Skeng Distances Himself From Gun Salute In Guyana During His Performance

Staff Writer

2 years ago

In a statement to World Music Views, the management team of Kevon Douglas A.K.A Skeng, addressed Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn’s recent announcement of a ban on several Jamaican artists including Skeng.

The dancehall artist and his team have distanced themselves from the shots that were fired in the crowd while he was performing in Guyana.

“Management and Mr. Douglas are aware of the negative effect of gun
violence and do not and will never condone same anywhere.
Mr. Douglas’ artistic expression is merely an artistic expression and nothing more. He has
performed in several cities prior to and subsequent to the incident in Guyana and we have not
received the kind of response that was received in Guyana,” the statement said.

The management told World Music Views that it was due to the poor security measures in the venue and no fault of Skeng’s performance, that would have caused the gunplay during the Badderation event at Guyana’s National Park last week.

“Our Team was also placed in danger and had to take precautions to ensure that they were not
injured. We are of the view that the security measures that were put in place could have been
more stringent in order to prevent the gunplay and other acts of violence,” the statement said.

On Friday, Dancehall Mag reported that Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, announced a ban on Skeng and other Dancehall artists from performing publicly in the Eastern Caribbean country.

“If they want, they can go into a private club and behave as badly as they want. But 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. We reject it completely,” Benn said.

Speaking at the opening of the Community Relations Department of the Guyana Police Force on Friday

He said both his Ministry and the Guyana Police Force will not approve of any future public performances featuring Skeng or any artist, whose lyrical content promotes the type of behavior seen at the ‘Baderation’ show held in May.

He went further to chastise business persons in the entertainment industry and said he is doing everything in his power to censor songs from the airwaves that are deemed inappropriate for the public consumption.

“We are ambushed by situations where people take advantage of opportunities provided for them, for the entertainment business, where they bring in artists into this country and put on a public stage, disgraceful music, words, and behavior.And it engenders perhaps the only type of behavior, one would expect from what was seen on the stage from one called Skeng, recently,” the Minister had also said.

Skeng, 21 had the National Park in Guyana in a frenzy as he belted out his gunman lyrics song after song. He started his set wearing a sweat shorts suit and was shirtless and shoeless by the time he got to his No. 1 YouTube song Protocol. Within 15 minutes the temperature of his performance went up when he threw water on the fully charged patrons. In response the packed venue lit up fire torches and gunshots showing support for his 1st Class Hit.

That was when the young DJ and was escorted off the stage by his cronies. A stampede followed as patrons rushed towards the exit.

Mhm. I exited. Immediately 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/NUo46Y2HOv

— throat goat 🙂‍↕️ (@brxtanyy) May 28, 2022

This most recently announced ban on Jamaican dancehall acts, follows Mavado, Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel who were previously banned from performing in Guyana as far back as 2008, due to similar gun salutes.

In 2011, Vybz Kartel’s music was banned from the airwaves and vowed never to return to the country.

Read full statement from Skeng’s management team to World Music Views below:

We, the Management of the Artiste KEVON DOUGLAS also known as ‘SKENG DON’ have
seen a post that has been circulating throughout social media.

The post purports to have originated from Mr. Robeson Benn, the Minister of Home Affairs for
Guyana. The authenticity of the post has not yet been verified, however, due to the averments
made therein we are of the view that a response is required.

The post concerns an incident that occurred at the Carnival Launching in Guyana that has gained
worldwide notoriety. Management and Mr. Douglas are aware of the negative effect of gun
violence and do not and will never condone same anywhere.

Mr. Douglas’ artistic expression is merely an artistic expression and nothing more. He has
performed in several cities prior to and subsequent to the incident in Guyana and we have not
received the kind of response that was received in Guyana.

Our Team was also placed in danger and had to take precautions to ensure that they were not
injured. We are of the view that the security measures that were put in place could have been
more stringent in order to prevent the gunplay and other acts of violence.
If the averments made in the post are authentic, we are of the view that blame is being placed at
Mr. Douglas’ feet wrongfully. We remain committed to our fans in Guyana, throughout the Caribbean and worldwide.

Mr. Douglas provides high energy performances; however, we ask that there not be a repeat of
the incident that occurred in Guyana. We would appreciate the opportunity to perform in Guyana again, to remove any bad taste that has been left in the mouths of the Authorities. We remain resolute and supportive of our Caricom partners and the exchange of our unique Caribbean culture.

Staff Writer