Capella Grey found a hit in the dancehall-flavored song “Gyallis,” but for his entire life, he never got to visit Jamaica, the country of his heritage.
Last week, the New York singer touched down in Jamaica for the first time ever and was set to perform at the highly anticipated Chris Brown and Friends concert at the National Stadium in Kingston. However, for unknown reasons, he did not take the stage despite being backstage ready to perform for his fans.
In a since-deleted post on his Instagram account, Capella Grey called out the promoters behind the show, questioning why they added him to the lineup and even promoted his performance. He stated that he had family in the venue who were looking forward to his performance, and the main act, Chris Brown, didn’t take the stage until after midnight.
“Idc bout no stadium ‘running out of time’ the main act didn’t hit the stage till after 12 something,” Grey wrote. “Why did ni**as hit ME up? Why did we fly out, why were me and ma ni**as given 10 credentials and artists bands the day before, why did ni**as gas us up and have us do all that promo for the event?”
Capella vented that they pushed him to do interviews and features in local newspapers leading up to the event as a way to promote the show but ended up not allowing him to perform despite him being feet away from the stage.
“All jokes aside whats the respectful way about going about this?” he added. “Cuz I had family in the crowd and all dat, ya like to say I react too much and I be wildin for no reason , what you doing? Nah mon this not normal.”
Despite advertising local artists like Aidonia, Ding Dong, and Teejay, other acts made surprise appearances, like Safaree and Tommy Lee Sparta, who made guest appearances during Sean Kingston’s set. The event ended up going a little over two hours past the allotted time, with Chris Brown’s set spanning just over two hours. The R&B singer had the crowd singing his songs word for word. It’s safe to say that the sold-out crowd left the venue pleased with the performances.
In an interview on Onstage, Capella Grey opened up about why it took him so long to visit Jamaica and his strong Jamaican heritage with family from all over the island.
“I wasn’t really traveling too much before I got the opportunity that “Gyalis” presented to me so I wasn’t able to really move like go so much around the globe. This was my first opportunity to really travel the world. This track took me all over the world so to be able to stop in Jamaica, this is huge for me,” he said.
Grey said that his grandmother was from St. Catherine, while his mother is from Waterhouse. He also has family lineage in St. Mary, where he also gets to visit. In a post on his Instagram Story, Grey shared that he is grateful for his trip to Jamaica.
“Life is too good to be mad at anybody for how they live or their preferences,” he wrote. “If this trip taught me anything its how to just calm sh*t tf down and use understanding patience and wisdom before anything. If somebody/something not for you, move on and win. Smile more. Cant wait to go home and be mad naked for mad days straight with a spliff making/listening to music yo. Real peace. So grateful for this sh*t mannn fr.”
