Afrobeats sensation Burna Boy is facing backlash after a controversial incident at the recent Reggae Summer Jam Festival in Germany.
In a post on Instagram, a member of the Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse accused Burna Boy of disrespecting them by attempting to force them out of their dressing room to accommodate his entourage.
Steel Pulse guitarist David Electric, who took to the social media to vent, said Burna Boy and his security team demanded additional dressing rooms, leading to an attempt to displace Steel Pulse from their allocated space.
Electric wrote, “Burna Boy and security crew fully disrespected us @steelpulseofficial, trying to kick us out of our dressing room so he could have 4 dressing rooms for his massive entourage.
“Selwyn Brown, original member of Steel Pulse, was livid and our team stood our ground and told them to beat it and you can’t do that to people, especially to a band that has paved the way for Reggae Music.
“Summerjam why do you have a full security team that think they can come in and bully people? Who the hell does @burnaboy think he is?
“And because of us refusing to leave, the security team proceeded to build a barricade of a blacked out chain linked fence that split the hallway between our dressing room and his dressing room.”
The situation escalated further as Electric described the deployment of a blacked-out chain-linked fence by Burna Boy’s security, creating a barrier between the two dressing rooms.
“I hope that these Legendary reggae festivals realize that this can’t be apart of the reggae culture. That’s Babylon business. We don’t treat people like that. Please recognize this because Steel Pulse was fully disrespected. Reggae promotes Peace, Love, Unity.. stand up for your rights, we must never give up the fight #reggaemusic,” he added.
Steel Pulse, founded in 1975 in Birmingham, UK, rose to prominence as one of Britain’s leading reggae bands.
They have been honoured with numerous accolades, including the Grammy Award for their album ‘Babylon the Bandit’ in 1986.
The Summer Jam Festival organisers have not yet commented on the incident, but fans are urging them to ensure that future lineups respect the roots and contributions of reggae music pioneers like Steel Pulse.
