Yaksta Asks Jamaican Gov’t For Patience, More Support For New Dancehall Artists
Reggae/Dancehall artist Yaksta made a name for himself by preaching consciousness with his hit song Ambition. Who would’ve thought that he would come to the defense of more daring artists whose lyrics often come under scrutiny from members of the Jamaican government? Well, this was ironically the case during his set at Rebel Salute on Friday.
According to him, the new crop of Dancehall entertainers are simply living what they’ve learnt and must be treated with grace.
“If you start off killing, yuh protégé aguh waan surpass his master. Am I wrong?,” he rhetorically asked the patrons inside Grizzly’s Plantation Cove, St. Ann.
“If a foolishness mi ah talk, unuh tell mi enuh . Am I wrong?” He asked again, before being met with a resounding “No!”
“To wi leaders dem, cause dem a nuh wi elders—dem ah wi leaders. We see weh yah seh an’ wi understan’ an’ wi a try mek a change. All Yaksta ah ask fah fi all ah di younger generation dem like miself is likkle bit more support. Don’t just chastise wi every time seh wi nuh know dis an’ wi nah do good music,” the singer reasoned.
Yaksta said the controversial themes in Dancehall today are simply a matter of art imitating reality.
“Wi live inna ah era weh wi si, an’ try fi emulate dat. Suh if a violence yuh put in front ah wi dats what dem goan sing,” he said.
The Bush Lawd added that while he might be a little wiser than his compatriots, a better alternative would be to support and groom them instead of constantly bashing their music.
“But now me garner di knowledge fi understan’ seh it’s more dan jus di guns, an’ di girls dem skinning out an’ try fi sing supm more positive. All wi need is likkle more support. Because yuh have wah whole heap ah artist a Jamaica weh try positive music,” he said before going on to hail Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Tony Rebel, and Barrington Levy for being trendsetters in the industry.
Last August, Ambition was included in a Rolling Stone feature celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jamaican independence.
According to the publication, “some tracks were chosen because they heralded a new direction in sound, others sparked a movement, some engendered controversy, marked a turning point in an artist’s career, or had a significant impact at the time of their release.”
Yaksta made his debut at Reggae Sumfest a month prior. His set at Rebel Salute was delivered with the same magnitude of passion as he did at Catherine Hall last year.
He and his close friend Nation Boss performed Emotions, and other favorites like Assets, Hype & Bruk, and Humans.