Fans upset ‘Natural Black’ was sidelined 

–but ‘homey’ takes it all in his stride

WHILE many would have praised the Buju Banton ‘I am Legend’ concert held at the National Stadium last Saturday, there were those who expressed grave disappointment.

Their disappointment had to do with the fact that Guyana’s own Reggae star, Mortimer Softley, better known as ‘Natural Black’, was deprived of the opportunity of performing at such a mega concert.

But according to the promoters of the show, due to time constraints, the Jamaican legend had to go on stage in a hurry, causing ‘Natural Black’ to be cut right out of the lineup.

At the event, many patrons told ‘The Buzz’ that they felt a lot of time was wasted, and a lot of time was given to the wrong artistes.

“If I was the promoter, I would go back to the drawing board. I would have recalculate the time, as it is Guyana Independence. Buju is the guest artiste invited to perform at the Guyana Independence Celebration as part of his ‘I am Legend’ tour. However, our local artiste, ‘Natural Black’ should have been given a little more priority to perform on the stage,” one man said.

Another patron said, “This is not quite acceptable for me, because people were all anxiously awaiting to see him perform. During the time those DJs were playing, he could have used that time. And even the time that was given to the Hip Hop artiste could have been given to ‘Natural’ because this was a Reggae show; this wasn’t a show for her.”

Many local artistes as well joined in the rant, and took to their social media pages saying that many local artistes are always slighted when they have these big shows in Guyana. It was said that time and time again, Guyanese artistes are disrespected on many levels when it comes to events and shows right in their own country.

“Buju is Buju, but at the end of the day ‘THIS IS WE OWN’, and I am so disappointed that our own people were yet again kicked to the curb. Our Guyanese acts show up and out EVERYTIME, most times surpassing the headliner(s) but never get the credit nor respect,” one local artiste posted on Facebook.

However, when ‘The Buzz’ spoke to ‘Natural Black’, he said that all is not lost. His major concern, he said, was to let people know that he was there, since he didn’t want persons to run away with the idea that ‘Natural Black’ was ‘a no-show’.

He, however, said that he looking forward for the opportunity to grace the stage and perform for his Guyanese fan-base.

Though a bit saddened and disappointed, ‘Natural Black’ said that his works are still relevant, and he is continuing to produce more music.

Just last year, he released an album titled ‘Eyes ah Look’, and is currently working on pushing this album. With 10 tracks on the album, he said that many of those songs are capable of becoming hits, just like other hit songs he would have produced.

For Guyana Day in New York, the Guyanese reggae icon is already booked and confirmed, and says that he will put on one of the best performances that he would have ever done.
‘Natural Black’ said though he has been dormant for too long, his love for music still remains, and as such he is working assiduously on getting his name and music buzzing as it used to.