By: Insight Crime
February 27, 2024
Recent criminal cases involving artists of the “Trinibad” music genre have highlighted the links between the music industry and crime in Trinidad and Tobago.
Over the last 18 months, at least three Trinibad singers have been prosecuted for involvement in crime. The Trinibad genre is a form of Jamaican dancehall local to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, and often features lyrics and imagery alluding to gangs and guns.
Most recently, on February 2, police charged singer Kashif Sankar, also known as “Kman 6ixx,” with possession of ammunition, as well as professing to being a gang member, both offenses under the country’s Anti-Gang Act 4, 2021.
Sankar was due to perform in St. Kitts and Nevis on March 2. Following his arrest, local authorities announced that they were banning the artist from performing in the country, saying that his music could pose security risks to the country.
“The security assessment identified within the artist’s work explicit endorsements of violence; promotion of criminal activities; and a consistent glorification of gang life,” St. Kitts and Nevis police stated via Facebook.
SEE ALSO: Do Gang Truces Prevent Violence in Trinidad and Tobago?
In April 2023, Trinidad and Tobago authorities arrested singer Prince Swanny for alleged gang links. His arrest forced him to abandon a concert in Dominica.
And, in November 2022, Trinidad and Tobago police charged singer Shakeem Griffith, also known as “Zoom Boss,” with murder. He also faces weapons-related charges.
InSight Crime Analysis
Experts believe that musical genres that glorify gang culture play a fundamental role in the increase, or at least the persistence, of violence in Trinidad and Tobago. However, cultural factors are not the only reason for violence in the country.
“[Trinibad] has contributed heavily to crime and violence because it glorifies revenge and murder,” Raymond Ockille, founder of the NGO REACH ‘N Inc, told InSight Crime, who added that songs normalize the use of violence to resolve disputes, meaning conflicts that could be solved peacefully involve guns instead, he added.
Studies in behavioral science have found that prolonged exposure to violent subjects may desensitize people to aggression, which may help normalize such behaviors.
Trinidad and Tobago closed 2022 as the most violent year in its history, with 601 homicides.
During InSight Crime fieldwork in Trinidad and Tobago in December 2022, multiple sources cited Trinibad as one of the drivers behind the historically high murder rate. Although the figure decreased in 2023, it still remained high, with 576 homicides during the year.
“There is an indisputable relationship between some musical genres and criminal dynamics,” Sebastian Reyes, an expert on culture and conflict, told InSight Crime. “The songs not only legitimize the actions of the groups, in this case gangs, but also sacralize the leaders,” he said, adding that music helps generate a sense of belonging within gangs, glorifying them as aspirational groups to belong to.
However, there are also many examples of music being used to make positive change, helping to turn people away from gang involvement.
Other factors that explain violence in Trinidad and Tobago include the increasing flow of illicit weapons, gang fragmentation and the lack of non-violent conflict resolution tools.