The team of Afro-Dancehall icon, Stonebwoy has expressed outrage over a “disrespectful incident” that occurred during his performance at the Tidal Rave Festival in Accra on Saturday, November 4, 2023.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Gerrald Israel, a member of Stonebwoy’s team, said that the Dancehall artiste and his team arrived at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel at 10:12 PM, two hours before his scheduled performance from 12:15 AM to 1:00 AM.
However, the festival producers informed them of a change in the running order, which delayed his performance by an additional hour.
Despite the delay, Stonebwoy patiently waited while other artists performed. He finally took the stage at 1:27 AM, intending to perform for 45-50 minutes.
However, within 30 minutes, Sarkodie’s crew, led by DJ Mensah, abruptly halted Stonebwoy’s performance by instructing his DJ to stop playing.
Israel said that this disrespectful interference disrupted Stonebwoy’s flow and left the audience bewildered.
He expressed outrage at the “blatant disrespect and inappropriate behaviour” exhibited by Sarkodie’s team, calling it “unacceptable” and “tarnishing the reputation of the entire music industry.”
Check his post below
THE DISRESPECT IN THIS INDUSTRY MUST STOP.
In the entertainment industry, adherence to schedules and set times is crucial, and really very disrespectful and not right at all for any one not even an artistes dj to try and turn off another artists mic on stage while they’re performing
On the evening of the Tidal Rave Festival, we arrived at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel at 10:12 PM, a full two hours ahead of Stonebwoy’s scheduled performance (12:15 to 1:00AM).
Subsequently, the festival producers approached us, and told us there is an alteration in the running order, which would entail Stonebwoy waiting for additional hours, totaling a 3-4 hour delay for the most prominent music export from Ghana.
Stonebwoy, exercised patience, complied with the unexpected delay. However, during this time, other artists, including KiDi, Efya, La Meme, Joey B, and even an attempt to have another perform, occupied what was originally allocated as Stonebwoy’s set time. We then informed the festival producers that Stonebwoy could not afford further delays, as he had just arrived in Ghana barely 48 hours ago and was already fatigued.
Finally, at 1:27 AM, Stonebwoy took to the stage, with an intended performance duration of approximately 45 to 50 minutes. However, within a mere 30 minutes into his set, the crew of Sarkodie, led by DJ Mensah, disrupted Stonebwoy’s performance by asking his DJ to stop playing, effectively preventing him from continuing his performance. — everything then went off.
Such actions are highly disrespectful and wholly inappropriate. It is unacceptable for anyone, not even an artist’s DJ, to attempt to cut another artist’s performance. This blatant DISRESPECT towards STONEBWOY shouldn’t be condone.