"Yuh see de Gaza, look dey think it's life over dey.
And so with guns and knives they come to play.
So wey yuh from, the Gully or de Gaza,
It doh matter you have to dress passa passa,
Tell me which one ah dem boys pants tighter
or which gyal dressing swankier
So who yuh like, Mavado or Kartel,
Boy, down here we doh rate Machel
Trinidad turn to little Jamaica
All they want is bling bling and paper."
Those are the words contained in the chorus of one of reigning South Calypso Monarch Brian London's Carnival 2010 calypsoes, as he pleads with the nation's young people to stay away from everything associated with violence and to become more self-conscious and responsible.
When London performed the song for the first time publicly, during the Regional Carnival Committee's Distribution of Subvention ceremony held on January 12, at City Hall, it was clear that it would be a favourite among listeners, as almost all the heads in the audience nodded in agreement with his lyrics.
According to London, the song seeks to rekindle a sense of self-awareness and reality in today's copycat society, where the youths seem more interested in an illusion than in real life. Taking a stand against the "Gully or Gaza syndrome", made famous by lyrical feuds between Jamaican dancehall singers Mavado and Vybz Kartel, London said that their local counterparts should use that same musical influence to keep the youths on track. He commended former Soca Monarch winner Bunji Garlin for singing out against the Gully/Gaza mentality in two of his C2K10 offerings, but said that more attention should be paid to the hook line of the song. "Music is the only universal language there is. For any artiste to make a song about Gully or Gaza or anything that propagates violence, they have to understand the power in that song."
"A lot of youths don't have guidance and all they will hear is the hook line of the song. "Unless the words are clear and precise and (at) a particular pace, they are not going to hear that. "They are going to get caught up with the euphoria and go with it and that will just lead to more violence." So passionate is London about his calypso, that he intends to make a video depicting life on the actual Gaza Strip.
"I plan to take money out of my own pocket if necessary to do the video because I feel it is important," London continued. "I hope that when they see people with one eye, piece of foot and piece of hand, they might get a sense of what really goes on in the Gaza."
