Controversial reggae singer ‘Sizzla’ listed for VI Festival 2016
The list of artists was released today July 13, 2016 by the VIF&FC.
Sizzla, who at one time was banned from performing in 29 European countries, will feature on stage at the Rita Francis Festiville in Road Town on Friday July 29, 2016, alongside the popular dancehall and fellow Jamaican artiste, Beenie Man.
Final Faze, Showtime Band and a list of local artistes will also be part of the entertainment on the same night.
Already this news site has been bombarded with calls from several persons in senior government positions, and the business and religious communities about whether the committee made a good choice in opting to include Sizzla in the lineup for Emancipation Festival 2016.
Other international artists named by the VIF&FC are Destra and the Bakanal Band, Bunji Garlin and Fayann Lyons. Artistes for Carrot Bay and East End festivals are yet to be released by the committee.
Are artistes being screened?
“What I want to know is if the committee has taken the necessary steps in screening which and which artists they are bringing here. What would this man be singing? Will his lyrics offend our tourists and the many locals we have here that are gays, both men and women?” questioned Pamela Waldron, who said she is of the Christian denomination.
Others, who have objections and questions about the controversial artist, declined to be quoted and/or named, but according to Ms Waldron, the festival committee must be made to answer to its selection.
“We are a tourist destination and we welcome Gays and Straights evenly. We have no bias, so we don’t want no artist coming up here to go on our festival stage to ‘Bun b**ty boy/the gays dem’,” she said.
According to research, Sizzla is a “die hearted” Rastafarian and also a member of the Bobo Shanti Rastafarian Movement.
"Black Woman and Child" remains one of his most popular songs and albums.
Locally and Internationally, Sizzla is one of the most sought after artists in the business, having done work with "VP Records", "Greensleeves" and "Zagalou Label", but he is now working with his own label "Kalonji Records".
After building his state of the art recording studio in August Town, Jamaica, Sizzla is now an icon in the community because of the contributions he has made and work done with youngsters in the area.
Sizzla Kalonji has been questioned by law enforcement officers in the past about crimes committed in Jamaica; however, he has never being charged for any wrongdoing.
'Nah Apologise'
He is known to be strongly against the "Gay rights movement" and stated he had no apologies for his stance in his song "Nah Apologise".
Sizzla was banned from performing at a major music festival in his own country of Jamaica in 2014 after he included an extended anti-gay rhyme during his performance at the festival on December 26, 2013.
The popular artist devoted more than a minute of his set during the 2013 Sting festival to attacking LGBT people. The annual festival was broadcast from Kingston to an estimated audience of 315 million people on five continents, according to organisers.
Sizzla has long been criticised for his anti-gay lyrics, which are common in the music of many popular dancehall performers. He was one of the targets of the Stop Murder Music campaign launched by LGBT activists in North America and Europe in the mid-2000s in an effort to block foreign performances of Jamaican musicians whom the activists said incited hate crimes.
Efforts to get a comment from the VIF&FC on the selection of artistes were not received up to time of publication.
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30 Responses to “Controversial reggae singer ‘Sizzla’ listed for VI Festival 2016”
Move your desperate likes looking @$$.
nuff ayu don't like sizzla because he will let out ayu secrets b***y boy lesibans more firebun ayu out undercover gays and lesbian and so call Christians
Why she don't stay in church from talking b**lsh*t. Does she question anything her Pastors do behind the church walls? Sick of them holier than thou sick $%^&.
Ooce the festival Committee tell him do and donts Sizzla will follow. Can't keep a good man down!!
And any politicians that supports gays because of tourist money is of the devil and not of God. Sizzla is singing against nastiness
The man got hours of hits but all he does do is hit the stage, jump for 10 seconds and then pull up and chat frought.
Did it over Music fest. Did it Village the year after. Waste of money, don't put on no show and treat the place with respect. Thank god the night he was down Music fest Jr Gong wake everybody back up. Why not work om getting him here again?
Them so call playing Christian when they say u have to legalise the shi? thing in the BVI all r u @$4 was Quiet if your @$4 it so call Christian take Ru @$4 in Church when Sizzla singing and pray for the none Christians for who think they can fool the public in the open and hating their fellormen Jah is the Judge who want to go church will go church and who want to go dance will go stop trying to make desigions for people like u all alone have sense. It comes down the the same slavery mentality ru want the determine what man whould do to sooth u all.
Not to sing about gays on that night to get your tourist angry ... Jah cure would of been nice to have
But the minute one says anything about gays its a a big problem. shm. Boom bye bye