Charly Black’s Response To Question About Spice’s Pride Performance Is To Be Studied, Says Foota Hype
Charly Black’s disinterested response to a question about Spice’s recent performance at a Toronto Pride LGBTQ event “should be placed in a Dancehall museum,” according to Foota Hype, who has praised the Country Boy for not allowing himself to fall into, what the veteran music selector says was a trap.
During a recent interview with the Canadian-based Brandon Gonez Show, the Party Animal deejay is seen listening to a question posed by the host about his thoughts on the Queen of Dancehall Spice performing at the Pride event on Saturday.
“When yuh si Spice yuh ask har dat,” was the response from Black, who maintained a poker face as he looked directly at Gonez, who apparently sensed that the Trelawny native was not going to meander into that topic.
Foota has argued that Black’s response is the ideal template for other Dancehall artists to use, in responding to unnerving and unwanted questions from media people, who, according to him, are trying to foist the LGBTQ agenda on them.
“Mi want di young artiste dem look and learn,” the Dark Knight producer said on his YouTube podcast on Tuesday.
“Charly Black siddung calm suh. Charly Black nuh seh a word until di interviewer done talk. An wha Charly Black seh to him: ‘Ask Spice dat when yuh si har’. Oh God! A di best answer mi ever hear a artiste answer inna mi life. Mi proud a di man til, right now mi feel like a Country Bwoy. Mi feel like a Trelawny mi born to raas claat.”
Added Foota: “Dah likkle clipping deh, fi inna one Dancehall museum as example fi odda artist si how yuh hangle trick question. Caw dem caan ban him; dem caan shadow-ban him. Nuttn. Cause him nuh seh nuttn offensive about gays; him nuh seh nuttn fi discriminate himself ova di straight world. Perfect answer. Perfect, perfect, perfect!”
“Mi si dem try set up Charly Black life. Di way how mi proud a Charly Black an dah answer deh weh him gi dah likkle sprat weh a ask question. People, oonu nuh proud a Charly Black?” Foota continued. “Cause hear weh dem do now and dis a weh oonu fi know bout the LGBTQ community. Dem try fi set you up fi tear dung yuh career.”
Foota’s jubilation comes after Spice’s performance at the LGBTQ event was dubbed a “political statement” to the Dancehall community against homophobia.
“Spice being here is more than just entertainment. It’s a political statement. It is saying to dancehall and deejays and artists, who are homophobic, that we are not standing for homophobia and transphobia, anymore. It is a political statement that Spice is standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community,” a Pride Toronto host said before Spice took the stage.
However, according to Foota, artists have no obligation to members of the LGBTQ community whatsoever, since the group has played no part in building their careers or in the development of the genre.
“Memba dem neva build Charly Blacks career enuh. Dem nuh build no artiste inna Dancehall or Reggae career. None. But dem ready fi use psyches and tear dung yuh career. Suh dem ask Charly Black a trick question bout wha him haffi seh bout “Disgraceful Hamilton” performing fi LGBTQ community,” he said.
In 1992, during an appearance on British Channel 4’s music show The Word, Dancehall superstar Shabba Ranks was similarly asked to give his thoughts on Buju Banton’s controversial Boom Bye Bye song, which was said to condone the shooting of homosexuals.
Ranks responded that he was indeed a fan of Buju, and that the Bible advocated for the ‘crucifixion of homosexuals.’
“Most definitely for them that forfeit the law of God Almighty, you deserve crucifixion, most definitely. I live by the concept of the Bible, which is the righteousness of every human being, and the Bible states that man should multiply. The multiplication is done by a male and a female,” Shabba declared.
Following the comments, which he later apologized for, Shabba was dropped from concerts and reportedly faced trouble with his label, Sony Music.