Reggae artiste Protoje has jumped to defend his label signee Lila Ike, after she was battered on social media by commentators who were peeved by comments she made during an interview on TVJ’s ER recently.
He posted a diatribe on Twitter, railing against the paternalistic ‘hand-out’ culture that pervades the music business and governs social interactions in Jamaica itself.
“This (expletive deleted) hand out mentality ah one ah the biggest problem in a music business, actually we whole country. Everybody want a buss and wouldn’t even know wah fi do with it when dem get it. No work pon craft, just a work pon who can buss dem. Some real tomatis bout artist,” he tweeted.
Who him ah talk? Protoje never buss until nine years ago he got a collaboration with Kymani Marley, and that is still his biggest song to date. Kymani’s hook made that song a huge hit, so wasn’t that a collaboration for Kymani Marley with an emerging artiste? Remember Rasta Love that has over 100 million views on YouTube?
Him ah mek the little RCA deal ah get to him head? And it’s nothing special. This is just a new wave of signings: Roc Nation teamed up with Buju Banton; Interscope with the producer Rvssian and the singer Shenseea; Columbia U.K. with Koffee. Right now, Chronixx bigger than him, he needs to know that. Right now, Koffee hotter than Protoje, wah him a talk bout Jamaican people love handout?!!!! Wah him feel like?
Protoje was responding to the barrage of criticism directed at Lila Ike after a recent interview on the popular entertainment programme.
While discussing her debut EP, the EXperience, Lila Ike reportedly said: “Ton and tons a people a reach out fi collab, some a dem a really feel like yuh just nuh deh deh suh yet fi deh pan a song with Lila Ike to be honest. I feel like most of the people reaching out to me right now would be like upcoming artistes that are seeking a way to get their self known, or get into the business and I am not really in support of that, if you want something yuh really and truly haffi work for it.”
The backlash was immediate and fierce, and her comments ignited a firestorm of criticism on social media with some saying that her comments were “nasty”, labelled her as “hype”, and one even pointedly asked: “how she know dem nah work, nuh Protoje buss har?”
Some fans jumped to her defence, arguing : “don’t see nothing wrong with what Lila said. Levels to the thing always.”
Lila Ike is signed to Protoje’s label In.Digg.Nation, along with Sevana. The label is part of the RCA Records family as part of a partnership signed between Protoje’s In.Digg.Nation Collective and Six Course/RCA Records, which will see the release of projects by all three artistes through a multi-album venture.
Protoje is the latest Jamaican act to reach a deal with a major, part of a wave of pairings in the past 18 months.
