After the cancellation of five visas belonging to Jamaican performers including Mavado, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, reggae star Jah Cure was moved to voice his opinion. In a politically motivated release titled “Save Yourself”, the SoBe/Danger Zone artist addressed Jamaica and Caribbean nations, exclaiming, “You can’t change my pride, you can’t take my power.”
Breaking news of the United States Embassy in Kingston cancelling the visas came on April 1, leaving Cure to originally dismiss the announcement as an April Fool’s joke. “I couldn’t believe that the Jamaican or U.S. governments would violate the privacy rights of citizens and publish their legal names, their birth dates, their actual Jamaican passport numbers and their U.S. Visa Control numbers, I did not believe it,” said Cure after discovering the official news.
There are few rumors circulating the web as to why the artists’ visas have been revoked. Some sources have speculated that the musicians have been banned for advocating violence and murder against homosexuals, while others have theorized that it is a response to the Jamaican government’s refusal to cooperate in the U.S. extradition of a drug dealer. The Jamaican Observer has since issued a report warning all dancehall performers from traveling at all.
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Longtime manager of Beenie Man, Patrick Roberts, also spoke out about the news, “We have always had our work permits renewed without any problems.”
Cure, who released “Save Yourself” as a free download, is urging to community to take action, “We cannot depend on Big Brother to help us, we must depend on each other and ourselves.”
Either way, the popular reggae artists will not be performing in the United States anytime soon.
