Erup - File

I am happy that Erup's Click My Finger has made it into the Billboard Charts. It is not a very high placing, in the '90s, but to even have a sniff at those prestigious and, more important, credible charts is an achievement all by itself.

The song, although it dealt with one of the omnipresent 'gs' of dancehall (gal, gun, ganja, greed and God are others), has a distinctly different feel to it; it is simply a rollicking good party tune.

(Of course, Click My Finger hitting the Billboards at this time when it is very stale news in Jamaica emphasises that music has to have some longevity to it to be worth a serious investment.)

However, this and other Billboard chartings are the exception more so than the norm. Unfortunately, by and large, I have absolutely no faith in the charts that Jamaican performers claim they have made in the land of wood, corruption and water.

No problem

Many times absolutely no basis is given for a chart placing; in the first place, no one knows how many copies are sold of a recording anyway. A few charts do indicate that they are based mostly on opinion and I have absolutely no problem with that.

But when a claim is made that a song is definitely number one, there is absolutely no justification.

And basing a chart placing (supposedly) on airplay does not help either because the payola system is alive and very well (so much so that minister of information, culture, youth and sports has spoken out against it on more than one occasion). Apparently, all it takes is enough money and a song gets rotation until the producer and artiste are dizzy.

Simply non-existent

So when someone can claim that they have a number one or even a top-10 song in Jamaica and go abroad with that as proof of their popularity and quality, which is simply non-existent, the disappointment is a reflection not only on the performer, but Jamaican music as a whole.

This payola thing is really hurting what is touted as potentially Jamaica's most profitable product.

The last reliable, quantifiable chart was The STAR's (when the 'Diwali' rhythm was running the place) and the vermin went to the record shops and paid off some other vermin to put some nonsense songs on their lists.

We need a way to get around them; the problem is, they are plenty, plenty.