Rising artiste Najeeriii is defending his decision to push away a rambunctious fan who hopped onto the stage while he was performing and attempted to hug him as he performed.
Najeeriii, born Najeerii Smart, is currently making waves as the youngest dancehall artiste in the industry at just 17 years old. The dancehall artiste is known for his Trap Dancehall tracks like “Goon,” “Paddle Boat,” and “SinTrap,” which have all racked up millions of streams on YouTube.
With a catalog of more than 15 songs, the young artiste has been receiving much love from fans, including a large female fan base.
The artist artiste was criticized for an incident last week at the Tuff Crowd Bikini Soca Cooler Fete held at Woodleigh Sporting Complex in May Pen, Clarendon, where he violently pushed a fan away from him and sent her flying.
Various angles of the incident have gone viral on social media showing Najeeriii in the throes of performing, using his hand to shove the woman away.
Wearing a black bikini and cover-up, the fan is seen climbing onto the stage and rushes the artiste whom she grabs onto forcefully.
However, rather than getting a warm embrace and being serenaded as other artistes might have done, Najeeriii turns his body and uses his left hand to push the woman, causing her to lose her balance and nearly fall off the stage. She later gets up and walks around the stage to the back, where members of the artiste’s team and promoters look on.
The party went on as planned, but the artiste was heavily criticized for his treatment of the woman.
However, over the weekend, while at an event at Hope Gardens in Kingston to mark Jamaica’s Independence, the artiste clarified that he was against violence against women but that he was an advocate for respecting another person’s personal space.
“Me want unnu know say Bob does not and I repeat does not condone, tolerate or promote violence against women in any way, shape or form, yuh zeet,” the 17-year-old artiste said.
He continued, “but at the same time we affi a promote self-protection, boundaries, and personal space.”
