‘Burning a fire’ on gays didn’t affect visa – Sizzla
Reggae/dancehall megastar Sizzla has expressed his belief that his vocal criticisms of the LGBT community had
little to do with his visa being revoked.
In an interview with THE STAR, he said that he was not stipulated to ‘turn down the fire’ or stop performing certain songs in order to have his visa reinstated.
“There weren’t any situations attached to my visa reissuance, except for the waiver. I don’t think my visa situation has anything to do with turning up or turning down the vibration,” Sizzla told
THE STAR.
However, he said that he “thinks that having a good criminal record is what’s mostly required of you and being [an] honest person in doing just and truth to others and having a good character; being an upstanding citizen and [having] a healthy record of your life”. The Nah Apologise deejay recently had his US visa and work permit reinstated. He last performed in the country five years ago. With the US being one of the reggae legend’s larger markets that ‘welcomed his crossover endeavours’, he anticipates great energy from patrons. “I enjoyed performing there, because the people are very serious about their past history and the way forward. They’re very supportive of not just Sizzla, but anything concerning them as citizens and their country in righteousness,” said Sizzla.
He continued, “It differs in a sense that we are still on the slave plantations, and having these fans singing and helping to liberate themselves is just great. They are now more informed and are heeded to the cause of repatriation as The Right Honourable Marcus Garvey stated, and they’re more self-consciousness. It’s not very hard for them to see where we are going, as to where we are coming from,” he added.
The Solid as a Rock singer said his music, which serves as a tool of ‘edutainment’, is now more evident with the advent of technological tools.
“With the help of social media, the access to schools and colleges, it all helped in educating them (listeners) towards their goals, whilst understanding what slavery was. They can now look and see with great clarity what is happening around them, as this is the Western Hemisphere, the region they were all taken to for human labour and the nowdeveloped areas where our foreparents were being held,” said Sizzla.
The artiste said the visa reinstatement has reopened a door of endless opportunities. He is currently compiling an album and has several upcoming projects/shows.
“That album I will take on tour across the US. I’ve [also] been working with a few people to form the Rastafari Committee in New York. So far, New York City’s Mayor [Eric] Adams has granted the proclamation for ‘Rastafari Kulture Day’ on July 23rd, which is to be celebrated by my first New York performance on July 14th in Brooklyn. The door is open for me to collaborate with new artists in Jamaica and internationally,” the Holding Firm singer shared. His first performance as a headline act at Boston’s ‘Dancehall Reggae Fest Series’ is slated for August 10.
Since the reissuance of Sizzla’s visa, the outpouring of support and celebratory comments have been mixed with calls for other dancehall entertainers, such as Bounty Killer, to be granted the freedom to travel to the US. Sizzla and Bounty Killer were among a group of artistes whose US visas were revoked in 2010. Aidonia and Mavado’s visas were later reinstated. Beenie Man’s visitor’s visa was ‘restored’, but he is still without a work permit.