Skeng’s management and the Guyanese government are working to hash things out following a ban on the artist earlier this year.
In June, Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs banned Jamaican dancehall artiste, Skeng from performing at public events in that country. At that time, the minister, Brindley Robeson Benn, was quoted as saying: “We will not sign off on any such artist or any artist who has a record of promoting vulgar and lawless behaviour including the firing of gunshots in public places.”
The ban came after an event called Baderation, which ended abruptly on May 27 after chaos broke out as fans discharged firearms and threw bottles in the air. Since then, the rising star’s team have been trying to reach a compromise with the Guyanese government that would see Skeng get a chance to perform publicly again.
One member of his team, music consultant Cara Vickers, has given an update about the situation. According to her, there has been some positive movement towards a compromise between the Guyanese government and Skeng.
She made the comments to The Star following a meeting that was held with the government recently. The meeting was held with Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and focused on the current ban.
Vickers disclosed that the President feels that his stance is to maintain order in his country, but he is in agreement that Skeng should not have to be the scapegoat for the violent nature of some of the country’s citizens.
She also revealed that President Ali understood the team’s point of view but reiterated that he has a country to manage. She added that the Guyanese President also apologized for the violent behavior at the concert by some of his citizens.
“It’s a Caribbean (territory) like Jamaica, and he has a duty of care. He is not necessarily overriding the decision, but he understands why it would need to be lifted, and he also understands that accountability is important,” she continued.
Vickers also said that Ali has responsibility for thousands of young black men and their behavior. Even so, he agreed that Guyanese citizens are responsible for their actions and that he doesn’t want to stop the “Likkle Miss” deejay from earning or people from enjoying Skeng’s music.
Vickers also explained that Skeng is now a very influential artist, so fans sometimes try to mimic his songs. She also mentioned Guyana’s Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton condemnating dancehall artists Skillibeng and Spice. Norton said the two are the worst of dancehall music.
“I am Jamaican, and these people are flying the flag of dancehall, so I can never agree with anything negative that anybody has to say about my culture. I don’t know what he is talking about,” Vickers said.
Cara Vickers added that promoters in Guyana would never book these artists if there weren’t high demands for them from the Guyanese people. She also said it was unfair to label people the worst of a particular culture, especially since Guyana seems to love them.
Even if Skeng gets the chance to perform in Guyana publicly again, it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.
