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As has been noted in previous Mojo blogs, Jamaica's dancehall music is no stranger to controversy. And the latest hullabaloo has divided the nation along lines of public decency and personal taste.

The storm began brewing when a series of "daggering" hits gained widespread airplay, such as Aidonia's ultra-explicit "Hundred Stab," Spice's "Check Mi Fi The Daggering," and "Dagga Dat" by Bragga. To the uninitiated, "daggering" is a super-lewd "dance" that leaves little to the imagination, in which groin-locked couples enact rapid-speed dry-humping. "Daggering" dancers basically enact simulated sex, since the term is roughly the Caribbean equivalent to "cabin stabbing." Public displays of "daggering" are definitely x-rated; check youtube for examples, if so inclined.

As more and more "daggering" tunes entered the public consciousness, Jamaica's upstanding citizens began to press protests. For the nay-sayers, "daggering" was another element of dancehall's corruption of the nation's youth, even though the "daggering" tunes were usually broadcast in censored versions, with the offending terms "bleeped" out.

The tension increased after foul-mouthed rapper Vybz Kartel teamed up with Spice for the explicit duet, "Rampin Shop," which celebrated rough sex under no certain terms. The fact that Spice's lyrics were as raw as her male companion's seemed to further inflame dancehall's detractors, especially after the song reached the number-one chart spot on mainstream radio station, FAME FM. In a Gleaner article published on February 1st, titled "Rampin Shop: Musical Poison," noted columnist and school principal Esther Tyson urged the Jamaican public "to stop enriching people like Vybz Kartel who create filth and are then paid when they release it on the public."

Five days later, the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission took the unprecedented step of banning all songs with explicit sexual content from radio and television, as well as songs that glorify gun violence, murder, rape or arson. The ban is absolute, meaning that such songs can no longer be aired as "clean" versions that make use of "bleeping."

Responses to the ban have been extremely mixed. Some feel the government's stance is hypocritical: Given that human rights campaigns have fallen on deaf ears for years, why should it take a bit of dry-humping to bring action? Additionally, Professor Carolyn Cooper of the University of the West Indies has long argued that dancehall culture is derided by Jamaica's middle class, due to its rooting in African traditions; in addition to dismissing "Rampin Shop" as generally "tame" in a Gleaner editorial of her own, stating that its vulgar language actually depicted "a tantric celebration of one of the fundamental pleasures of life," Dr Cooper also lashed out against the Broadcasting Commission's "meddling."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, music industry personnel have argued that the ban will further cripple Jamaica's economy, with video director Jay Will claiming it "infringed on the rights of viewers who relished indigenous adult entertainment and created a double standard vis-à-vis foreign productions on other channels," while Greensleeves Records President Olivier Chastan argued that an outright ban amounts to unwarranted censorship, as "bleeping" versions could theoretically still be aired after the watershed.

Although the most vociferous campaigners against "daggering" are from Jamaica's well-heeled middle class, not all who support the ban are establishment types. "I don't think it's right to play those kind of lyrics on the radio, cause if you beep it out, the kids still know," respected reggae singer Horace Andy told David Rodigan on a recent Kiss FM broadcast in the UK. "My daughter is four years old, and she knows every word of 'Rampin Shop.' The first time 'Rampin Shop' played on the radio, they should have banned it."

So it is a case of draconian censorship, or too little, too late? Let the Jamaican public decide...

Uncensored music talk and recommendations at mojo4music.com