Running Head: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society.

Disagree

Sentence Outline
Topic: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society. Disagree

Narrowed topic: Reggae music has done more good than harm for Jamaica

Purpose/ Audience: To convince the Government and the public that Jamaican Reggae music has

done more good than harm to the society.

Thesis: Reggae music has done more good than harm to the Jamaican society because it helped

to expand our economic growth and expose our culture to the world.

I. Reggae music has done more good than harm because it has contributed to economic growth

in terms of bringing in foreign currency and job opportunities.

A. Jamaica’s Reggae music has contributed to the country’s national development by

generating earnings from foreign exchange and through the creation of employment; it

contributed to 4.8 per cent of GDP and accounted for some 3.03 per cent of employment in

2017 (Bryan, 2018).

B. It creates the opportunity for new jobs, the Tom Fleming business plan approximated that

6,000 – 12,000 persons were employed in the music industry of Jamaica, with some 2,500

being musicians and 1,700 employed by sound systems. An additional 600 were studio

performers (Hendrikson, 2018).

C. Reggae music has also created shows surrounding reggae for example Rebel Salute and

Reggae Sumfest which brought 6000 visitors yearly who spend $1500 USD which was

estimated at $9,000,000 Million JMD (Tingling, 2015).

Running Head: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society. Disagree

II. Reggae music has done more good than harm because it has served as a platform to expose

our culture to the world through musical icons like Bob Marley and through its conscious lyrics.

A. Reggae music is cultural which impact our dress, fashion, body language and influence

our attitude for example Bob Marley has placed Jamaica on the global map with his icon

music’s (Martin, 2012).

B. Reggae is the musical genre which revolutionized Jamaican music where American

producers and musician strive to collaborate with our local artists such as Tessanne Chin

who has recently been sign under UMG’s Republic Records Tessanne has conscious song

lyrics such as “Your words are weapons so use them wisely Shooting down yah brothers

with your lyrical bullets Teaching the children to go to war” (Dagnini, 2010).

C. Bob Marley’s most popular song “one love one heart lets stand together and be

alright” which was made platinum over a millennium and number one on the US reggae

Billboard for over 20 years or even we will rise again by Digicel group of stars for Haiti

proves as a platform to promote unity and love within our nation

Counterclaim

III. There are those who would argue that Reggae Music is associated with Rastafarians which

promotes the usage of ganja and other behaviors which impacts negatively on our society.

A. Reggae music promotes the usage of illegal substances like marijuana which can cause

long term medical issues as brain development, impair thinking, sometimes causing

negative functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas

necessary for these functions (NIDA, 2018).

Running Head: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society. Disagree

B. Reggae music promotes violent activities not only on the heterosexual but also on the

homosexuals for example in Buju Banton Song Boom bye bye where the lyrics are as

follows “Batty bwoy get up and run, Ah gunshot me head back, Hear wha I tell 'em now

crew” (Nelson, 2015).

Refutation

IV. Though this may be true Reggae Music has had a positive impact in terms of Marijuana

being used for medical purposes and also as it promotes love and unity.

A. Marijuana is used for medical purposes in some countries such as Jamaica where it

was used to cure/treat glaucoma and in the United States where it is used for pain control,

relieve insomnia, anxiety and treat epilepsy (Dr.Grinspoon, 2018).

B. Reggae music are vital elements of Jamaican society which Helps to promote

Friendlier family atmosphere that Jamaica is known for, for example shaggy and friends

foundation where they donate medical supplies to Children’s Hospital by staging an

annual fundraising event (Cornwall, 2017)

Running Head: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society. Disagree

References

Bryan, C. (2018, August 1). JIS news. Retrieved from jis.gov.jm: https://jis.gov.jm/jamaican-music-
contributing-positively-to-national-development/

Cornwall, I. (2017). my-island-jamaica. Retrieved from my-island-jamaica.com: https://www.my-island-

jamaica.com/how-does-reggae-music-contribute-to-tourism-in-jamaica.html

Crawford, A. D. (2010, March). ResearchGate. Retrieved from ResearchGate.net:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230612322_The_effects_of_dancehall_genre_on_ad
olescent_sexual_and_violent_behavior_in_Jamaica_A_public_health_concern

Dagnini, J. K. (2010, August). OpenEdition. Retrieved from

https://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/4740?lang=en

Dr.Grinspoon, P. (2018, January 15). Harvard Medical School. Retrieved from

https://www.health.harvard.edu: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-
2018011513085

Hendrikson, M. (2018, March). a study on the creative industry as a pillar of sustained growth and
diversification. Retrieved from
https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/43410/1/S1701303_en.pdf

Martin, N. (2012, february 5). thecaribbeancurrent. Retrieved from thecaribbeancurrent.com:

https://thecaribbeancurrent.com/the-impact-of-reggaedancehall-music-on-jamaican-youths/

Nelson, J. (2015, July 2). Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com: http://jamaica-
gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150702/jaevion-nelson-reggae-dancehall-and-psyche

NIDA, National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018, june 25). https://www.drugabuse.gov. Retrieved from
drugabuse: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

Tingling, M. (2015, June). Retrieved from Jis.org: https://jis.gov.jm/mo-bay-expects-earn-us9-million-

reggae-sumfest/

Watson, B. (2017, December 10). Jamaicaobserver. Retrieved from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com:

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/reggae-dancehall-and-the-culture-of-violence_118636?
profile=1096
Running Head: Jamaican music has done more harm than good to society. Disagree