to Devin Di Dakta’s new song

Outspoken St James councillor, Michael Troupe, has responded to a song, System Matic, released on Monday by Devin Di Dakta, which seems to take aim at his recent comments about the role of dancehall artistes in Jamaica's crime epidemic.

Last month, the Granville division councillor proposed that a request be made to Entertainment and Culture Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange to ban music that glorifies a criminal or otherwise deviant culture. In System Matic, Devin Di Dakta, the 2015 Magnum King of Dancehall, opines that the 'system' is now turning on the politicians by whom it was created.

" You want fi ban gun song from Jamaica well fine but ban it cause you want help the genre no blame it fi crime ... Let's start from 1965 when political start mek garrison fi keep dem alive ... ." are among the lyrics. He also deejays: " No gun song neva did a mek a tell man lock no strap and people still did a dead, right? I guess not ... A di dons weh unnu buil' recruit the youth, a dat a plague wi now." But the artiste also encouraged artistes to help " build a hype" around the movement for a peaceful 2021.

Troupe said he is not in disagreement with some of the sentiments expressed by the dancehall artiste.

"I can't disagree with him in the first part of the song where he said politics have a lot to do with it (crime). But even though in the modern days, the youths are more educated and dependent on themselves, not politics," he said.

Cry to his fellow artistes

Troupe, who said a lot has been made of his recent comments, added that he doesn't mind the criticism as he just wants some form of intervention. He also said that he welcomes Devin Di Dakta's rallying cry to his fellow artistes to help the crime situation.

"Yes, I think that we as politicians can call on them for help since they are so influential. Right now we need divine intervention wherever it can come from. We have to find a way because the gun crime running wild. Is just last night they kill one of my friends in Glendevon. Also, yesterday in my division a man come to sell some scrap metal and they rob and kill him for what may be $5,000," he said. "I am welcome to anything. I would want to to see all of us sit down and work something out instead of me criticising them and them criticising me. We have enough influential people to call on to stem the crime."