‘Bajan Bash’ potential not fully exploited

Barbados has to do a better job of capitalising on the potential of Bashment Soca and branding and promoting that art form.

So says Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Mia Mottley. Mottley, a former Minister of Culture and former entertainment manager, made the comments while speaking during a Youth Forum hosted by the Party at the Radisson Aquatica Hotel on Friday evening.

“We have to define what we are doing and there is something happening in this country now that we need to capture the energy and move with it fast. You see that thing called Bashment, we need to define it, call it ‘Bajan Bash’, call it whatever you want, but separate it from the traditional idioms of Calypso and Dub. Reggae all along was the discipline and all of a sudden Dancehall came about; that created the king of the Dancehall [who] was not necessarily the king of Reggae. But it created opportunities, and we created a different space for people to operate in,” she said.

Her remarks came as she noted that Barbadians have been at the forefront of developing music forms across the world, but many Barbadians are not aware of that fact. Mottley made the point while speaking about the influence that the late Jackie Opel had on Reggae and Joseph ‘Grandmaster Flash’ Saddler had as a pioneer of Hip Hop in America.

Mottley made the comments as she expressed her belief that Government has a responsibility to work with the artistes to create Bajan Bash. She noted that while the local Calypso art form has developed over the years, what is missing is the
support structure at the development and promotional levels to take Bajan Bash further.

“How is it that Barbadians are at the centre of Hip Hop, at the centre of Reggae and the majority of Barbadians don’t know it? How it is that we have something literally licking – and listen to our campaign music; we have two sets of campaign songs promoting Bajan Bash because I believe in it.

“Do I believe sometimes in some of the full obscenity that it can [contain]? No, but that is another story for another time because I really feel you don’t have to disrespect yourself to promote yourself,” Mottley contended. (JRT)