Staff Writer - Kerran Monroe
Selectors (DJs) in the dancehall have always been subject to violence and restrictions in terms of which songs they can and cannot play.
These restrictions and acts of violence are usually at the hands of Dancehall artists and some promoters.
The most recent act of violence against a popular selector was about a week ago when, selector Bill Cosby was hit by a box of CDs by Vybz Kartel’s ex business partner, Corey Todd.
Apparently at a recent staging of the weekly Swag Tuesdays, held at Club Riddim, Bill Cosby was playing a song by Vybz Kartel, which was a ‘diss’ song, aimed at Corey Todd. When Corey Todd signaled the selector to stop playing the song, according to the business man the selector ignored him which led to the business man’s assault on the selector. This leads me to ponder, how liberated are selectors in the industry, really.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t he the same Corey Todd who complained about Kartel turning the club into a ‘patty shop’ and that Kartel did not want songs of certain artists to be played at the club? Is he not the same person who said that now that Kartel is no longer affiliated with the club, it will now be a real club, and that the club will not be partial in song selections? Is it me or do I sense some hypocrisy right there.
Now in all fairness to Corey, I have been to Club Riddim since the changes and there were Vybz Kartel tunes being played and a lot of them too. However, Corey must understand that music is just that, music and being a public figure on the entertainment scene, people will take lyrical swipes at you, and it is the obligation of the selector to the patrons, to play songs that they want to hear even if the song is a diss to you the promoter.
- Corey claims that he is impartial but in order to be impartial ones need to divorce oneself from the situation. Corey need fi understand himself. Yuh kyaa inna dancehall an nuh get a diss but dat nuh gi yuh di right fi go assault a selector because him play a song weh a diss you….
Promoter Corey Todd
- Music a music an as di king seh “When it hits you, you feel no pain” and this goes to all the artists/promoters who feel that they own the selector.
- Selectors need to be more liberated to play whichever song they want to play as long as it is pleasing to the audience. Also selectors need to organize themselves and take a stand against this practice, as it is not a good look on Dancehall and the entertainment industry on a whole.
NB: The details of this story were published at OutAroad.com
Link to story: http://www.outaroad.com/2011/08/did_corey_todd_bax_stoneloves.html
