Queen Ifrica Reveals Extent Of Fallout From Controversial Grand Gala Performance

Reggae artist Queen Ifrica has revealed the full extent of the fallout from her controversial Independence Grand Gala celebrations on August 6, 2013.

In the performance, the Keep It to Yourself singer openly stated her disapproval of homosexuals before her microphone was turned off and her set cut short.

“When they called me for the grand gala, I decided that I was going to address the two topics that were hot at the time, marijuana legalization, and the topic of whether or not we should be bashing homosexuality,” Queen Ifrica told The Fix podcast.

“When my mic turn down, it was someone in a high official place that told me they were sitting beside the person that gave the order to turn off my microphone. Hear weh mi guh up guh seh, ‘All Jamaican weh know she dem straight and love man and woman and wi seh wi nah change nothing’. That’s all mi did seh,” the Welcome to Montego Bay deejay said.

She continued, “Before the night done, Lisa Hanna [the then culture minister], love you babes and everything, we can make it up if you wish was the first to put out that she regretted inviting me there, and I was like for why though?”

Queen Ifrica said that because of her controversial grand gala set Flow did not feel comfortable with her performing at their back-to-school stage show for which she was already booked, so they tried to pull from the lineup on the day of the event.

“They had contracted me for the event, but on the day of the event..me get a call from Laing seh ‘nuh badda come’.  When him seh nuh badda come, and mi di deh dress up and ready to go, dem [Flow] seh it’s not happening, its not good for the brand,” she said.

The artist said despite being pulled from the show, she turned up at the venue of the event, “and when I turned up I was bombarded with guns from all angles, some a Laing black clothes police dem, start to seh mi nuffi guh nowhere near the stage, suh when mi see wah a gwaan mi move to the side of the stage.”

The artist stated that when patrons at the show spotted her, they started to ask what was happening.

“The crowd seh ‘a wah a gwaan queen , a wah a gwaan’ , so mi seh ‘dem a seh mi cyah perform because mi homophobic’. I was scared because I was like, a ya suh in reach in Jamaica? A really yah suh it reach?”

The singer stated that she was adamant that she was going to perform on the show, even amid a back and forth with representatives from the telecoms provider.

She stated that the Flow team made an offer, “They said they were going to give me an open check with whatever amount of money that I want, and they would come to the public and tell that they gave me some money toward whatever charity, and I would just walk away and not perform, and I told them no.”

The artist said she held her stance, and organizers got Queen Ifrica’s friend and fellow artist Tony Rebel, who was also on the show, to try convincing her. She said even after that, she held her ground, and told organizers that she could go on a major local talk show to speak about the issue, it was only then they agreed to let her perform. The Below the Waist singer said that the agreement was to perform three songs.

She said despite all this, there is no bad blood between her and Flow.

Queen Ifrica also said that she also lost out on becoming a UNICEF ambassador because of that fateful grand gala performance, even after she did all the necessary qualifying activities.

“Somebody from roun’ a Jamaica AIDS Support call and tell them I shouldn’t be any UNICEF ambassador, because I am homophobic. After mi pass every test, dem carry mi inna the field, mi do the whole thing solve case…UNICEF fi fly in , ready fi announce it the Monday morning, dem get one big predator call,” she ranted.