Picture here

The negative effect of dancehall music on the lives of

teenagers

Candidate Name:
Candidate Name:

Stevan Davis
Stevan Davis

Candidate number:
Candidate number:
Teacher:
Teacher:
Centre:
Centre:
Centre Number #
Centre Number #
Territory:
Territory:
Year submitted:
Year submitted:

100032---------------100032---------------Miss Lewis Brown

Miss Lewis Brown
Ewarton High School
Ewarton High School
100032
100032
Jamaica
Jamaica
2015
2015

Theme: Dancehall Music and Teens

The Negative impact of dancehall music on the lives of teenagers

TITLE

PAGE

Topic

Acknowledgement
Introduction
Preface

2
3
4

Reflective Piece
Analysis

5
6

The successful completion of this assessment would not have been achievable
without the aid of God who assisted me with the vital resources which were needed
in the final compilation of this research. I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to my subject teacher Mrs. Lewis-Brown for giving me the necessary
information and guidelines needed to complete this project .And last but no means
least my family members who granted me with the support and finance required to
make this an accomplishment.

Dancehall music is everywhere in Jamaica, and, as a result I decided to explore the

theme Dancehall Music and Teens. This portfolio aims to sensitize and educate
others about the various negative effects of dancehall music on Jamaican Youth. It
is my desire to investigate solutions to this problem
It really annoys me that theses lyrics cause turmoil in schools, for example, the
Gully and Gaza feud. Additionally, I often encounter individuals who fall prey to
the predator dancehall music. They gave in to promiscuous behavior, gang violence
and rejected or showed little or no interest. This left their lives in jeopardy.
As a student I am often required to investigate human behavior, especially in
Sociology classes. Working on this portfolio has helped to provide me with some
insight into the behavior of youth who are negatively influenced by music.
The reflective piece is a story entitled The Hard Way. It shows how a young man
under the influence of dancehall music takes the wrong path towards becoming
wealthy, and, as a result, becomes incarcerated.
Preparing my expository I used trustworthy and replicable sources to expose the
negative impact of dancehall music on our youths. They showed how dancehall
music has affected student conducts and respect in the society.

The message conveyed in the story The hard way is that youths are greatly
influenced by dancehall music, usually negatively. This story was written to show
people who are victims of these music take the lyrics out of context and apply them
in their daily lives
The writer wants to convince teenagers to think positively even though the artistes
who are supposed to be positive role models have significantly failed.
Story telling is traditional. It can be transferred through various mediums such as;
drama, gossiping and speech. Oral presentations of this story in public forums such
as Youth Meetings would be ideal in order to either educate or entertain the
audience or listeners.
It is crucial for teenagers and their guardians to hear this story; because it entails
fundamental message for the development of families and youths who are highly
influenced by the content of this type of music.
The artistes should also be allowed to read or hear the story as it will allow them to
realize how influential their lyrics are, and that they are to some extent, responsible
for the behavior of our youths. If most artistes could be inspired to change one of
their negative lyrics it would impact positively and save individuals from the
tremor caused.

THE HARD WAY

Stevan Davis

George Rochester was associated with a family that fell victim to

poverty. Maka, as he was popularly known, was the most dangerous
thing in town. He was as sudden as a heart attack seeking to devour his
victim. His parents could no longer send him to an educational
institution and that never bothered him because he hated school. He was
also criticized and jeered at because he was graced by poverty and
couldnt afford most things other pupils possessed, hence Maka dropped
out of school. Even before this he had succumbed to hanging out at
regular dancehall spots in his district.This all started when he was
fourteen.
One midnight while he was chilling out at his most treasured spot on the
fence in front of the Hot Head dancehall site, his paary who was called
Nomadz came running towards him. He was magnetized by the song ,
Mi want a million dollar by a morning, on his newly obtained
Samsung Galaxy cellular phone . Nomadz was also the clone of his
favorite artiste Aidonia. As he approached him they rubbed thumbs,
Nomadz greeted Maka.
Wha gwaan hot skull?
Mi a wol a meds ino enuh dawg. Whats cracking?
Yow mi jus a gwaan chill, but mi have a vibes fi show yuh
Wah dat now?
My yout yuh no pre the new pepper weh bus weh day yah?
Dat a crap yuh nuh hear ADI seh Clarks me prefer
Yuh know we blockage ya now

