Ever since Prime Minister Philip J Pierre rang the proverbial election bell on November 9, political campaigning has taken over social media, the airwaves and the streets. Besides the meetings, rallies, political messages, posters and slogans plastered on poles, walls, streets and pavements, music has been dominating the campaign space.
In recent weeks, we have heard mainly Dennery Segment songs recorded by Saint Lucian creatives, in support of parties and candidates. With catchy hooks and infectious percussive beats, the songs have turned campaigning into a movement geared towards the younger generation.
Political rallies are now more festive and carnival-like. While the music has worked in attracting more young people to the political events, some question whether the messaging can be lost amid the heavy dose of Dennery Segment with some soca thrown in.
“Wow, I have never seen anything like this before,” a UWP supporter said during one event. She stood in awe as the crowd swayed to Dennery Segment artist Dhirv. “My only hope is that this drives them to go out and vote,” she said.
Most of the artists gracing the political stages today were not around during what some describe as the awakening of the political consciousness era.
In the 70s and with the rise of the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), and later the Progressive Labour Party (PLP), conscious reggae music anchored political meetings and rallies. Songs by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh helped to leverage the SLP’s mantra of “Bread, Freedom and Justice”, for instance.
Calypso, often described as the voice of the people, also found a place on the political stage. Where Saint Lucian calypsos did not fit, Trinidadian Gypsy’s Sinking Ship and Jack by Gabby out of Barbados, fanned political flames here for many political cycles.
Then there was the UWP’s Sir John Compton, who captured the mood of the electorate in 1992 with the Brian Adams pop ballad Everything I Do, I Do It for You.
A later era saw the importation of foreign artists who further excited the Saint Lucian electorate – Gypsy, Papa San, and Tanya Stephens readily come to mind.
Fast forward to 2021, when the first post-COVID general election took place. Creatives shackled by lockdown finally had a voice and a platform. Leading the charge were the Dennery Segment artistes, who like their Jamaican dancehall counterparts, were known for their ability to flip dub plates for politicians on the spur of the moment.
This election campaign is no different. In fact, Dennery Segment has proved to be a tour de force for the SLP, UWP and even independent candidates.
Sociologist and former Labour Party MP and calypsonian Damian Greaves describes it as the rhythm of the times.
“When you look back at say the 70s into the 80s with Marley, Tosh and so on, you can see there was a vibe that was a sort of anti-establishment, anti-colonial,” he told St. Lucia Times. “So what’s the vibe now?”
“Is it still the intellectual, anti-colonial, anti-establishment scenario? We need to try to discern what the vibe is that would allow the Dennery Segment to prevail. Is it now the shaking off of the shackles of certain kinds of values and norms that shaped the society before, and now some of those norms and values are being shaped by social media, where Dennery Segment is part of that vibe?”
Dennery Segment songs this year have undoubtedly captivated the digital landscape, turning out memes and videos aplenty on Tik Tok. Songs like Ricky T’s Ring the Bell, General Bakes’ Flambeau Off, Pique’s Flambeau an Rah Rah and Salt for El Kwapo from Young Boss Entertainment can be heard, not just on the political platforms and online, but on street corners from booming sound systems.
Music publisher, promoter and artist manager Ian Sanchez believes that the Dennery Segment artists’ strong social media presence has helped bring them to the fore during the election.
“The music is infectious and with its popularity, not just on the airwaves, but on social media platforms and not to mention the creativity of the artists makes the songs easily adaptable to suit the party or candidate they are singing for,” Sanchez told St. Lucia Times.
He says he is pleased that performers can generate income during this period.
Greaves agrees that Dennery Segment is infectious.
“Young people follow it and the politicians recognise that people are gravitating towards this music and so the hope is that by using it as part of the campaigning, the pronouncements made on the platform in between some of the performances, may just resonate with some of the young people,” he says.
“We see people jumping and moving to the music, feeling the vibe and the hope is that, and this is my perspective, that when one sees the crowd it pulls and the infectiousness of the music that those who may be on the fence and undecided may be swayed.”
Greaves says what we are seeing now is a change in the “vibe” to one primarily driven by social media, and which needs further study.
“Because politics, to some extent, is a vibe and it has to be the vibe of the times,” he says.
Creative and Dennery Segment promoter Sant Justin told St. Lucia Times that political campaigning in Saint Lucia has long been a vibrant canvas for local creative talent. “Lately, for our artists, musicians and designers, campaign season ranks alongside Christmas and Jounen Kwéyòl as a period of tremendous anticipation, not merely for the economic opportunities it presents, but for the chance to contribute meaningfully to our nation’s democratic discourse through their craft,” he says.
Justin, who has chronicled the rise of Dennery Segment, says he is pleased with the spotlight on the genre but describes as troubling the use of foreign creatives by one of the political parties for campaign music.
“This shift and use on a national level represents more than a missed economic opportunity for local artists; it constitutes a fundamental disregard for the depth and quality of Saint Lucian creative expression.”
Justin is urging both major political parties to sustain their commitment to engaging homegrown talent beyond the election campaign period to foster growth within the creative industries.
“By investing in local creatives, our political parties don’t just commission better, more culturally resonant work; they demonstrate genuine investment in the very communities they seek to represent,” he says.
