4.1.1 Entertainment Management does not feel a great need to come to the defence of the Dennery Segment genre per se, which has been under musical and medical attack lately, sometimes simply by those looking for some exposure and free publicity. However, putting things into proper perspective will help reveal the injustice, and sometimes conceited, that drive these comments which try to stereotype the Dennery Segment.

Consider these catchy lyrics;

“It nuh tek mi nuttin fi m**der dem dem bwoy deh ah baby

Bwoy dem ah pree mi nah guh wait til dem ready

Whole ah mi rifle dem grease up like ah pot full ah gravy

Nuh likkle .380 mi nah guh buss

It nuh tek mi nuttin fi m**der dem dem bwoy”

Yes, these are from none other than the world renowned artist and convicted murderer, Vybz Kartel, enjoying perpetual popularity even as he serves his sentence.

Now consider these;

They said I can't rap about bein' broke no more

They ain't say I can't rap about c*ke no more (Ahh)

Sl*t, you think I won't ch**e no wh**e

'Til the vocal cords don't work in her throat no more? (Ahh)

These motherf***ers are thinkin' I'm playin'

Thinkin' I'm sayin' the sh*t 'cause I'm thinkin' it just to be sayin' it (Ahh)

Put your hands down b**ch, I ain't gon' shoot you

I'ma pull you to this bu**et, and put it through you (Ahh)

An all-time popular song by one of the most accomplished American rappers of our time, and admitted drug addict with a multitude of psychological issues, Eminem.

Meanwhile, a bit closer to home;

Audrey girl I want to know

Why you have me suffering so

Can't you see that I am very sick

And really want to get better quick

Now will you stop your fooling about

And throw de med'cine down inside me mouth

Gimme de ting what de doctor order me, gimme de ting (girl you know that I want it)

The great and well-respected Lord Kitchener.

Sparrow sang about salt fish and eating “white meat.” The Invader sang about some lady needing more “wood” and one famous calypo was even about an alleged prostitute named “Jah Love.”

From Dancehall music to rap, soca, and even country & western (which has long been accused of having racist influence - true or not), the airwaves and party scenes are jammed with music that can be considered sexually charged, violent, vulgar and most certainly decadent. Caribbean people have been shaking and exposing the exact same body parts to these outlandish melodies, whether from Lord Shorty (Man for Kim) or Shenseea (Foreplay). However, some of those people who either indulge, remain silent or otherwise acquiesce to the latter genres and behaviour, still conclude that Dennery Segment should not get a pass.

It’s not hard to imagine the comeback, about these old school soca and kaiso being somehow “tactful” and not direct, but more ‘creative.’ However, there was a time when these lyrics were indeed considered tactless and, in reality, they can still be viewed to be crudely about sex and taboo or once-taboo subjects with crass lyrics. They pushed the boundaries, but are now accepted by these same naysayers of today’s Dennery Segment.

Alternatively, the critic categorises Dennery Segment as “one dimensional” in it’s vulgarity and crudeness. However, consider this easily compiled list of very popular Dennery Segment songs, certainly on the softer end of the scale of directness, which all completely dispel the stereotype;

- Stepfather Role, Mighty

- Give It All To Me, Blackboy

- Big Ride, Motto

- Party Lit, Motto

- Tro Waist, Teddyson John

- Movay, Lu City

- Mix-up, Sly

- Mr. Guy, Cooyah

- Go-pwel, Sly

- Show Time, Machel Montano

- Chiney Wine, Subance

As alluded, indignation and snobbery towards carnival, its music and its so-called “lewd” dancing and skimpy dressing is not new. We all remember reading King of the Masquerade at secondary school. This story introduces a Trinidadian family, the Broomleys. The parents do not approve of the Carnival spirits and represent the archetypical snob of their day, but their son Alan makes secret plans to take part in a big Carnival competition on the Savannah in Port of Spain. Today’s current crop of Brooms seem to be merely history repeating itself. Interestingly, a 2009 article from the esteemed Professor at UWI, Dr. Kwame Nantambu opines that;

“Some of the Soca and Reggae lyrics put raw, explicit, classless, tasteless sex “right in your face”; nothing is left to one’s imagination. They automatically become the socially accepted, albeit legal, norm for public pornographic behavior with clothes on.

Indeed, Lord Shortie is probably crying in his grave to realize that his own people have relegated his respectful musical art form to such disgusting, disrespectful and degrading depths;

http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=982

Interestingly, Nantambu was not talking about Dennery Segment but about the so-called “respectable” soca music from Trinidad & Tobago.

Holding your own people to a so-called “higher standard” is one thing, but at the same time, the modern-day Brooms must call a spade a spade. When dealing with a Caribbean-wide culture where festivals have half-naked people gyrating to music telling them to bend over, drink as much alcohol as possible and “get on mad,” it seems that singling out and criticising one aspect of that trend, on this occasion being Dennery Segment, basically results in criticising the culture in its entirety. Therefore, to plainly insult the genre is to arrogantly insult the entire class of patrons that enjoy it, support it and dance to it, not to mention the people that create it.

The truth is Dennery Segment music simply “is what it is.” That means it is just as raunchy and provocative as everything to do with carnival culture – but no worse, while it is also a diverse genre suffering from an unfair stereotype of being one-dimensional. At the same time, youth who may have been possibly lost are discovering discipline and talent to create and drive the music in a way they may not have had an opportunity to do otherwise. Now, they are performing before crowds as far as Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia and the USA.

Albeit, the Brooms are free to criticise the entirety of carnival culture and other types of music if they choose, however if they are not holding all music to the same standard, seeds of hypocrisy will grow tall for all to see. While Dennery Segment music goes through typical growing pains, constructive criticism can never be discouraged. Nonetheless these Brooms, when giving feedback should definitely learn to be tactful, classy and “un-crude,” rather than making overtly narcissistic sweeping comments, while trying to blame it on the Dennery Segment.

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