Dancehall can be positive – NotNice creates song promoting responsible social media use

The type of content usually produced from the dancehall has earned the genre a reputation that is less than pleasing. It is common belief that the lewdness that defines the space is to be blamed for much of the ills now plaguing society.

But perhaps that will change when people learn that a hardcore dancehall producer is the man behind the Broadcasting Commission’s latest television campaign, geared towards positively impacting the nation’s youth.

In a catchy advertisement now making the rounds on social media, a male student is captured deejaying on a dancehall beat on the school grounds.

He engages his fellow schoolmates in an effort to create awareness around social media posting.

‘ Watch yourself pan social media when you a post … nuh do nothing too wild‘, he deejay as he conveys the Broadcasting Commission’s message of ‘think before you post’.

The song, which has now captured national attention and is earning major endorsements on social media, was produced by Billboard-charting dancehall producer, NotNice.

He told THE STAR that he was contacted by the Commission as they were keen on getting their message across to their core audience in a relatable way.

“It was a very good experience working on this project. It’s not the first time doing an ad, but an ad of this kind, I had to think if I should make it be a song, like supmn weh can also play in the dance, because they wanted it to be hip and modern so the kids can relate to it because it was something geared towards dem,” he said. “So I had to make the beat catchy so it can play inna parties and pan the yute dem phone.”

WELL RECEIVED

NotNice said that he was pleased with the finished product.

“It came out well and it’s well received by the masses. The clients loved it and me realise it going out there on the social media and me nuh see one bad comment,” he said.

The producer says that before now, it was never publicised that he produced the track. He said that he now hoped that dancehall would get its credit as something that can be positive.

“Sometime me produce some songs and some people don’t like it just because is me produce it, like dem nuh like me or supmn. So the fact seh dem never know and dem like it, I hope when dem figure out say a supmn me do, dem nuh bias. Dancehall capable of these kinds of messages too,” he said.

Speaking of messages, NotNice expressed that the ‘think before you post’ message is not just for young people but adults as well.

“It will get you to think even as an adult that if you see something come into your phone, before you think to share it or re-post it, think about what if it was your family member or friend, if you would still share it,” he said. “It is good to start from the kids but the message is good for everyone because we adults share things weh we nuffi share and re-post things weh nuffi repost.”