|
By Christopher Serju
Music over crime, peace every time is the guiding philosophy of Just For Peace, a Spanish Town, St Catherine-based non-profit organisation committed to helping youngsters realise their full potential. Founded by businessman Patrick Williams and Eugene Pitter, a journalist/teacher/ social worker, the organisation has five main objectives.
The reduction of criminal activities, especially among youth, though the use of music.
Transforming the Jamaican society by instilling discipline through music.
To help and unite warring factions.
Help youth realise their musical talent, which are to be harnessed, exposed and exported.
To give youth an avenue to express themselves effectively at all levels.
In an interview with LIVING, Pitter explained that the organisation was founded three years ago while he was employed as programmes manager at Jamaica Amalgamated Cable System (JACS). Concerned about the lack of opportunities for young people, he convinced Patrick Williams to sponsor music video shoots for an estimated 200 youth from Spanish Town and its environs. The publicity generated from the videos, which were aired on JACS and other community cable companies in St. Catherine, provided a window of opportunity for many of the youngsters.
Soon a number of them were touching base with Pitter to express their gratitude and to ask for advice on how to take advantage of the opportunities generated by their exposure. This led to the formation of Super P Productions, which saw Pitter quitting his job to provide full-time guidance and grooming for young men and women with the talent and willingness to enter the entertainment field.
Started on a shoestring budget, the principals (Williams and Pitter) insisted from the beginning that Just for Peace would only engage entertainers committed to using their talents to promote good values. Lyrics which promote violence or badness were declared a no-no and the artistes were made to understand that if they strayed from that dictate, they could no longer be a part of the programme. Since then, the response from the upcoming acts has been overwhelmingly positive.
Positive lyrics
According to Pitter, Just for Peace has been reaching to youngsters in a number of volatile communities in Spanish Town and its environs, such as Rivoli, March Pen Road, Homestead, Tawes Pen and St. Johns Road. While there are many talented youngsters in the communities, their musical offerings were usually centred on gun violence and other negative influences – inspired by the everyday happenings around them. Pitter said it took a lot of work to convince the young men, some of whom had been gang members, that they could make a living from music, through clean and positive lyrics.
With very little seed money – drawn from their pockets — Williams and Pitter undertook the task of funding an 18-track album, titled Just for Peace, featuring the music of some of the artistes signed to the group. The startup cost also included promotional photos, fliers, preparation for performances and grooming for interviews. The promotion gained through exposure via a number of community cable companies, including JACS in Portmore, Community Link and Real Flex in Linstead, Linkup in Old Harbour, and PBO in Clarendon, has convinced the upcoming artistes that they had a chance at making it in the world of entertainment. Since then, despite the odds, with shortage of funding being a major setback, the Just for Peace artistes have been persevering with their dream and are firmly bent on making a name for themselves.
For example, deejay Kemar Colin Samms, aka ‘Don Kabal’, from Spanish Town performed on Coco Tea’s Original Dancehall Jam Jam show on December 31, at the Jamalco Sports Complex in Halse Hall, Clarendon,
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) has also been using a number of Just for Peace artistes on its programmes across the island. These include the White Diamond Dancers who won a bronze medal in the national festival of the arts competition.
Meanwhile, as word spreads of its talented performers with strict adherence to clean and culturally uplifting entertainment, the group has been getting a number of community gigs, especially in St. Catherine. These include a promotional show for the Miss St. Catherine Festival Queen Finals and a fundraising barbecue at Cumberland High School in Portmore.
Hard work
When LIVING visited its offices at Shop #1, Spanish Mall, 10 King Street in Spanish Town, recently, it was obvious that Just for Peace was hurting for lack of funding. There were no air-conditioning or fans in place, the place was sparsely furnished and they had not yet received telephone service. Pitter’s cell phone was the one means of making contact with the organisation.
He said he believed they could accomplish so much more with the backing of corporate Jamaica. At the office, a room earmarked for ‘Grooming’ was empty and there was need for office furniture – desks, filing cabinets, fax machine, stove, refrigerator etc.
Despite this, the office served as a meeting point for the youngsters, some of whom come to chill out there and it was obvious from the response of those who passed through on the day of LIVING’s visit, that they were holding firm to the commitment to eschew violence and achieve their goals through hard work.
Singer/songwriter Barrington Campbell, aka ‘Revelation’, has been in the business since age 15 and the resident of St. John’s Road said he was committed to a message of peace as reflected in his songs, ‘Gun Dawg’, ‘Crime Stop’ and ‘World Peace’.
Marlon McKenzie, who goes by the stage name ‘Deejay Overall’, was moved by crimes which he witnessed, to pen ‘Down in the Streets’, which tells the story of youth dying in the ghetto.
Donroy Davis, aka ‘Don Twister’, admitted that he still had much to learn, but was excited at his prospects. He was convinced that his time with the group had been well spent, and was looking forward to sharing his talent with Jamaica and the world.
The going has been rough, but Pitter, who is focussed full-time on making Just for Peace a success, remained steadfast in his goal to provide a positive alternative for youngsters with the talent and willingness to rise above their circumstances of life in the inner-city. To this end, the group received a shot in the arm from Canadian-based artiste, ‘One Shott’, who visited the island over the Yuletide Season to formalise links with the group, which resulted in a number of collaborative events to promote the local artistes.
Born in Toronto, One Shott who claims to be a lyrical physicist, has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s fast rising rappers. He has performed in Jamaica and two of his hit singles are ‘Side by Side’, featuring him with Munga Honorebel and ‘Can’t Stop the Flow’ with Capleton.
GO BACK
|
