Reggae artist Sizzla, recently spoke about the impact of his visa status on both his business and personal life.
“Spiritually it doesn’t affect me, but on a business aspect, persons out there they use Sizzla fi make money, when Sizzla have him visa me travel and do stage show over deh so and them collect them likkle business and them pay them taxes,” he told The Fix podcast.
He also clarified that he never had issues with obtaining a visa, but rather with the process and the way it was perceived. “I was never with a problem with the visa, see it deh now me get the visa and visa fly one let me and all now me deh a Jamaica, the whole world take on the visa like a fi dem own, the visa went viral.”
Addressing his ban from events like Sting and Reggae Sumfest, Sizzla revealed that he has also faced bans in several European countries. “Me get ban from Belgium and mussi Germany, me get banned form Madrid, its fun for me, to me them just a hall and pull Sizzla and its fun for Sizzla so I spoke about it on the stage.”
Sizzla further explained that the lack of a visa was not due to his controversial lyrics but rather due to issues with his work permit, which requires a clean police record. “Its your work permit you suppose to protect and you get your work permit through a good police records its based upon how you treat yourself and that people and your whole behavior in the country, whether you gonna do criminal activities or service to the people, its not you bashing someone.”
The real reason for his visa troubles was a past marijuana charge. “My police record with the visa was a marijuana spliff,” he said. “Its expunged now, but we are still being interrogated. Thats about it, sometimes they do these things just for fun, you can’t take these ting serious.”
Sizzla, real name Miguel Collins was issued a US visa in February of this year. It was first cancelled in 2008 and reinstated in 2016 when he headlined Reggae On The River in California.
On August 10, Kalonji is set to performance at the “Boston Dancehall Reggae Fest” organized by Lion Production Group.
Fellow reggae singer Buju Banton who was convicted of drug offenses and deported in 2018 was reissued his work visa and returned to the US in May this year. Buju will headline two nights at the UBS Arena for his Long Walk To Freedom Concert July 13 and 14. It will be the biggest sol headlining reggae show in New York City of all time. On July 14 an afterparty will be held at Amazura nightclub in Queens New York City.
Singer gramps Morgan has promised that he will be at the event.
