Lisa Hyper encourages women to leavetoxic relationships

Dancehall artiste Lisa Hyper has released a song that she hopes will encourage women to walk away from toxic relationships.

The track, Cry Me A River, she said, is based on a true story of a relationship that ended a few years ago. In the song Lisa Hyper tells her ex-boyfriend that she was "drunk in love but right now me sober" and urged him to move on.

"I did this song like a couple years ago when I was in a relationship and it never did a go how it was planned, and how mi did want it, and so I ended the relationship," she said.

The 21 Bad Gyal artiste said she decided to pen the song after she was sent a rhythm by Blak Yaad. "I know a lot of women will be able to relate to this track," she said, adding that it has "tremendous hit potential".

Violence against women

Lisa Hyper's appeal for women to leave toxic relationships comes in the wake of several incidents of violence against women. In January, Alando Terrelonge, minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, said "toxic masculinity" was fuelling the incidence of violence against women.

Lisa Hyper argued that although women may find it difficult to leave relationships owing to the fact that they have invested so much in them, and they may still have feelings for the person, it is important that they summon the strength to walk away.

"I had a choice where I could either stay and settle or I leave. I refused to settle and so I left. We always have a choice, enuh. We [either] stay and put up with the bulls**t or we leave and seek better," she said.

"There's nothing wrong with walking away from a situation that means you no good. And mi nah say it a guh easy because I left but the emotions were still there. It is not like me really did wah left, and him never wah me leave either, but as women, we should never allow ourselves to settle for less than we deserve," the artiste said.