Then with a look of excitement on his face Nomadz burst into song We
want a million dollar by a morning.
Yuh really believe we can do it? Asked Maka
Do road!
But because Maka was already thinking of making a move this only
boosted his confidence .
So he replied Mi did a tink bout a move yes, We can mek a buss pon di
Mega Mart out a road.
Dawg a big buss that ino. U think we can handle dat?
Listen my view. Yuh dun know di vibes. All we need fi do a just let
Predator and Condo role in.
Nomadz comprehended well enough to know that Maka was not
pussyfooting around. so he called the boys and the mission was then
drafted .
Later that night the four boys were adorned in their black garments and
masks and executed the mission. Being the Don Maka finally warned his
troops
Yow mi afi mek some hard cash- tired a di heart ache worries , ghetto
stake , sleepless nights and tired fi mi tripe dem twist because a
starvation an food for the poor not assisting . Remember the aim
Nomadz. Mek sure yuh av u things.
Yea man ready to roam replied Nomadz
Kool. Predator u ting set? he asked.
Cool no boss u done know mi head hot! predator responded
confidently.
Everybody ready then?

To this everyone replied in the affirmative followed by the song wah

can satisfy me , a trailer load a money. In the calm of the night the gang
went out to accomplish their goal. Though their plan was good it wasnt
good enough because they had no idea that the store was highly
protected. Maka, who was the expert on locks, opened the door in the
blink of an eye. They were completely unaware that the opening of the
door would trigger a silent alarm and the police would be informed that
predators are on the hunt. They smartly entered the building as planned
they each started attacking the products Maka and Nomadz search the
area for money while the others were scooping up grocery items for their
households. They were stopped in their tracks when they heard sirens on
the outside of the building. Maka started to panic.
Yow memba Kartel se get rich or die trying. RUN! was the command.
But the predators were now preys as they were surrounded by the cops.
Maka pulled out his gun from his shoe rephrasing a quote from one of
Kartels well-known songs, Kill dem all an done. They bolted out
despite the warning of the police. Maka fired the first shots and thats
where hell found its key. The police returned fire at all four boys while
they were escaping. The police ceased their fire after six minutes and
went in search of the gang in bushes. The boys were found a few feet
away from each other.
Maka was found dead with bullet wound to his head and neck. Nomadz
was nursing a bullet to his side and Predator and Condo were both dead
with several wounds to their bodies. Nomadz was treated at the hospital
under the guard of the police. He was later tried and convicted of
multiple charges including illegal possession of firearm and robbery. He
was sentenced to ten years in prison. The funeral of the fallen threeMaka, Predator and Condo- was facilitated in one of the local
community church. The families of the deceased were left in agony.

ANALYSIS
In the story, The Hard Way, the writer utilizes a number of communicative features
including, language registers and communicative behavior to enhance the story, as
they vividly show how dancehall music is having a negative impact on teenager.

The use of the register is prevalent in the story as the narrator engages his audience
with a formal register, which could suggest that the message is intended for a
general English speaking audience. The formality of the language register used by
the narrator, who seems to be a member of the community, differentiates his
intellectual status from that of the boys. This is seen as his constant use of standard
Formal English throughout the extract, (example) though in some parts of the
story a casual register was used as was seen in the conversation that the boys had
for example when Biggs greeted taka wha gwaan daddy and he replied mi de ya
pon di gully side ino paary . The continuos use of this casual register among taka
and his friends show the closeness of their relationship and the level of formality
that exist among them. The use of slangs and lines from songs solidifies this close
relationship that they had
Communicative behavior is another communicative feature used. Takas constant
attendance to dancehalls communicated that these boys were only mostly
passionate about dancehall music which made them laid back. The reader is led to
assume at their interest does not contain positivity and social mobility. Their
continued attendance to these sessions also makes one assume that the are most
likely to be engaged in delinquent activities as a result that it was not mentioned
that the went to school and additionally dancehall is more regular than not
associated with delinquent behavior . Also their initial greeting style by slapping of
hands illustrated that they are well acquainted with each other. Additionally
adornment of these teenagers in black and red communicates their devious nature
and it also foreshadows their death
The use of language registers and communicative behavior was effective in that,
language registers revealed poor intellectual social background. While the
communicative behavior speaks to the nonverbal communication which reveals
things about the character that was not mentioned to the audience

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hall, D., Jones, R., Raffo, C., Chambers, I., & Gray, D. Communication Studies.
London: Pearson Education. (2004).

Randall, H., Stephens-James, L., Lamorell, C., Francis, L., & Noel, D.
Communication Studies for CAPE. London: Cambridge University Press. (2007).

Teck, T . B., Wee, A., Chan, O., & Sinanan, R. Cape Communication Studies.
Caribbean Studies. Caribbean Publishers. (2007).

Wood, F., & Sangster, A. Communication Studies 2. London: Prentice Hall. (2008).