Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Assassin Releases Statement re: Red Stripe Live

Dancehall deejay Assassin (real name - Jeffrey Campbell) has released an official statement regarding his abrupt removal from the stage during his performance the Red Stripe Live Concert on the weekend.

According to the statement, upon being booked for Red Stripe Live, Assassin submitted (as per the organizers’ request) the complete songs (without edits) that he would be performing during his set. He notes that he rehearsed the songs in their entirety on two separate occasions in the presence of representatives from Red Stripe.

He said “There was no written or verbal communication from Red Stripe indicating any disapproval of the planned set or any discomfort with any specific lyrics or song. During my final rehearsal I was merely asked to bear in mind the nature of the show and upon arrival at the venue I was given a generic briefing by the promoters. At this point there was still no indication from the promoters of any issue or objection to the planned performance.“

Assassin said at no point did he deviate from the rehearsed set, and thus it was a complete shock to him when approximately 8 minutes into his performance he was forced to discontinue. According to him, they subsequently accused him of breaching company policy by using what the promoter labeled offensive and discriminatory lyrical content, specifically the use of the word ‘fish’ in the song “Pree This” (Boasty Riddim). We’ve featured the song below. He further said that the promoter then demanded that he apologize to the audience, which he refused to do.

“I am very disappointed by the unprofessional manner in which the matter has been handled. I am even more concerned about the potential damage that may be done to my reputation that I have worked so hard to achieve and maintain,” he said.

Source: Dancehall Mobi

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