Did Jamaican police threaten to arrest Alkaline and Squash over their heated lyrical feud?
It was the Jamaican police high command which had demanded both the 6IX and the Vendetta camps cease and desist from releasing a spate of disrespectful, violence-laced songs in which dancehall stars Squash and Alkaline threatened to murder each other, according to Junior’ Heavy D’ Frazer, manager of the 6IX.
According to D, the Jamaica Constabulary Force had told both Alkaline and Squash that if they continued using their music and images of bloodshed to threaten each other, they would both be taken into police custody. He said he had also messaged Alkaline requesting a truce, but that his pacifist act had been exploited by Alkaline, who chose to underhandedly use it in a ‘diss’ song.
“Suh it go to a point weh mi think it go too far and den di police think it guh too far tuh, and di police dem seh fi stop it… And mi call dem (Vendetta Camp) fi stap it, but instead a dem try fi stop, dem put mi name inna song and a talk all kinda foolishness and dem nuh put di part weh di police seh dem a go lock yuh up if yuh no stop it,” Heavy D explained during an interview on Onstage.
“Suh mi si dem a run out wid mi name and mi tell dem fi stop it because me only a beg peace. From the beginning, me never want the war fi gwaan, but if you have a artiste, some a di tings yuh haffi just align yuhself wid it, but at the same time mi naw see no artise and war wid dem… Mi and every man alright,” he said.
Heavy D also said he was spurred to call a truce after he saw the extent to which the feuding artistes began to denigrate each other’s mothers, even though parents have traditionally been off-limits in clashes and never the subject of disrespect at any time in clashes.
“Mi hate da suppm deh wid madda name a call inna Dancehall and father name man. Both side did gone too far too. People haffi careful when dem a dweet and mi nuh support da kinda ting deh at no point in time. No matter who a dweet or why mi involve or not involve. Certain tings nuh mek no sense. Suh me did seh it gone too far; too much a one ting good fi nuttn, suh mek wi done wid it,” he said.
“It’s just regular Dancehall clash to mi. Mi no know weh start it; just argument weh man throw a likkle wud inn one song and a man pick it up and a seh ‘bway a me him a talk,'” Heavy D said.
