The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

BRINGING his thoughts to the studio once again, local gospel artist Gesner "Mr J" Dalmond released a new single, "Box Di Man".

Inspired by an altercation between rap star turned award winning movie star, Will Smith and a Ukrainian male reporter last month, Mr J is addressing the issue with no holding back.

According to online blog reports, Will Smith was visiting Moscow at the time to promote his new movie "Men In Black 3," and he was approached by a male journalist who attempted to kiss him while walking the red carpet. Will in turn tried to "smack" the reporter in the face.

The huffingtonpost.com reported that in an interview with " The Late Show," Will said: "It was just awkward, Dave. They were like, 'Oh, no, we're sorry, you know. It's just his 'schtick' you know. And I said, 'well, that's why he got schtuck.'"

It was against this backdrop that Mr J mounted an opposition, taking his views and putting them into "Box Di Man".

He said "Box Di Man" does not in any shape or form incite violence against persons, despite its belligerent sounding title. "It's a recall of what took place in the presence of a crowd and the song places question marks on what transpired leading up to Will's dilemma," he said.

Mr J said his song also speaks about US President Barack Obama's support of gay marriage, with Will Smith backing the president.

The lyrics of the song state: "He sees how it feels so funny and so yucky, why then does he say that they can marry. He needs to tell Obama man stop the drama, father God don't like that because its outta order."

Mr J told Tribune Religion that his dissenting views are biblically founded and are supported by God himself, who has set rules and guidelines for mankind to follow.

"Mr Obama professes to be a Christian but I think he is grossly mistaken by statements made supporting same sex marriage. He either lacks biblical knowledge concerning God's order; is under duress; or his evolution that he states that has brought him to his point of confession is flawed by his humanistic reasoning," said Mr J.

Mr J brings to light the conflict between the slapping of the reporter and the agreement of Will Smith with President Obama. He said: "The attempted kiss was between two men and the agreement was in the favor of two men".

"The question that arises is why did one man feel it necessary to slap the other? Was it an issue of the reporter invading Smith's personal space; Will Smith being homophobic, or a true conviction manifesting how Will Smith feels about a male kissing another male? The song answers these questions.

In the song, Mr J paints a picture of Will Smith being approached by a female reported and greeted with a kiss, he said he wonders if the response would have been different.

"Out of curiosity, I wondered if Will would have treated a woman the same way as he did the male reporter. In trying to be fair to Will and not cast judgment nor misconception, it behooved me to switch roles and imagine the outcome. It was difficult for me to visualize such outright rejection displayed by Smith against a female. I could only see a welcoming gesture but careful behavior on Will's behalf, understanding that somewhere out there his wife was watching. I was drawn to the conclusion that Will slapped the reporter because he felt that it is not natural for a man to kiss another man as one would a woman," said Mr J.

Mr J has created a picture video for the song which can be viewed on his Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/mrjreggae1.