Baby Tash, last year's winner of the Magnum Queen of Dancehall title. - Nathaniel Stewart

Magnum Kings and Queens: A clean take on dancehall

Dancehall music is the heartbeat of the Jamaican people and has captured the affection of fans worldwide. Magnum Tonic Wine's Kings and Queens of Dancehall has tapped into the popularity of dancehall by bringing quality, clean entertainment to the masses.

Executive Producer, Mark Kenny, notes that Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall is about promoting clean music.

"Dancehall music can be highly creative without promoting violence or being offensive," Kenny says.

Kenny makes the point that one can still have fun and gain resonance in the industry without having violence and lewd content in the music.

Dancehall artiste and series assistant producer, Sanjay, points out: "Your lyrics have to be clean to play on the radio. Media houses have to adhere to Broadcast Commission's obligations and artistes must pay attention to that."

Guiding principle

Sticking to such policies, Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall has in place a guiding principle of clean lyrics.

Sanjay explains: "Based on the way the competition is set, you must have clean lyrics...another thing to take into consideration is that most dancehall shows are financed by sponsors who have an image to maintain."

Dancehall has a tradition of clean lyrics, from the likes of Assassin to newcomers such as Konshens. For dancehall to appeal to the greatest number of fans of all ages and walks of life, it has to be palatable. This is the reason the producers of the competition have taken this strong stance.

The producers see the competition as a vehicle for the promotion of clean dancehall, both locally and internationally.

Positive

Natalie Parboosingh, producer for the dancehall show said "we feel that Dancehall can have a positive and exciting impact on listeners and the artistes without including bad words or derogatory language. Of course we cannot water down dancehall too much, as it would lose its authenticity, but on this show we ensure that we control the level of potentially controversial language."

Further substantiating her point, Parboosingh recalled the overwhelmingly positive reactions to the show from the general public and the contestants in the first season last year.

Premieres

"We have found with last season and this season's auditions that contestants comply and react positively towards projecting clean lyrics. They also often create lyrics about stopping violence and encouraging safe sex, which sends a great message."

In 2008, Jamaica saw the first season of the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall come and go. Now, in 2009, after five jam-packed auditions spanning the length and breadth of Jamaica, Season two premieres on TVJ on January 17 at 9 pm.

Male winner of Magnum Tonic Wine's Kings and Queens of Dancehall competition, Singer Jah. - Noel Thompson