Screenshot of an image from the music video for Shenseea song “Loodi”, featuring Vybz Kartel. Video by YouTube user SHENSEEAVEVO. The debate over the potentially harmful influence of the dancehall culture on youth and whether it fuels crime and violence is nothing new in Jamaica, but nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than in the life and career of Adidja Palmer. Better known by his stage name, Vybz Kartel, he was convicted for the 2011 killing of an associate, Clive “Lizard” Williams, after being acquitted of an earlier murder charge. Palmer was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 after a 65-day trial, and will not be eligible for parole for 35 years. Yet, Kartel's popularity (some call it a cult following) among Jamaican youth has not waned. Kartel continues to release new music, which is played regularly at parties. His album, King of Dancehall, topped the reggae music charts in the United States upon its release in June 2016, and was the highest selling album in that genre for the year. His book, “Voice of the Jamaica Ghetto (Incarcerated but not Silenced)”, co-written by Michael Dawson and published in July 2012, has reportedly been placed in Princeton University's library. In February 2017, the glitzy, fan-based Youth View Awards nominated Kartel in eight categories by popular vote; he won in five. Imagine the outcry then, when Lisa Hanna — the country's former culture minister (and current member of parliament) — suggested that there may need to be “less of a democracy” when it comes to trying to instill values in youth; values that are at odds with the messages they hear from the music being played on the radio. Even though Hanna did not call his name, she singled out Vybz Kartel when she spoke about “persons we know are incarcerated…persons we know have questionable value systems”. Her comments soon went viral, provoking an extreme and vitriolic backlash which included death threats. This social media response has caused the greatest shock waves in the public arena. One Twitter user noted: One is free to agree or disagree with Lisa Hanna's views, but to threaten her for them is repulsive, perverse, and disgraceful. — Corey (@Corey_WS) February 23, 2017 However, some have accused both Hanna and the prime minister of hypocrisy. A university student tweeted: During elections both the PM and Lisa Hanna used songs from Vybz Kartel and dancehall in general while campaigning, What makes it wrong now? — Demoye (@YPWhiteley) February 23, 2017 Another tweeted one of Hanna's Instagram updates during the election campaign: Quote the #VYBZKARTEL lyrics then turn round bashing him !! Big hypocrite pic.twitter.com/3oU7UPD69n — IG: willymac_7 (@WillyMac7) February 23, 2017 Hanna, as a former Miss World, famous for her glamorous Instagram account and therefore no stranger to social media, defended her stance in a lengthy Facebook post: I’m an unapologetic lover of music including dancehall. But there’s no necessity for some artists to use music as a medium for promoting violence and abuse of women. The Data confirms that violent and sexually explicit lyrics have negatively influenced many Jamaican youth’s thought processes through increased feelings of hostility and aggression. These negative influences are exacerbated when we turn a blind eye to radio airplay of new productions by persons we know are incarcerated so may have been abetted by corruption in our prison system. This reality necessitates us being urgently honest with ourselves. We should be prepared to have a national discussion about messages glorifying criminality being conveyed to our children that’ll ultimately bring deleterious consequences. These messages have been pushing us towards a different society from the one in which we all say we want to live. […] I pray that all Jamaicans who value common decency will find the courage to push back against this new normal and defend Jamaica’s true culture. If we lose this battle, however unpopular the battle or its choosing may be, we will have lost Jamaica. While not advocating a total ban, many Jamaicans are similarly concerned, in light of Jamaica's soaring crime rate this year, with the content of Kartel's lyrics. Columnist Gordon Robinson commented that they are merely a reflection of Jamaica's environment of crime and violence: Much of Kartel's music (not all) is vulgar, violent and antisocial. Worse, it encourages violence. This is nothing more than a sad reflection on Jamaican society as seen by Kartel. All artistes, from time immemorial, have been social commentators. That artistes like Kartel are rapidly becoming role models for Jamaican youth is a tragedy, but not one of the artistes’ making.