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Dancehall artiste Chuck Fender was attacked and assaulted by armed men when he went to perform in The Bahamas recently.
According to Fender, negotiations over money went sour between himself and the show's promoter and since his decision to not perform, a major confrontation occurred that almost cost him his life.
Fender, who returned to Jamaica on Wednesday, gave THE STAR his account of what took place.
"Wi went to Bahamas to do a show called 'Beach Fest' last Saturday, a did me an Buju Banton as the main acts. The promoter of A@@, (name deleted) Sound tell mi sey a track show an then him call wi and sey artiste a guh have dem band suh mi can jus work wid dem. Suh, wi sey wi nuh think wi a guh mek it because there was no way that the other artiste band can know my work in a couple hours. So he said get my band together. And my management contact the band and they were available, so the promoter paid for the band members plane tickets and we went," Fender said.
He continued: "Now, on the night of the show, while wi at the hotel, because wi nah leave the hotel until everything is settled, him neva waan pay me my difference nor pay the band. Suh mi sey me wi work fi free suh jus pay di band members. But him get vex an sey 'Buju one wi deal wid di show an him lef.'"
Did not perform
Fender, therefore, never performed, but says he could not leave The Bahamas as the threat of the hurricane to Jamaica had caused flights to be cancelled.
On his way back to his hotel, Fender says: "One radio station in Bahamas call mi and said they wanted to interview me because they said people were rioting at the show because I did not perform, so they wanted my side. They then put me on to the music director who said they could not do a live interview with me now so they gave me a location so we could meet and do a pre-recording. After we finished and were leaving the location where we did the pre-recorded interview, wi si five car drive up and 12 man wid gun jump out an a sey dem waan wi gi dem back di money weh dem sen come Jamaica (the deposit for the show). Dem assault wi, dem all lick mi wid one a di gun an it gash mi cross mi eye; dem kick down mi road manager an dem all try put wi inna di car."
But Fender said he resisted, "cause mi nah jus gi wey mi life jus suh. Mi tell dem sey any ting dem a do dem haffi do it yah suh. A people start pull dem door an look out now an dem tek off an wi guh mek a report at di Royal Bahamas Police Station. Dem lock up (the music director) an di driver who carry wi guh to the location, because a dem alone know weh wi did deh."
When contacted, Chief Super-intendent Glenn Miller confirmed that an incident did take place involving the artiste and said that investigations into the matter were well under way.
"An incident did take place at a place called Jubilee Gardens in Nassau. We carried out an inquiry and one and two persons were taken into custody. There are also some other individuals who we are focusing on but our team is still trying to locate them. But at this point we cannot say any names unless they are charged. We understand that there was a dispute on contracts and that persons were approached, but even if there was a dispute, they didn't have the right to approach them in that manner," Chief Miller said.
While unable to make contact with the promoters of the show, a close associate of the music director says he wanted to make a few things clear.
"When Fender refused to perform, the promoters asked him to cut some dubs then in repayment for the deposit, but Fender refused. But (the music director), who is actually still in jail right now, invited Fender over to his house to cut some dubs and apparently he was calling around, he actually called me saying he got Fender doing some dubs if I wanted. So apparently those guys (the show promoters) got wind of it and said, 'okay, he didn't want to do dubs for us but yet he is cutting for somebody else'. They did try to take him, they did try to put him in the trunk and guys were there pleading for him (Fender) not to take him away," he said
According to Fender, negotiations over money went sour between himself and the show's promoter and since his decision to not perform, a major confrontation occurred that almost cost him his life.
Fender, who returned to Jamaica on Wednesday, gave THE STAR his account of what took place.
"Wi went to Bahamas to do a show called 'Beach Fest' last Saturday, a did me an Buju Banton as the main acts. The promoter of A@@, (name deleted) Sound tell mi sey a track show an then him call wi and sey artiste a guh have dem band suh mi can jus work wid dem. Suh, wi sey wi nuh think wi a guh mek it because there was no way that the other artiste band can know my work in a couple hours. So he said get my band together. And my management contact the band and they were available, so the promoter paid for the band members plane tickets and we went," Fender said.
He continued: "Now, on the night of the show, while wi at the hotel, because wi nah leave the hotel until everything is settled, him neva waan pay me my difference nor pay the band. Suh mi sey me wi work fi free suh jus pay di band members. But him get vex an sey 'Buju one wi deal wid di show an him lef.'"
Did not perform
Fender, therefore, never performed, but says he could not leave The Bahamas as the threat of the hurricane to Jamaica had caused flights to be cancelled.
On his way back to his hotel, Fender says: "One radio station in Bahamas call mi and said they wanted to interview me because they said people were rioting at the show because I did not perform, so they wanted my side. They then put me on to the music director who said they could not do a live interview with me now so they gave me a location so we could meet and do a pre-recording. After we finished and were leaving the location where we did the pre-recorded interview, wi si five car drive up and 12 man wid gun jump out an a sey dem waan wi gi dem back di money weh dem sen come Jamaica (the deposit for the show). Dem assault wi, dem all lick mi wid one a di gun an it gash mi cross mi eye; dem kick down mi road manager an dem all try put wi inna di car."
But Fender said he resisted, "cause mi nah jus gi wey mi life jus suh. Mi tell dem sey any ting dem a do dem haffi do it yah suh. A people start pull dem door an look out now an dem tek off an wi guh mek a report at di Royal Bahamas Police Station. Dem lock up (the music director) an di driver who carry wi guh to the location, because a dem alone know weh wi did deh."
When contacted, Chief Super-intendent Glenn Miller confirmed that an incident did take place involving the artiste and said that investigations into the matter were well under way.
"An incident did take place at a place called Jubilee Gardens in Nassau. We carried out an inquiry and one and two persons were taken into custody. There are also some other individuals who we are focusing on but our team is still trying to locate them. But at this point we cannot say any names unless they are charged. We understand that there was a dispute on contracts and that persons were approached, but even if there was a dispute, they didn't have the right to approach them in that manner," Chief Miller said.
While unable to make contact with the promoters of the show, a close associate of the music director says he wanted to make a few things clear.
"When Fender refused to perform, the promoters asked him to cut some dubs then in repayment for the deposit, but Fender refused. But (the music director), who is actually still in jail right now, invited Fender over to his house to cut some dubs and apparently he was calling around, he actually called me saying he got Fender doing some dubs if I wanted. So apparently those guys (the show promoters) got wind of it and said, 'okay, he didn't want to do dubs for us but yet he is cutting for somebody else'. They did try to take him, they did try to put him in the trunk and guys were there pleading for him (Fender) not to take him away," he said