“I don’t even know what they look like. So for them to say I disrespected them, they are looking for something from Burna Boy’s name… But please let me pass the message in the right way. I don’t disrespect people at all. Eva! If I disrespect you, it’s because you did something…”
That is Burna Boy’s response to allegations made by Steel Pulse singer and guitarist David “Electric” Hinds that he and his entourage had attempted to force them out of their dressing room at the recently held Reggae Summer Jam Festival in Germany.
Burna made his statements in London on Monday, July 15 at his free concert to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his African Giant album.
Burna Boy responds to allegations of disrespect towards the Grammy-winning reggae band, Steel Pulse, at the Summer Jam Festival. pic.twitter.com/YeroYDbbRM
— NOTJUSTOK (@NOTJUSTOK) July 16, 2024
Two weeks ago, Burna received a resounding condemnation from Reggae fans, who roasted the Nigerian for disrespecting the elders after Electric revealed on Instagram that Burna Boy arrived at the festival with a massive entourage, demanded additional dressing rooms, and attempted to displace Steel Pulse to accommodate his team.
“Burna Boy 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, an 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,” the guitarist had said.
“Summerjam why do you have a full security team that thinks 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,” he had added.
Electric also declared that not only was Burna and his crew’s style and behaviour unbecoming but that it did not align with the ethos of Reggae and ought not to be tolerated, as “Reggae promotes Peace, Love, Unity”.
Lloyd Laing of Reggae University was particularly incensed, and lashed the Last Last singer for disrespecting “a foundation group who were pivotal in the legacy reggae music has today”.
Laing had declared that Burna had “disrespected the whole genre and culture” and that Summer Jam promoters ought to be ashamed of themselves, as Burna Boy “is an absolute nobody in comparison” to Steel Pulse.
Laing also lamented the growing tendency of promoters to engage in genre crossovers at Reggae music festivals, pointing out that whilst Burna Boy has gained international acclaim for his contributions to Afrobeats, his presence at a reggae-focused event was not necessary.
“This is what happens when you try to take black music and make it androgynous. Burna Boy should not be sharing a stage with [Steel Pulse] AfroBeats is not Reggae..bees and flies don’t coexist in nature so why is Summerjam mixing honey with sh*t??” Laing had stated.
The news of the incident was also met with distaste by legendary musicologist and Reggae music producer Kurt Riley.
“Reggae doesn’t prescribe to this mentality. Reggae calls out and weeds out this behaviour regardless of who the individual or group is. What is the price of what is right? We will see because Jah is watching. But I will say, “He who has no respect for the past, will be misled and tossed aside over time by the future”,” Riley added.
Source: Dance Hall Mag
