By Oluatoyin Alleyne
Just under two months ago 26-year-old Jory Douglas might have been one of the least known local artistes but his recent social commentary about him being robbed by a promoter has not only propelled him into the limelight but is also the cause for quite a buzz in the music industry as it also fuels the biggest local controversy in the business to date.
It is no secret that there is never no love lost among some artistes, producers and promoters and as such there is always a squabble here and there. What is not the norm is for the boxing gloves to come out and for the punches to be thrown publicly.
But that is exactly what has been happening since the release of the song “Can See Yuh Way” by Jory — who undoubtedly deserves his fame without all the sidebars — which targets Ian Johnson better known as ‘Mr Dynamix’, the promoter behind the ‘Whatz Hott Guyana’ show.
What with music cart operators digging in by playing the song repeatedly the controversy, which is o everyone’s lips has now being labelled the ‘Limpy J saga’ as in the lyrics of his song, Jory refers to Johnson, who walks with a limp as a result of a gunshot wound he suffered some years ago, as ‘Mr Limpy J.’
Ironically, it was Johnson’s ‘Whatz Hott Guyana’ show that was the catalyst for all the confusion, which in some cases has degenerated to downright low down ‘dutty busing’ on national television and elsewhere. Some observers say this kind of publicity does not augur well for the music business, but others beg to differ calling it unlimited publicity to a struggling musician which also shows the true colours of others.
Jory, who recently described himself to The Scene as somewhat of a social commentator since he sings about what is happening in society, was basking in the glory of all the attention being given him when he told us about the genesis of the song “Can’t See Yuh Way”. It was Johnson’s refusal to pay the young man the promised $30,000 for his appearance at the recent ‘Whatz Hott Guyana’ show in Georgetown. Jory was only paid $20,000 and attempts to get the remaining sum, he said, saw him being “verbally abused by the promoter” who told him to record a song on CD and sell it to make the money.
“So is he advice I follow,” quipped Jory in the recent conversation with The Scene.
But of course it did not go down well with Johnson who apologetically admitted to The Scene that he owes the artiste that sum of money. But he sought to justify it by saying that “it is usual when promoters’ show bust that the artiste don’t get the full money.” And according to him, there are promoters who owe artistes much more than a meagre $10,000.
Johnson said further that he has “no war with Jory. Jory is too much of a small fish for me.” But rather his beef is with Hits & Jam Promotions, Christian Duncan of Brutal Traxx, which produced the Jory’s new hot single, and journalist Gordon Moseley, the producer of the ‘In da mix’ television show.
He feels they are all out to kill his business, Everything Music, which incidentally he no longer owns as a according to him it is now solely his daughter’s business. And some are out to take over his annual show that was recently put on the Ministry of Tourism’s official list of calendar events.
“If you are going to write this story, please write what I am saying or don’t write nothing. I don’t have any issue with Jory. Jory don’t have no money to produce any music,” Johnson told The Scene when contacted.
It is “ludicrous!” says Kerwin Bollers, one of the two persons behind Hits & Jams Promotions and HJTV, for Johnson to even think they want to take over a show “that has been unsuccessful for six years” when “everyone knows about Hits & Jam Promotions and knows it as the premier promotion company.
“And it does not matter if other promoters don’t pay artistes… it does not make it right what he did to Jory…” Bollers said adding that HJTV was all about playing the most requested song and at present, so he says, Jory’s song is what most people wand to hear.
Duncan refused to be drawn into any public squabble with Johnson, who his lawyers already had to contact for his utterances on his television show, but he says Brutal Traxx is only giving an artiste it manages Jory a chance to respond to “character assassination” and also to tell his side of the story.
Moseley is not sure why Johnson wants to say he has a war with him. He told The Scene that his show is all about playing the newest and hottest song, and who could deny that Jory’s song is on the tongue of the smallest child. Maybe it is the fact that Moseley’s show reviewed the recent ‘Whatz Hott’ show and found that it was really ‘Whatz Not’ as all the headlining artistes were no shows.
Whatever it is, Johnson is a very angry man. But according to him his anger is not trained at Jory, the person who really has a grievance with him, but rather at Bollers, the other half of Hits & Jams Rawle Ferguson, Duncan and Moseley.
Burned
While chatting with us at The Scene Jory admitted that at one time he was afraid of Johnson, on whose ‘Talent Exclusive’ show he had made his debut, as “he would holler on you when you ask fuh you money.” He said this was not the first time he had been burned by Johnson since he was not paid the full money when he made another appearance on one of the shows.
This time he was apprehensive but he thought “it was a different Ian Johnson I dealing with” and while he first requested $60,000 for his appearance he agreed to reduce the price to $30,000. After the show he contacted Johnson for his payment and he was told to go the Everything Music store in Robb Street and collect $20,000. Asked about the remaining sum he was told he would receive same when Johnson returned from holding the show in Essequibo. He said he declined an invitation to perform at the Essequibo show for a further $30,000.
