Club owner says police told him to 'ban' Jamaican music

  • Published
Beenie Man with microphone in handImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Beenie Man is referred to as the "King of Dancehall"

A nightclub in London says it's been told to stop playing bashment music.

The owner of Dice Bar in Croydon claims he's been told the Jamaican music is "unacceptable" by the Metropolitan Police.

Roy Seda says he's under so much pressure that he now makes DJs sign contracts not to play the genre.

Police want the club's license reviewed, saying it's "associated with crime and disorder".

The Croydon Advertiser, external says it has seen a letter to Mr Seda.

In it, the police accuse the club of playing "what this borough finds unacceptable forms of music".

Seda claims officers first voiced their concerns in February.

"We had a flyer which said R&B, garage, house, bashment and hip-hop - and I was advised to remove the word 'bashment' because chart and commercial music is considered safer."

Gavin Barwell is the Conservative MP for Croydon Central, where Dice Bar is located.

Gavin Barwell MP: "Very concerning story - will take up with police", external

The Labour MP for neighbouring Croydon North, Steve Reed, is also worried.

Steve Reed MP: "on the face of it sounds discriminatory", external

Bashment artist Sean Paul performingImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Sean Paul is one of the artists who wouldn't be played under a bashment ban

A statement from the Metropolitan Police says: "We have not requested a ban on any type of music at this venue, however the licensee volunteered not to host bashment music events in order to tackle the issues in his venue and make it safer.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment further until after the licensing hearing as this is the right and proper place for these issues to be aired."

But Roy Seda says that's not true.

"If it was my idea to ban bashment why would they send me a letter saying that I am playing unacceptable music?"

Croydon Council says the club's license is not related to the type of music they play.

Why could banning bashment be discriminatory?

Bashment refers to all Jamaican music but the term is often used to refer specifically to dancehall.

Nero Ughwujabo is chief executive of Croydon Black and Ethnic Minority Forum.

"Singling out Caribbean and specifically Jamaican music as being associated with crime and disorder is profiling - which is unacceptable," he told Croydon Advertiser.

But dancehall has in the past been associated with homophobia, particularly in the '90s. Songs, such as Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye contained lyrics which promoted the murder of gay people.

More recently, in 2007, some artists who had previously released anti-gay hate songs signed up to the Reggae Compassion Act which said there is "no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia".

Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat, external and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat