Jamaican dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel has made it clear that he has no plans to visit Guyana in the future, saying he would rather tour Iraq than set foot in the country.
“I refused to go there before the ban was imposed, so that ban wasn’t necessary. I banned myself. Big up the Guyanese Gaza fans, but I would sooner tour Iraq than go to Guyana,” Kartel told The Jamaica Star.
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His statement came in response to a ban on vulgar songs from his catalogue by the state-run National Communications Network (NCN). While some reports suggested a total ban on Kartel’s music, NCN program manager Martin Goolsarran clarified that the network has a longstanding policy of not airing music that is in bad taste, promotes violence, or is offensive to any group or religion.
“It is not our intention to place a total ban on an artist, but we reserve the right to deny airplay to any piece of music or creation that violates the policy,” Goolsarran said.
Kartel, however, sees the ban as a reaction to his decision to pull out of a scheduled appearance at a government-supported Jam Zone Summer Break concert last month.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t attend the show, and that is the reason why the ban on my music was imposed. With that being said, I care zero about them and their ban because I won’t be visiting Guyana ever,” Kartel said.
He also suggested that his refusal to board a Caribbean Airlines flight to the Jam Zone concert was due to alleged threats made against him by Guyanese. The report noted that he had previously canceled another performance in Guyana for similar reasons.
