‘GTT Night of Stars’ promoter counting his losses
The headline acts for the show and other artistes at GTT’s Camp and Robb Streets store (Adrian Narine photo)
The headline acts for the show and other artistes at GTT’s Camp and Robb Streets store (Adrian Narine photo)

–after artistes renege on deal

SOME of Dancehall’s biggest names, Pamputtae, Gage and Q.Q, came to Guyana promising an unforgettable GTT ‘Night of Stars’ concert on Saturday at the National Park.
But, as fate would have it, the artistes never took the stage, leaving the promoter of the show, Seon Blades, crying foul and counting his millions of dollars in losses.

As part of their ‘Pinktober’ breast cancer awareness, the Guyana Telephone and Telephone Company (GTT) teamed up with Blades’ New Level Entertainment company to make the show a reality, but, in the end, it turned out to be a nightmare.

Pamputtae, Gage and Q.Q were headline acts for the show, which was supposed to have featured Jamaican Razor B and Guyanese dancehall sensation, ‘Lil Million’, but instead, after not receiving their agreed amounts as stipulated in their contracts, the artistes collectively protested and refused to leave the Tower Hotel.

Using their respective social media platforms, the artistes, more so Eveana Henry (‘Pamputtae’) and Kareem Dawkins (QQ) blasted the promoter for allegedly not living up to his end of the bargain, something that Blades denied in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday.

“From start to end, when these artistes came into this country, my days were not normal; they stressed me out a lot. One time I took them to buy food at one restaurant, and when they finished eating, after the bill was like $40,000, they said they want KFC. I paid them their per diem and still I had to get food for them,” Blades said.

FALSE CLAIMS

The artistes claimed to have never seen the promoters, but the day prior to the show, they were all present, along with Blades, for a press event hosted by GTT at their Robb and Camp Streets dealer store.

The artistes also claimed they were not featured on radio, since the promoters were unable to take them, but evidence showed them at Hits and Jams’ Lance Gibbs Street radio station.

Promoter Seon Blades

In the video, which received thousands of views and shares, the artistes also complained about not having first-class tickets as agreed and stated in their contracts, but they shared videos on Instagram showing them being seated in Fly Jamaica’s First Class area, as attested to by Blades’ $1,103,960 receipt for their tickets with the airline.
Dawkins, as stated in his contract, agreed to perform for US$5,000 and had already received US$3,857.69 before arriving in Guyana, leaving Blades a balance of US$1,142.31 to pay.
Henry, on the other hand, received almost US$1500 of her US$2500 contracted amount. Gage also collected over 60% of his fees, same as Razor B.
But according to Blades, it is QQ’s father, Joseph Dawkins, who caused the whole upheaval.

“During the night of the show,” Blades explained to the Guyana Chronicle, “I went back to the venue and told them that ticket sales were a little slow, and I want you guys to come to the venue.
“Since I already paid 90% and 60% of the money, I would take the losses and give you guys whatever ticket money we have.
“QQ father started talking for everyone and said they’re not moving. I told him, ‘I already paid more than you asked for in advance in the contract, so I don’t see a problem going to venue so the people could feel comfortable.’

“Gage is the only one who actually wanted to perform,” Blades stated, but explained the ‘Throat’ artiste was fearful of the backlash when he returned to Jamaica.

MONEY BACK?
Blades still feels that the artistes should have given some of the money back, since he had paid more than 50% down and they didn’t deliver as promised.

“To me, it’s a breach of contract of some kind, because I paid them more than they asked for in advance, and they did not perform,” he said, adding:
“I spoke to a lawyer, and he explained that I should’ve cancelled their tickets, but I didn’t do that because it was Sunday.
“I didn’t get on to anyone from Fly Jamaica, and they were leaving at 03:00am the Monday morning,” said Blades.

Patrons, after realising that the artistes were not coming to the venue, began to ‘bottle’ the stage, forcing the DJ to seek cover. Disgruntled fans also asked for their money back, but by then, everyone associated with the show had ‘dipped.’

“They robbed me,” Blades said. “When I checked my budget, it’s over G$5M I lost from this event; people saying I took GTT money and all these things.
“The first contract GTT and I made, they were supposed to purchase 3000 tickets at G$600 each, which would’ve taken it to $1.8M.
“After GTT pulled in the Chronixx and Gospel show, they reduced that to 1000 tickets, which only took the money to $600,000.
“The artistes felt it was GTT show, but it was my show, and GTT was just a sponsor,” Blades explained.

Blades showed the Guyana Chronicle evidence of Razor B and Gage apologising and offering to do a show free of cost at a time of his, Blades,’ choosing.

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2 thoughts on “‘GTT Night of Stars’ promoter counting his losses”

  1. This is Ranjini Cassup. I represent Razor B and I can confirm the ‘evidence’ provided in this article concerning Razor B is false.

    I will be following up with my legal team as this is defamation of Razor’s character, unless a full retraction of false claims and apology is issued by both this publication and the promoter.

    I can be reached at bookrazorb@gmail.com for comment

  2. The claims made in this article regarding Razor B are false. It is surprising that a national publication would post such claims without validation of the facts. Razor’s team can be contacted at bookrazorb@gmail.com for further comments.
    – Razor was paid 50% of his fee as deposit. Promoter paid the last $250.00 2 days prior to the travel date (requirement was full 50% to hold the date)
    – Razor and Team did not receive their airline tickets or hotel confirmations until the day prior to the show (Razor’s contract clearly states that travel and accommodations details were to be pre-approved and sent 10 days prior to travel)
    – The promoter was advised that Razor needed to be back in Jamaica on Oct 29th, due to issues booking his return ticket by the promoter, Razor was forced to cancel another show and issue refund to the promoter
    – Full per diem ( 5 days) was due upon arrival – this was NOT received by Razor or his team. Promoter insisted instead to purchase meals as it was cheaper for him. Razor B showed extreme flexibility given the circumstances.
    – Balance of Razor B’s booking fee was due at the hotel prior to the show, this was NOT received, not even in part.
    – Promoter did not come to the hotel until after 11pm, he did not attempt to negotiate with our team for partial payment, which would have been considered if proposed, again given the circumstance.
    – Razor B’s Team has agreed to do a discounted show (NOT FREE) in order to help this young man re-coup his loss, this is not out of obligation in any way- it is simply to assist an entrepreneur trying to succeed in the promotion business.
    In short, Team Razor B has no ill-will against this promoter, other than the fact that he failed to communicate his financial situation in advance or allow for negotiation with our management team on the night of the show.
    Razor B looks forward to performing for his fans in Guyana in the future.

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