Following the Essequibo show, Jory said, he contacted Johnson who raved about the success of the show in the Cinderella County and promised Jory his money when he returned to the city.
“When I call again, was like a different Ian Johnson I talking to and he buse me up and tell me how I unreasonable because I could not go to the Essequibo show… and he tell me how I ent gat nothing to collect and do what I want.” It was at this point that Johnson told the fireman to record the song.
So said so done and now Jory says the song is undoubtedly his biggest single to date.
The first time Jory performed the song publicly was at one of Hits & Jams’ shows during the Jamzone celebration. The performance was done at a show where Johnson was appointed stage manager and according to Jory as he belted out the lyrics, he told the crowd to give Johnson “a round of a boo” and this caused Johnson to scamper behind a music box.
‘Glass houses’
Johnson is of the opinion that Jory’s performance at that show where he was appointed stage manager was a “calculated conspiracy” by Hits & Jams.
Not so, said Bollers, who told The Scene that Johnson had prior knowledge that Jory was going to target him during his performance. Jory, Bollers said, had gone on television and sang part of the song and told his fans to look forward for more at the show. This prompted Johnson to verbally abuse Jory prior to the show, Bollers said, and then approach Bollers in attempt to prevent Jory from singing the song.
But Bollers would have none of it, as according to him, it is what happens in the music industry. He also rubbished Johnson’s suggestion to The Scene that Hits &Jams and Brutal Traxx could have “defused the situation” by not recording the song or giving it air time. According to Bollers, Jory has sang songs before about other people which Johnson promoted on his show in the past. He even had other artistes singing about people and events at his show and television programme.
“It is nothing new in Guyana or in the music industry it happens all the time and Jory is singing about the facts,” Bollers told The Scene.
Johnson is angry because according to him other promoters owe artistes millions of dollars and did not have songs sung about them.
He warned, “You don’t throw stones when you live in glass houses” and qualified it with “all a dem gat nasty stories.
“Nobody can keep me down,” he added.
He says the only problem he has with Jory’s song is him “bringing my family into it and my business”. He referred to the line “Can’t see yo way, Boy Get Wifey Wifey and still ah big lil gal belly” and the fact in that the music video is purportedly being shot at ‘Everything Robbery store.’
But Duncan, who Johnson labelled as being “down right evil”, told The Scene that Johnson has a “poor understanding” of the words of the song as they speak about Johnson’s conduct.
Duncan said Johnson is the only one who is becoming nasty by using his television show to get personal with all the persons he mentioned. He said after Jory’s initial performance at the Hits & Jam show, Johnson, on his television programme not only berated Jory in words that cannot be repeated but also targeted Brutal Traxx, Duncan andh Hits & Jams.
This resulted in Jory putting his lyrics to paper, with some changes, and the song being recorded.
And yes the video was shot in a day because Duncan wanted to ensure that Jory is giving an avenue to respond to Johnson.
Johnson says while he is working “feverishly to promote local music dem trying to tek bread and butter out a me mouth, but they are not God…”
Taken advantage of
Duncan said he has no fight with Johnson but his artiste was taken advantage of and he had to represent him.
“Brutal Traxx has recorded the song and produced the video and we stand behind it,” he said. He said that as far as he knows his company and Johnson had no real issues. A few times on his television show, Duncan said, Johnson had made libellous statements about Brutal Traxx and he had to have his lawyers contact him and Channel 9, the station the programme is aired on.
“The song was in response to the character assassination… We have a right to assist our artiste to help him to grow because he has no means of responding…,” he said while adding that “had it been left like that he would have been dead to promoters and we responded with music nothing else.
“But this time he [Johnson] has gone overboard… he is a desperate man.”
In the meantime, Bollers labelled Johnson’s allegations as “outrageous and irrelevant.” He said nothing in Jory’s song is false and right now it is a very popular song and HJTV will continue to give it air time.
And while the words are being thrown, Jory is the one who is coming out smiling as his ratings go up and he is being booked for show after show.
He is on the upcoming Mavado show and then back again for the Sizzla show.
“Dem two are big shows, very big shows,” Jory said with a smile that said the cat might just have swallowed the cream. (samantha_alleyne2000@yahoo.com)
Can’t See Yuh Way
Intro:
Weh de money wuh you owe me?
I will say what I want to say… Mr Limpy!
Chorus:
You can’t see yuh way, artiste cry out everyday
How ya wuk dem hard wid out pay
Can’t see yuh way,
Cry seh you disable,
But you able when fi rob me
Can’t see yo way,
Boy get wifey wifey
And still ah big lil gal belly
Can’t see yuh way,
Can’t see yuh way, Limpy J Mr Limpy J
Me know seh dis nah play ting,
Me nah scandal nor try fi fight him
But every year ah de same thing,
When man ah sing pun stage he ah think fi rob him
Thats why me put it in writing,
The future generation i’m enlightening
Remember duppy know who fi frighten,
Last bad boy done pass through Lyken
