by BRYAN WALKER

DANCEHALL MUSIC,

and the disc jockeys (DJs) pushing it, are causing "untold destruction" among

this country's youth.

This was the charge

made by Magistrate Ian Weekes yesterday, who told

the SATURDAY SUN in an interview that a negative subculture, resulting from

North American and Jamaican music, had emerged where gangsters, guns, ganja and "bling" were now the in-thing.

The magistrate, who practised criminal law before moving to the bench nearly

two years ago, said the majority of young people

who came to the lower courts were there on matters related

to the dancehall subculture.

He said this subculture

was portrayed in the way they dressed, spoke and behaved.

During the day's sitting

in the District "E" Magistrates' Court at Holetown, he had

to "pull up" a young accused who appeared with his pants way below the waist - a style referred to as "surfing" among the youth.

For Weekes, what was especially distressing was

to hear weekly on the airwaves dancehall lyrics that promoted nothing but sex, marijuana smoking and the ghetto life.

And while he didn't have

a problem with the genre

of dancehall music - as he also listened to and enjoyed it -

it was the lyrics that struck up

a sour note.

He said songs like Gangster For Life by Movado; Dutty Wine by Tony Matterhorn; Give It Up To Me by Sean Paul; and King Of The DanceHall by Beenie Man - with lyrics like "'pon bed,

'pon floor, against wall . . .", promoted a very loose lifestyle.

Rampant sexuality

He said the videos displayed on networks like BET,

Tempo and "to some extent Caribvision", added

to the problem.

"Hip hop and dancehall videos promote rampant sexuality and constant gyration . . . images that are being fed

to our children.

"All that does is condition the mind of males how they

are to relate to females, where in relationships men are seen

as hunters visualising woman as sex objects."

For women, he added, they were glamourising skimpy dress and seeking to make

it standard.

"Revealing private parts

and performing in dances

that expose private parts is now the accepted thing. That is what dancehall music promotes, and that is among the challenges that we face."

And the magistrate has accused the mass media

of refusing to take any responsibility in the matter, while calling for some

"serious censorship".

"Radio stations don't want

to take responsibility.

And even though they say

they would make adjustments, little changes.

"If they [the stations and DJs] do not understand the impact of mass media, then they are comatose as to what

is really going on."

Weekes said while it might seem unrealistic, what needed to be done was to minimise

the influences from North American and Jamaican cultures; as well as somehow see a return to the value system and self-respect

taught by the church.