Teejay applauds Trinibad peace push

Jamaican dancehall star Teejay (Timoy Jones) is applauding the increasingly visible peace movement among Trinidad and Tobago’s Trinibad artistes, saying the public display of unity he witnessed during his recent visit represents precisely the kind of evolution he has been advocating for within the culture.

The Drift and Airplane Mode singer was in Trinidad last weekend and witnessed former Trinibad rivals, Kman (Kashif Sankar) and Plumpy Boss (Mescach Emmanuel), sharing the stage in one of the night’s most significant moments.

This happened following a press conference organised by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander and amid an ongoing effort to move local artistes and their supporters away from longstanding divisions, hostility and violence. For Teejay, the moment was particularly significant because months earlier he had publicly called for greater unity and even proposed recording with artistes who had previously been perceived to represent opposing sides of the Trinibad landscape.

“To see the artistes actually coming together now, me have to respect that,” Teejay said. “That is what we were talking about from before. Unity, love, joy. We love life, so let’s live.”

During the previous interview with Overtime Media, Teejay had specifically expressed interest in collaborating with Kman and Medz Boss (who is currently incarcerated), while acknowledging the sensitivities that sometimes surround working with artistes perceived to be on opposing sides.

Rather than choosing one side, however, the Jamaican star proposed working with both.

“Make we work together,” he said at the time. “Make we do this for the future, for the youths.”

That sentiment has since manifested with Kman publicly rejecting assumed gang affiliations and removing the polarising “6ixx” from his stage name.

He subsequently posted a #FreeMedzBoss message, while the appearance alongside Plumpy Boss provided another highly visible symbol of reconciliation.

Teejay believes those developments demonstrate why the conversation surrounding Trinibad should extend beyond simply banning songs or condemning artistes.

Recent local debates have centred on the influence of violent and explicit music on young people and included some controversy surrounding restrictions on songs associated with gang culture at Tobago Carnival.

“I don’t think the answer is to ban the music,” Teejay said. “I think the authorities have to work with the artistes, producers and the people in the industry and find a way to regulate the content without killing the culture.”

Jones acknowledged that standards may be necessary for public and family-oriented spaces, but argued that clear guidelines, clean versions and greater dialogue could achieve more than wholesale rejection of a developing indigenous genre.

“Don’t just say, ‘We banning Trinibad,’” he urged. “Let’s find ways fi make it work fi de youths dem.”

Teejay said artistes themselves must also accept responsibility for the influence that accompanies their platforms, particularly among impressionable young fans.

“When two artistes can put down the rivalry and come together, that is bigger than music,” he said. “The youths watching them see that and understand that you don’t have to hate somebody because you make different music, come from a different side of the same community or a different part of the same country.”

The Jamaican star has repeatedly acknowledged Trinidad and Tobago’s importance to his own career, noting that Airplane Mode received particularly strong support here and throughout the region.

His connection to the country is now becoming creative as well. Teejay extended his stay following his weekend performance to work on new music, experience a J’Ouvert-esque event on Sunday morning, explore local collaborations and film content.

He believes greater collaboration between Caribbean artistes can help redirect some of the competitive energy surrounding the music while expanding its international possibilities.

“Soca and dancehall are neighbours,” Teejay said. “Our culture leads the pack. So it is only right for these genres to fuse together and create history.”