Mr. Vegas promised to give the Commissioner of Police a list of dancehall selectors who need to be blacklisted from getting party permits.
Dancehall veteran Mr. Vegas has called on the Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson to touch base with him, as he is ready to become an informer. In a video rant, MV promised to provide a list of corrupt sound system selectors who should be blacklisted from getting party permits. In a four-minute broadside on Saturday morning, Vegas poured scorn on these selectors, some of whom this week called for artistes to support them in lobbying Government to stem the early shutdown of Dancehall events in Kingston. According to the Heads High artiste, these same persons have been leading Dancehall music towards destruction, as they selfishly engage in payola and stifle other artistes’ music.
“Missa Prime Minister, some a dem not even fi get permit! Missa Commissioner, some a dem bwoy yah not even fi get permit! Dem fi guweh. Dem a wicked! Many artist naw go talk up, but dem done no like me aready, so weh mi haffi lose?” a strident Mr. Vegas stated.
“Some a dem man yah weh oonu a boost up, a dem a mash up Dancehall. Link mi off di air mek mi gi yuh dem name Missa Commissioner, so dem no get no permit tuh. Mi waa be an informa against dem, becaw wah? Dem wicked ‘gainst I and I music, and dem wicked gainst nuff producers music weh can mek hit music. A nuff producers and artiste run weh gone live a farrin, because a dem greedy bway yah. Talk di truth and stop gwaan like oonu a sugarcoat and pu**y-foot round dis. A wha happen to onu, dem naw try save Dancehall. Lack dem off!’ he said in his comments directed to the Commissioner.
According to Mr. Vegas, the selectors are hypocritical crooks who are making the calls for demonstrations and meetings out of sheer self-interest. The dancehall veteran says the lockdown on events is preventing selectors from lining their pockets with the monies they unethically extract from the sometimes struggling artistes.
“They want to save their hustling ground. You see many of these selectors people, dem a di one weh mash up Dancehall… You know what many of these selectors want to save? Dem want to save the $100,000 a month that they charge people to play music, the 50, 60 thousand dollars a month that they charge to play music,” Vegas outlined.
“Many of di selectors dem weh yo si come out now a talk, is stick dem stick up artistes and is stick dem stick up producers,” Vegas continues. “And, some a di producers dem no badda wid it. Some a di producers dem stap producing, becaw dem naw go stan up in no party and beg no man fi pay dem music and beg no man fi collect money fi come play dem music, because dem have pride and dem feel like dem already do dem work and set it. So how dem fi come pay fi dem sang play?”
Vegas did not mince his words as he pointed to some of the stellar veteran dancehall artistes whose music he said these selectors have purposely shunned at their parties.
“Di producer dem weh hear a hit song an know say it a go international; it naw go just stap a di airport, dem lock dem out a Dancehall. Dem lock out di Spragga Benz dem; dem lock out General Degree dem. All good selectors get lockout tuh, like Fire Links dem, weh Fire Links dem naw teck yo money if di song no soun good,” he continued.
“Some a dem nowadays teck yo money and know seh di song no soun good… If dem did care bout saving Dancehall, wi woulda still have good music weh a cross-ova. Now a Afrobeat a play pon foreign station; pon Hip-Hop station weh Dancehall used to play… Now is Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran have di hottest Dancehall song,” Vegas lamented.