‘Open Ya Eyes’ to positivity

by Kareem Smith

Three local entertainers are taking their anti-violence campaign to the next level by launching a competition which they believe will uncover a wealth of untapped talent, while forcing a shift away from the glorification of negativity in local entertainment.

Up and coming artist Jomario Joe Cloudy Goddard and rhythm-poet Adisa Aja Andwele who recently collaborated on the anti-violence song, Open Ya Eyes on Wednesday teamed up with fellow entertainer Bakari Korrupt Murray, to give young people the chance to jump onto their bandwagon of positivity.

The competition, also called Open Ya Eyes, will give young people the chance to produce songs or videos which focus on positive themes to counter the growing narrative of crime and violence which has been negatively impacting the country.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative in the Melrose, St Thomas community where Joe Cloudy lives and where the music video for their song was recorded, the entertainers said they got the idea after launching their song

The entertainers said during the shooting of the recent music video, they were so surprised by young people in the area who flashed audiovisual and acting skills. This wealth of talent inspired the artists to give more young people a similar opportunity.

While Aja praised the commitment of Attorney General Dale Marshall to attack the country’s gun violence problem with increased policing and increased surveillance at the ports of entry, he argued that Government would still be left with the social problems which were creating the foundation for crime to thrive.

“We’ve got to deal with the social dynamic which is taking place within the houses and the families and so on. We are too small as a society to let Barbados degenerate in that direction,” he charged.

“So we are asking the grassroots sections of the population and the majority of the youth from all parts of Barbados to respond to violence and get to the root of it.”

Both Joe Cloudy and Korrupt agreed that too much talent was wasting away in communities across the country.

“This competition is going to expose a lot of talent in Barbados that is unknown and give opportunities to a lot of youngsters and a lot of people who have never had the opportunity to do it,” said Joe Cloudy.

The winners of the music and the video competition will each walk away with $1,000 and will be offered a contract with Dark Room recording studios among other incentives.

“There’s a lot of talent in Barbados, but I realize a lot of young artists coming up are singing about shooting and killing and that type of thing because it is easier. So for this competition, we are asking the youth to submit their best anti-violence song. It doesn’t have to be gun violence. It could be domestic violence or any other type of violence. The aim is to expose this talent that we have in Barbados and help unite the communities,” said Korrupt. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb