Charly Black says no to molly in the dancehall space.
Recently the serious and disturbing issue of drug use and how some dancehall artists may influence younger fans to travel that road has come to light. Many artists, including some of the more respected names like Popcaan and Bounty Killer, have come out in the past to urge fans to stay away from drugs.
The drug that has grabbed Jamaica’s attention most recently is molly. The drug has been made popular by some rappers in the US and seems to have found its way into some trap dancehall, something that many artists are now speaking out about.
One of them is Charly Black. He’s taken his message to the airwaves with a track called “Naww Pop No Molly,” which was a collaboration with artist and music producer Akeem Bowen of One General Music.
A timely message for sure, as there are growing concerns in the dancehall community that molly is becoming the go-to party drug for patrons and some artists alike.
Molly is a street name for MDMA, which has become a very popular rave drug used at nightclubs and concerts in the US. People who take molly have reported that the drug helps them to get loose, connect to others, and dance all night.
However, the downside to using the drug includes many well-documented side effects, including anxiety, paranoia, sleeplessness, muscle cramps, elevated blood pressure, body temperature, breathing rate, and heart rate. In some cases, it can even cause hallucinations.
Charly Black spoke with the Jamaica Star about why he felt the need to do something to help younger fans understand the detriment that they could cause their body if they fall prey to the Molly trend.
“This project is targeting the younger generation of dancehall fans, conveying a deeper message that it’s okay not to be a part of every trend and they can say no to peer pressure,” he added.
Bowen also spoke with the publication, who said that he enjoyed working with Charly Black to get the serious message out there. He added that it was always a dream of his to work with the “You’re Perfect” singer, and he was happy that they got to do it for a noble cause.
He also shared that so far, since the track was released on May 27, he has been getting great feedback, and so he feels that it has been having an impact on its target audience.
Almost all of the veteran artists who have weighed in on the issue have all agreed that the younger artists in the genre probably do not yet understand the power of influence that they wield. The odes to molly are still appearing in a lot of new tracks by trap dancehall artists.
One example is Skeng and Tommy Lee Sparta’s “Protocol” collab, where Skeng sings, “Molly get pop whole place get hot.” There’s also his track with Navaz called “Pop Molly.”
However, some feel that it is not the artist’s responsibility to help mold the minds of younger fans and that they are simply expressing themselves and talking about their lifestyle.
Popcaan spoke about the issue of the responsibility that young artists have to their fans back in February.
“G Wagon de ya and Lamborghini de ya, stop pree Mark X,” Popcaan encouraged. “No make no idiot artiste trick uno bout buy Mark X. Sk Dem Madda! No make no idiot artiste trick uno bout take molly and pop pill. Sk Dem Madda!” he is quoted as saying at that time.
