Prime Minister Andrew Holness has addressed Guyana’s ban of Dancehall deejay Skeng who was recently barred from performing at public events in the country on South America’s North Atlantic coast.
While speaking with party members in St. Catherine Sunday, the PM said, “It is an embarrassment to me when another country says I don’t want your artiste in my country.” He also said that Jamaicans should not be defined by limited things such as Whap Whap and Ensure.
Social media users have also reacted to news that Dacehall entertainer Skeng has been banned from public performances in Guyana by the nation’s government, after shots rang out at a stage show last month.
On Instagram, one user shared, “The artistes are just as guilty for pushing this mentality, you wish to fix an issue – kill it at the root. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of cleaning to do in dancehall.”
While another wrote, “The issue is not Skeng because Skeng or not, the guns will still be in Guyana. They are acting as if he brought it to the country.”
Skeng’s management team has since criticized the lack security arrangements that failed to prevent gun play at the event, suggesting that the artist himself was in grave danger and this action was merely an attempt to blame Skeng for events beyond his control.
On May 27, Skeng’s ‘Baderation’ Dancehall concert at the National Park in Guyana came to an abrupt end after several patrons began recklessly firing gunshots in the air and throwing bottles.
In a statement, the Guyanese authorities also suggested that other dancehall artists like Skeng could soon be barred from performing publicly in their country.