Dancehall Star Demarco Says He Is Done With Music Promoting Violence

Demarco is done with gun songs.

At least one veteran dancehall artist intends to heed the call of the government when it comes to violent gun lyrics. Well known for his often gritty lyrics, Demarco has revealed that he supports the Broadcasting Commission’s call for artists to stop focusing on gunman tunes. Last month, in October, the commission banned all scamming, Molly, and gun music from the airwaves.

At the time, the commission stated that there would be an immediate halt on any audio or video recording, live song, or speech that promotes and/or glorifies scamming, illegal use or abuse of drugs, illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, “jungle justice” or any other form of illegal or criminal activity.

An indicator of how much the murder rate has climbed on the island is that there have been at least 1,294 murders between January 1 and October 29.

The decision was met with mixed reactions in the dancehall community. Still, many veteran artists have since said that they agree with the measure as violent crimes continue to escalate in Jamaica.