Two of the more popular calypsos of the season by Chad ”Sir Ruel” Bowen have been banned by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)  and Voice of Barbados (VOB). Not a surprise to many is the fact the two social commentary songs deal with political references in Barbados. To be expected the CBC has banned both Run for Cover and Not My Vote and the less aggressive VOB has banned Not My Vote.

In the age of the Internet and social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube the two songs can still be heard but the banning of the songs by traditional media reinforces the view held by many that local media is intimidated by the political class compared to Trinidad and several other islands in the Caribbean.

The two calypsos by Sir Ruel are refreshingly  ”biting”  in a market  that has been starved of proper social commentary in recent years. The two songs are guaranteed to be on the  playlist of many.

Here are the two songs for your listening pleasure AND critique.

The irony for the BU household and others is that members of parliament continue to engage in immoral behaviour and attack citizens at will from behind the cloak of parliamentary privilege. In the mean time local media is on full bast with bashment soca crowding the airwaves. Here is an example of one of the popular bashment tunes by Scrilla with the title Wood.