By Ronald Austin Jr
ON a cool day in Jamaica on December 8th, 2009, important men of state with fancy suits, shiny suits, bodyguards and all other attributes that go along with the pomp of state, stringently walked into Jamaica House. The setting could have easily made the impression of a high-level heads of government meeting with much consequence, but it was hardly close to that kind of engagement.
The Jamaican Minister with Responsibility for Information, Daryl Vaz, then Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, Security Minister Dwight Nelson and representatives from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport converged at Jamaica House for a Peace Conference between Adija Palmer, popular known as Vybz Kartel and David Brooks, alias, Movado.
This meeting was a matter of national security, following the rise of violence from the Gaza-Gully musical war which spawned numerous youth gangs made up of fans from these two dancehall artistes. In the midst of this discussion and pleas for peace, it dawned upon all and sundry that Adidja Azim Palmer was clearly the more influential of these two Caribbean singers.
This tattooed, former student of Calabar High and father of little Vybz and little Addi, by virtue of his talent, galvanised the cultural sphere and captured the hopes, despair, ambitions and anti-establishment sentiments of the downtrodden youth, producing an entire generation that embraces the concept of ‘Gaza’.
This column will seek to briefly discuss the cultural influence of Vzby Kartel and the rise of Generation Gaza.
Born the 7th of January, 1976, in Kingston, Jamaica, Adidja Palmer attended Calabar High, he was expelled at the age of 16. After his expulsion, he enrolled in the Tutorial Technical School where it has been documented that he performed admirably in subjects such as Mathematics, Geography, Literature and English. Always obsessed with music, “De Teacha” started writing music at the impressionable age of 11 and his first single, ‘Love fat woman’ was released at age 17. A relatively ostracised genre during the early 1990s, dancehall had no clue at that time that it was about to welcome its most prolific artiste.
The name Vbyz Kartel originated with a group that was made up of Adidja and two other friends, at that time, they were known as ‘Vibes Cartel’. This name was rooted in the idea of a musical cartel that controls the genre. This group was eventually separated and Adidja Palmer kept the name and the rest is dancehall history.
A series of hits followed a colourful and controversial career: ‘Gun Like Mine’ ‘Bad man’ ‘most high’, ‘War organiser’, ‘Romping Shop’ and ‘Clarks again’. The consolidation of the cultural dominance of Kartel began when he made known the concept of ‘Gaza’ in his hit single, ‘Gaza Commandments’ in 2009, during the apogee of the Gaza-Gully war:
‘Pon de Gaza, me seh life over death
Gaza, Ganja, no Coke we nuh tek’-Gaza Commandments
A cursory glance at Vybz Kartel or a casual eavesdrop of his music is almost certain to evoke disdain from the middle class or religious-oriented. Some songs represent a cacophonic tutorial on how to commit violence and exact revenge on enemies. Macabre and gory lyrics promote misogyny, licentious posturings, lewd behaviour, violent conduct, anti-establishment sentiments and wanton disregard for rules.
It appears to be a complete descent into madness to those who are disinclined to this genre. However, some academic attention would reveal that there is some method to the madness.
The Gaza Strip or Gaza is the small self-governing territory of the Palestinians considered by some to be under the occupation of Israel, thousands of miles away from the Caribbean in the Middle East. Life in Gaza can be short and violent. Adidja Palmer decided to use the Gaza moniker as a metaphor to highlight the plight of depressed communities and their occupants.
A sense of nihilism, lack of regard for authority, suffering, violence, robust chauvinism and justification for criminal behaviour are all captured in the concept of ‘Gaza’. The use of this metaphor to drive his music resulted in an immediate gravitation to the concept by those who are so culturally inclined. ‘Gaza’ can be seen written on anywhere possible in depressed communities in the Caribbean. ‘Gaza’ has infected the culture and people, especially, youths from these communities who feel a sense of belonging to the ‘Gaza’ generation.
It has given some a sense of identity and has practically moored their existence. ‘Gaza’ is almost akin to a nation within a nation, where adherents view themselves as owing allegiance not to flag or country but to the ‘Gaza boss’, Vybz Kartel. Insofar as music shapes culture and guides the value system of a generation, Vybz Kartel with the concept of ‘Gaza’ has achieved this.
On the fringes of society and marginalised, the ‘Gaza Generation’ led by the ‘Gaza boss’ wakes up every morning with a sense of identity of belonging to a virtual community carried in the music of Vybz Kartel. This virtual value system glorifies violence, marijuana usage, resents authority, objectifies women as instruments for sexual pleasures and justifies criminal behaviour on the basis that society has been unjust to them and in Robin Hoodesque fashion, robbing is their only recourse to exact revenge. This is not an anti-Kartel column, do not reduce this brief discourse to that.
Vybz Kartel has produced many positive songs, but his general thrust remains the values or lack thereof highlighted above. Further, Adidja Palmer is not the first to be the musical leader of rebellious behavior; many past and present have been exemplars of this; Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Elvis Castello, Fela Kuti, Sinead O’Conor, Kurt Cobain, Public Enemy, Marilyn Manson, Madonna, Tupac Shakur.
It can also be argued that culture guides music cognition and people tune in to music based on their preferences and emotional recognition. Hence, Vybz Kartel is essentially the vehicle which carries the wishes of certain marginalised communities. Every generation produces a musician that impacts culture and guides the general ethos of their followers. It is nothing new. The place of Vbyz Kartel in Caribbean culture cannot be ignored and is worthy of much ink for the sake of analysis.
His mastery of organisation, the creation of ‘Portmore Empire’ and his sheer on-stage bravado and talent best exemplified in his performance at Sting 2008, certainly signalled that his influence would be accentuated.
In April 2014, five years after the ‘Gaza-Gully Peace Conference’, Mr. Adidja Palmer was sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. This did not stop his influence. After three years in prison, he still remains the main focal point of dancehall music. The ‘Gaza’ generation is still hopeful that one day their saviour will return and this has now become a real possibility with an appeal set to begin on February 19th, 2018.
