"Neither Alliance, nor Gaza, nor Plaza, nor Gully: JOP, that's what I say!" These are the terms in which deejay Aidonia is currently speaking in the Jamaican media, a way of saying he now wants to stay neutral in the long-running controversies between the Alliance (Bounty Killer's crew) and the Portmore Empire (Vybz Kartel's crew). He stressed that he remained on good terms with his colleagues on the dancehall scene and wanted to concentrate above all on his music.
As a reminder, Aidonia, who has always cited Bounty among his major influences, joined the Alliance at the start of his career, before being ousted in 2006.
Also close to Vybz Kartel (remember the song Adi a mi daddy), he had followed the deejay when he too left the Alliance at the same time (the two had incidentally passed through Paris in 2007).
Since then, the situation had kept deteriorating, through incidents, rumours, clash tunes and barbed remarks, between Aidonia on one side and Mavado and Busy Signal on the other.
More recently, the Jamaican media reported a tense climate between him and Kartel, and even Black Ryno, another artist from the Gaza neighbourhood.
It is therefore a welcome clarification from the artist, which should allow him to pursue his career more serenely through his own structure Jag One Production (JOP).