Kanye West exploiting Jamaica, at least that’s what Foota Hype is saying.
Veteran Dancehall selector Foota Hype, says the only reason American rapper Kanye West came to Jamaica to stage his Sunday Service last Friday, was to exploit the Jamaican culture for personal gain, in what he described as a cleverly concocted trick. Foota said American rappers have long recognized that Jamaican is a global cultural powerhouse and so they try to align themselves with the country to give the world the impression that they have Jamaican roots, as a means to their own selfish ends.
“Yow, mi tell oonu aready. Dem a talk bout Jamaica is now trending because of Kanye. No. Kanye a trend because a Jamaica. Wi keep forgetting dat we have di numba one culture in di entire world. Oonu no memba seh when Chris Brown a bus, Chris Brown inna Jamaica t-shirt. Oonu forget? Chris Brown weh no have nuttn fi do wid Jamaica; him no bawn yah, him naw no family dung yah, nuttn at all,” he said in a recent Instagram live feed.
“Jus di t-shirt weh him a wear alone, anybody woulda think seh Chris Brown a Jamaican. All mi did a think seh him a Jamaica tuh. So oonu haffi pree. Mi know seh him (Kanye) no jus come a Jamaica suh,” Foota added.
Foota said that he has close interactions with American rappers and they are selfish lovers of money, who do not even like to give to charity, and so Kanye’s concert was not staged out of altruism.
He also said he was mortified to see that many Jamaicans were gullible enough to believe that Kanye staged the concert because he wanted to be kind to Jamaica.
“Fus ting, dem bwoy yah, rapper no gi weh prayers. Dem deh a ting weh mi know. No matta how much money dem have, dem no like gi weh nuttn. All when yuh hear some rapper a talk bout ‘oh, mi giving for charity fund’. Rapper nuh gi weh nuttn. Me par wid dem so mi know,” he emphasized.
“No American naw duh dat just suh. Dem nuh do dat. Dem love money more dan demself. Oonu tink a one fairytale bl**dclaat world wi a live inna weh Kanye a go teck up US$1 million spend freely suh? Him naw dweet!” he declared.
The Calabar old boy said the use of the Jamaican symbols, including the coat of arms on his merchandise, was only a small part of Kanye’s well-planned exploitation scheme.
“Memba seh from day one mi seh ‘what is di catch’? Wi naw talk bout sellin t-shirt at di event. Him a sell t-shirt and sweater weh have di flag, di national bird, di logo of Kingston city and all a wi Jamaican suppm dem pon it widout permission. So oonu di haffi fi see dat first fi know sh suppm inna suppm? Who the f*ck I going to get up ad spen US$1 million dolla fi nuttn?” Foota argued.
“Dem done mek dem sweater deh and have everyting set up already. Dem plan out Jamaica long time before dem even come yah, before dem even advertise it seh him a come a Jamaica and have merchandise a build. So when di whole world a talk bout him and Jamaica, him have products can a sell as day light…. Hidden agenda. Di bwoy plan out Jamaica ting lang time,” Foota said as he hissed his teeth.
