THERE is a general feeling in entertainment circles that image be it 'the ugly look' or the 'handsome look' - plays an important part in the marketing of artistes.
Shabba Ranks found glory in referring to himself as "me ugly... Shabba Ranks", a term which many still find amusing.
Deejay Bling Dawg also considers himself ugly and thinks this has helped to enhance his craft on stage.
According to Bling Dawg, "Ugliness helps a deejay. I know that of a fact. But, when yu ugly yu need the lyrics to back yu up," he added.
Elephant Man who also claims he is also ugly says this is true. According to Elephant Man, "The uglier yu come with God inna yu heart the better. I think the ugly image has helped. I am not afraid to make a man know seh mi ugly, but mi proud."
But, Elephant Man quickly adds, "But is not ugliness alone do it. Yu have to be musically equipped with different lyrics each time the people see you on stage.
"Right now, some people claim Shabba Ranks is one of the ugliest deejays and him win a Grammy and people seh Bounty Killer ugly and him is one of the wickedest (greatest) deejay around."
Turning to the 'handsome side' of this image, Elephant Man says, "Plenty deejay who claim them handsome a suffer out there because they do not have any lyrics to back it up."
Brenda Hamilton, manager of Xtra Large Agency, says 'looks' without good lyrical content means very little to dancehall patrons. "Looks are a part (of it) and play a part in marketing a deejay, but the lyrics have to hold the people. For example, people will e-mail me and tell me Baby Cham is cute. But, looks alone will not help."
Hamilton adds that Wayne Wonder's handsome look has certainly helped him. "But Wayne has a good voice to pull the crowd," she added.
Tanto Metro also believes image plays an important part in an artiste's career. "Looks will pull people to shows so long as the deejay has a popular lyrics. If a deejay is double ugly, for example, but has nogood lyrics, I would want to see to what extent his ugliness goes."
