I-Octane

Dancehall/reggae artiste I-Octane has been approached by the organisers of Reggae Sumfest to close the show's Dancehall Night for the second time in two years. However, the singjay has declined that offer.

According to I-Octane, fellow recording artiste Mr Vegas made disparaging comments about his ability to close the show last year, and is therefore putting out a challenge for Mr Vegas to be this year's closing act.

Last year, Mr Vegas had said I- Octane was not a good selection as closing act, neither did he feel that Chronixx should have been booked for International Night. Therefore, I-Octane wants the Bruck It Dung singer to prove his worth.

"Honour to Bounty Killer and Beenie Man who have closed Sumfest for many years. Last year, many people were sceptical and thought it was a risky move to make me as a young artiste close the show. The outcome was good and the reviews were good, and despite that, Mr Vegas still had nothing positive to say, and I think he should have been happy that a young youth was stepping out and prospering," I-Octane said.

The singjay says this year, he was thinking of performing on International Night in order to promote his reggae songs featured on his new My Journey album. However, he was recently asked by Sumfest's Johnny Gourzong to close the show's Dancehall Night once again, an invitation which he accepted, until he realised that Mr Vegas was also on the line-up.

"When I saw that Mr Vegas will be on the show this year, I decided that he should be the one to close it. Since he was full of big talk last year and ridiculing the festival and the line-up, I want to give him the honour of closing Sumfest and I will stand up and watch his performance, and if he does well, I will walk over and shake his hand," Octane said.

close the show

"If Mr Vegas is performing, I am not closing, I want to perform before him. I am not trying to stop any artiste from performing at the show. But because of what Vegas said last year, I want him to close the show," I-Octane said.

When contacted by The STAR, Mr Vegas said I-Octane should close the show again, since he sees himself as the next "King of Dancehall".

"I think 'The King' of last year's Dancehall Night should close this year again. When Beenie Man was King, he did it for years, back to back. My advice is, close it again brother, you put a lot of promotion and hard work into it last year, to show that a you a run the place," Vegas said.

"I just closed Jamming Festival in Colombia last night, and I didn't do a campaign and invite all the media houses to centre the whole festival around me. Everyone that performed, Turbulence, Anthony B, among others, played their part, it did not matter who closed. I have nothing to prove, I just give thanks that my blessings still a come down from God ... artistes need to realise that if you do good music, yuh nuh haffi set torch inna venue. Any fire that blaze up too fast, out quick," Vegas said.

"Spend more time focusing on building a legacy, instead of trying to run the place and claim 'bigmanship'. When the promoter says it's my time, I am ready, not when I say it's my time," Vegas added.

I-Octane is currently on a US tour which will be cut short to accommodate preparations for Sumfest.

curtis.campbell@gleanerjm.com