by Howard Campbell
[KINGSTON, Jamaica] – When Queen Ifrica first heard the ‘riddim’ that drove music producer Junior Brown’s Redemption Project, she wrote a song she believed would suit its Nyabinghi beat.
Predator’s Paradise is her song on the 11-song compilation album which was released in October by Brown’s Nuh Rush Records.
Sexual Harassment in Jamaica
The song addresses a troubling trend of male sexual harassment against women in Jamaica.
“I feel as strongly as I can feel as every victim that has gone through a very dark experience in this country,” said Queen Ifrica.
She added that although Predator’s Paradise is a dig at men who target vulnerable women, her message is not limited to them.
“It’s not only in a sexual way. You can see it in how violent our youths have become. They have to be influenced by their peers. That is also part of the issue of male predatory behavior in this country,” Queen Ifrica noted.
The Rastafarian artist has touched on deviant sexual attitudes before. Her 2009 song, Daddy Don’t Touch me There, was a strike against incest. It addition, it raised awareness about men molesting their daughters.
#MeToo Movement
As the MeToo Movement gathered momentum globally, the Jamaican government followed suit to combat acts of sexual delinquency.
Last October, the Sexual Harassment Bill was passed in the Senate and parliament.
Ironically, Predator’s Paradise was the final song done for Redemption Project. The album also has songs by Busy Signal, Lutan Fyah and Nature Ellis.
It has gained steady traction on Jamaican radio. While that’s good news for Queen Ifrica, her job is not over until legislators take more aggressive steps to prosecute offenders.
“I plan to continue to promote this song, Predator’s Paradise, and other songs that I have in the works. But we want to make a louder noise around how we can all together get rid of this predator’s paradise within our real paradise, our Jamaica that loves our families, love our youths,” she stated.
