Mad Cobra Performs In Bahamas Days After Arrest In South Carolina
Dancehall veteran Mad Cobra was arrested and charged with some serious stuff last week in the U.S., but that didn’t stop him from jetting off to the Bahamas for a performance.
Cobra, whose real name is Ewart Everton Brown, 55, found himself in hot water after being pulled over for speeding on the I-95 in South Carolina on Tuesday (July 25). The traffic stop escalated when Florence County cops determined that they had “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity and asked Cobra for consent to search his vehicle. They allegedly discovered two kilograms of cocaine and a 9mm Beretta in the Jamaican artist’s Black BMW SUV.
But a little thing like that wasn’t about to keep the Flex singer, who resides in Florida, from his professional commitments. Come Saturday night (July 29), he was performing at the “Reggae Summer Rewind” concert in Nassau, Bahamas.
Leading up to the show, Cobra appeared in a promotional video at the Breezes Resort & Spa in Nassau to reassure fans that he had landed on the island for his scheduled performance.
Hours later, he took the stage and performed singles such as Flex and Press Trigger to scores of raving fans. The Dancehall entertainer was joined by other veteran acts, such as Admiral Bailey and Terror Fabulous.
The fact that he was allowed to hit the Bahamas so soon after his arrest might raise a few eyebrows, but it seems the South Carolina authorities aren’t too worried about Cobra skipping town.
He had been released on a $125,000 bond on July 26 following his arrest. The surety bonds were split, with $5,000 tied to the weapon charge and $120,000 to the drug trafficking charge.
Under South Carolina law, the distribution of over 400 grams of cocaine carries hefty penalties, including a fine of $200,000 and a prison term of 25-30 years.
The weapon charge carries a mandatory prison term of 5 years.
His scheduled return to court is October 3.
Mad Cobra’s career in music started in the late 1980s, with his first album Bad Boy Talk being released in 1989.
His major breakthrough on the international stage came in 1992 with the single Flex, off his major label début album Hard to Wet, Easy to Dry (Columbia Records).
Flex reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Gold in the United States for selling over 500,000 units in the country.