Badness Outta Style

The following is a press release statement from TEMPO...

TEMPO TAKES A STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE

Tempo, the Caribbean’s premier entertainment network, is pleased to announce a new initiative of its pro-social platform, ONE LOVE, which engages, educates and empowers the community to tackle issues that affect us. The ONE LOVE: BADNESS OUTTA STYLE CAMPAIGN will openly explore ways to prevent violence in communities, schools and neighborhoods across the Caribbean.

The ONE LOVE: BADNESS OUTTA STYLE CAMPAIGN will kick off with a series of celebrity public service announcements (PSA’s), featuring Trinidad artists Mr. King, Bunji Garlin, KES, King David, Machel Montano and Ziggy Rankin. These PSA’s will deliver powerful messages of peace, reason, and respect through imagery and information that is crucial to educating viewers about the causes and effects of violence. Each announcement will focus on ways to stop and prevent violence. In Trinidad, Tempo is proud to be partnered with the YMCA and Advanced Dynamics to engage at- risk youth, whose futures depend on the cessation of violence, to create their own Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) to boost community awareness, offering steps toward reducing victimization. The PSA’s will be broadcast on Tempo and online at gottempo.com.

The campaign’s title “Badness Outta Style,” was inspired by the lyrics from the song “Boderline", written by Mr. King. Mr. King, one of Trinidad’s top reggae artists, has generously lent his song to the campaign. “This movement is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote this song. I wanted to reach out to youth all over the Caribbean to address the problems of war and violence. Tempo is the perfect medium to get the message out” said Mr. King.

“Youth violence hurts us all! We are the witnesses, parents, siblings; friends as well as the significant others that are left heartbroken…make it a war of hearts not of brute. Care, be honest, show respect and be responsible for your actions” said Delisa Lewis, Communications Officer at the YMCA, Trinidad.

Tempo created the ONE LOVE pro-social platform out of its sense of responsibility to its audience. Recent incidents at the Tempo Turns One Trinidad event, “Party With the Stars, Party Like the Star You Are” served to crystallize the need to address violence as part of the ONE LOVE pro-social umbrella, which continues to address HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, music education and disaster relief.

“As a Caribbean entertainment brand, we are disturbed by growing statistics of violence across the Caribbean. We are fortunate to be able to mobilize many of the Caribbean’s brightest stars, in a conversation regarding how to save the future of our greatest natural resource – our youth. We selected the artists involved because of the powerful messages within their music. When Mr. King sings, “Badness Outta Style” in Boderline, he’s not just singing a lyric, “he is speaking to our future” said Frederick Morton, Jr., Senior Vice President & General Manger, Tempo.

Since inception "It was my desire that TEMPO immediately demonstrate its uncompromising commitment to the community and that is why we incorporated HIV/AIDS messaging at our launch events in November, 2005; broadcast PSA’s – including a PSA featuring a special message from a 13-year old Trinidadian living with HIV, and conducted a disaster relief auction raising $50,000 for the Red Cross to assist Grenada, Haiti, and Jamaica, Caribbean islands most affected by the 2004 hurricanes. And now we will join hands with our partners to stomp out violence in our communities." Morton further stated.

As a quickly evolving leader in brand Caribbean, TEMPO is uniquely positioned to create impactful messages independently and in partnership with advertisers, non-profit organizations, corporate friends, record labels, and artists. TEMPO's goal is that the ONE LOVE campaign will positively affect and change lives through work in the following areas:

• HIV/AIDS Awareness: Tempo is working with the Caribbean creative community, MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation and local NGO’s in HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness messaging, and programming.
  
• VIOLENCE Awareness & Prevention: Tempo works to encourage the cessation of violence, in partnership with the YMCA in Trinidad and will expand this program throughout the Caribbean.
  
• Creative Arts Education: Tempo is committed to educating our audience about issues that affect them and using the creative arts to both engage young people and to enhance the educational process. Our messaging of music education in the schools, prisons, etc. in partnership with artists and other Caribbean thought leaders will advocate the use of creative arts as a means of addressing and tackling many of the social issues that affect the region.
  
• Disaster Preparedness and Relief: Funds and awareness will be raised throughout the year to prepare for the frequent category 4 and 5 hurricanes that the region often experiences. Tempo will also identify partners and participate in fund-raising drives, benefits and online auctions. Additional new on air, online, wireless, and grassroots initiatives will be rolled out throughout the year, all in the spirit of One Love!

... back to my views now...

This posting is just the first part in my deconstruction of Badness Outta Style. I do not advocate BADNESS but I am a bit bemused with TEMPO's stand. This initiative stands side by side, hand in hand... whatever else escapes me at the moment... with music videos/songs that portray and embelish the BADNESS lifestyle. I am trying to get the PSAs to then show along with some of the videos that TEMPO plays.

The first time I saw one of the PSAs, it was Mr. Morton himself, along with Jah Bami. Followed minutes later by Mavado's video for 'Dreaming'. Now it was the TV edit but I know the unedited song and in it Mavado (Gangsta for LIFE) says

"...and if u touch my paper,

FUCK my dream up,

then you gonna get kill..."

Kinda sounds like self-defence...

I wonder if TEMPO is now going to censor these videos that portray BADNESS. And will it stop with BADNESS alone. Maybe the next step is to ensure that the videos that are overtly sexual are followed by the PSAs for HIV/AIDS (STIs in general).

ban-d-wagonist...