The question of whether it is a good thing to fuse Reggae festivals with non-Reggae Music has been on my mind for a while now. And today I got my answer. I always try to post positivity only, but this has to be recognized. Whether Burna Boy himself was aware of this bangarang, I don’t know, this might be a management thing. But even then the Nigerian artist had to speak up, you can’t bully other artists at a festival.

After posting 2 Burnaboy pictures on the World A Reggae Instagram account, guitarist @david.electric (this is NOT lead singer David Hinds) of the legendary Steel Pulse came into the comments under the picture with a statement that shocked us to our core. Of course, I did see the barricades and security backstage, and of course, I felt the change of vibe before the arrival of Nigerian artist Burnaboy. But I didn’t foresee this to happen, the comment stated:

@burnaboygram and security crew fully disrespected us @steelpulseofficial trying to kick us out of our dressing room so he could have 4 dressing rooms for his massive entourage.

Selwyn Brown (Keyboards) original member of Steel Pulse, was livid and our team stood our ground and told them to beat it and you can’t do that to people, especially to a band that has paved the way for Reggae Music. It’s @summerjam_festival_official why do you have a full security team that think they can come in and bully people?

Who the hell does @burnaboy think he is.. And because of us refusing to leave, the security team proceeded to build a barricade of a blacked out chain linked fence that split the hallway between our dressing room and his dressing room making it feel like we were in prison or something. I hope that these Legendary reggae festivals realize that this can’t be apart of the reggae culture. That’s Babylon buisness. We don’t treat people like that. Please recognize this because Steel Pulse was fully disrespected. Reggae promotes Peace, Love, Unity.. stand up for your rights, we must never give up the fight“

I wholeheartedly agree with David’s statement. It is widely known that Burna Boy’s demands for a show are extraordinary. I fully understand that the Summerjam festival did everything possible to meet these high demands, as they should according to contracts. However, an artist, allegedly, disrespecting one of the biggest, legendary reggae bands, who paved the way for black musicians, is completely unacceptable. As World A Reggae, I felt compelled to write this short article because this is precisely why this platform exists: to preserve and promote reggae music in all its forms.

There has not yet been a counter statement from Burna Boy’s management. There are always two sides to a story. The Summerjam organization has been asked for a statement on this matter, but we haven’t received a reply as yet.

By Danny Creatah

EDIT: We have observed that our original article has been widely copied on various international websites. Unfortunately, some of these sites have misinterpreted the content. To clarify, the comment in question was made by David Electric, the guitarist, not by lead singer David Hinds. Plus we do not even know if Burna Boy was there when this happened. This distinction is crucial, and we want to ensure accurate information is shared!!