Guyanese officials cited the promotion of “vulgar and lawless behaviour,” including firing guns in public places, as one of the main reasons for barring the popular dancehall artist from performing publicly in the country.

By Khaila Gentle

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mon. June 13, 2022

The Minister of Home Affairs of Guyana announced on Friday that the country has effectively banned Jamaican dancehall artist, Skeng, from performing publicly. The announcement comes after a performance by the artist at the “Baderation” Dancehall concert was cut short last month when fans began firing gunshots in the air and throwing bottles.

At the opening ceremony for the Community Relations Department of the Guyana Police Force, the Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, stated that he has instructed both the police force and his ministry to withold their consent and approval for any future public performances that feature Skeng or other similar dancehall artists.

“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 who has a record of promoting vulgar and lawless behaviour, including the firing of gunshots in public places. We reject it completely,” said Benn, according to a report by Caribbean Weekly.

While only Skeng, given name Kevaun Douglas, was mentioned by name, the Minister also stated that the ban will extend to all other artists who release music with a similar message. Additionally, he plans to remove Skeng’s music from Guyanese airwaves, a decision made after one individual referred to the capital of Georgetown as “Gun Town”.

“I have to say here and now, that no artist like Skeng will ever come again into this country,” stated Minister Benn.

The artist’s management team has since responded to the ban, calling it an attempt to wrongfully blame him for the actions of his fans. The team stated that Skeng’s artistic expression is merely that and nothing else, noting that he has performed in several cities before and after the incident in Guyana and has not received such a response. They also criticized the poor security measures that were in place at the “Baderation” event.

“Our team was also placed in danger and had to take precautions to ensure that we 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,” stated a release by Skeng’s management team.

Skeng, who is 21 years old, is not the first Jamaican artist to have found themselves banned in Guyana. Artists Mavado and Vybz Kartel have also been previously blacklisted in 2008 and 2001 respectively.

Skeng’s management team has expressed that they are hopeful the ban will be lifted.

“Management and Mr. Douglas are aware of the negative effect of gun violence and do not and will never condone the same anywhere. Mr. Douglas provides high-energy performances; however, we ask that there not be a repeat of the incident that occurred in Guyana,” stated their release.