The ReggaeMania.com Top 10 Dancehall Songs of 2019

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Song #8 goes to Jahvillani for ‘Wile Side Government’, sporting 3,607,000+ views on YouTube, and one of the hotter underground tracks from 2019. This song is lyrically dark and sports a simple piano melody and drum pattern that allows Jahvillani’s vocals to be heard crystal clear. The relatively new St. Thomas Jamaican singjay’s hook is catchy, and Wile Side is irresistible after a few listens.

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Like many other songs that came before it, ‘Wile Side Government’ represents Jahvillani’s ‘turn’ to go through the gun-tune gate. Jahvillani, former member of the 6ix, singjays about his new Wile Side crew and how capable they are of defending their Mo Bay turf populated by gangsters who appear to have sophisticated and lethal weaponry, and who are not afraid to shoot people, not afraid to take life.

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‘Wile Side Government’ looks inside the pompous, reckless and fearless mindset of today’s gun carrying youths who feel they are impenetrable until the day they feel a bullet themselves. Due to the dark nature of the lyrics, it’s mainly for the hardcore.

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The ‘Wile Side Government’ video does an admirable job depicting the lavish lifestyle that today’s new young artists aim to lead, no matter what the costs, showing Jahvillani, suited up and looking dapper, in a number of scenarios, mostly in his ‘Wile Side’ neighborhood where all elements are exposed – bad boys with guns, beautiful women in scanty yet sexy attire, alcohol, cocaine and  marijuana, expensive cars and luxurious party spots.

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‘Wile Side Government’ is catchy yes, and granted, people like it and defend it as a wicked reality tune. It’s only after investigating what the song is saying lyrically, that one starts to think twice about adding it to their personal playlists. Lyrically speaking, the song’s raw version, written first, serves little purpose to me, other than promoting and endorsing the violent gun culture existing in Jamaica which has now extended into North America and especially Toronto.

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For now, a young Jahvilanni is writing lyrics he is ‘qualified’ to write. It’s rare that such new artists can produce lyrics so convincingly unless this said darkness is part of their every day reality living where they live. The audience for these tunes are limited, and because of their lyrical lack of depth, represent temporary life in the dancehalls. When gun tunes finally get get old and dated, they are usually buried, left behind and forgotten.

I guess I should say ‘thanks’ to Jahvillani for exposing one of Jamaica’s best kept secrets; after listening to ‘Wile Side Government’, I’m now a little more educated and alert and will watch my back when traveling there from the 6ix! Who had any idea that the Mo Bay area, naively seen here in Canada as a nice ‘danger-free’ tourist zone, is considered ‘bad’ by Jamaicans. Mind you it’s not all of Mo Bay that’s bad, the tourists in the hotels are secure with nothing to worry about.

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Sad to say, but impressive for Jahvillani, is the fact that ‘Wile Side Government’ is lyrically accurate. In Mo Bay, the ‘garrisons’ are up in the hills, and going there without a ‘pass’, especially at night, is not recommended. One would never know, driving through Mo Bay, that up there behind the bushes, are populated and impoverished communities which sometimes turn into dangerous war zones.

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In fairness to Jahvillani – people need to give this artist a chance to evolve. Some of our finest dancehall-reggae artists have started off this way, gun tunes they say, are the easiest ones to write.  But then, as their world becomes more expansive, these same new artists will bring new positive experiences into their song writing.

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Next fact – Jahvillani is not just relying on his own talent for success, just like the 6ix, he’s building an empire with other talented artists under him. All this artist has to do is keep doing what he’s doing – success will come for Jahvillani, it’s just a matter of time.

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Our Song #06 on our ReggaeMania.com Awards ‘Top 10 Songs of 2019’ dancehall-reggae chart goes to Jahvillani for ‘Wile Side Government’.  Congrats Jahvillani – ‘bad’ artist!!