Jamaican Official Upset Over Drake Video

A music video shot in Jamaica by international recording artiste Aubrey 'Drake' Graham, featuring dancehall heavyweight David 'Mavado' Brooks, has prompted Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett to warn local acts to be careful about the way they portray Jamaica.

"We just have to say that care has to be taken by all, including our creative artistes, in portraying images of our destination and people," Bartlett told The Gleaner yesterday, when quizzed about the video for the single Find Your Love, which had a viral premiere Monday night at 11.

The video, which was shot in April in sections of Kingston and St Andrew, stars Drake as a foreigner who falls in love with a woman who is romantically linked with a 'gangster' called Puffy, played by Mavado.

Drake's Find Your Love is beautifully shot with a plot that some may feel recalls bits and pieces of Hype Williams' hip-hop classic film, Belly. It's the end of the video that has the Minister of Tourism upset.

In an ending soliloquy, Puffy tells Drake that he is out of place for coming to Jamaica and trying to get with his girl, telling him that, "Anyting de a Jamaica belongs to the Gully Gad", in obvious reference to Mavado's other moniker. Puffy instructs his woman played by video model Maliah Michel to "done him". The video ends with the woman apparently pointing the gun at Drake's head before three shots are heard ringing out synched to the words 'Find Your Love'. Drake is not actually shown being shot.

Bartlett said artistes should be mindful that the message that is conveyed about Jamaica is wrong.

"Gun culture, while not unique to Jamaica, is not enhancing (the island's image)," he said.

Mavado's manager, Julian Jones-Griffith, said that while he understands the concerns of anyone who might have a problem with the content of the video, he believes Mavado is just playing a role and that the creators of the music video came to Jamaica with a concept.

"The concept that they came up with, where did they come up with that? If Mavado did not do it, another Jamaican actor would have done it. There are a broad range of issues which need addressing if people from California want to portray a love story like this," he said.

Jones-Griffith stressed that people should look at the video as Mavado acting and nothing else. He said Mavado has been doing positive songs, and has even had another cameo with Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean in a video, which was dedicated to victims of the Haiti earthquake earlier this year.(via The Gleaner)

Watch Find Your Love here.