Sean Paul Weighs In On ‘Trinibad’ Artist’s Presence On INTERPOL’s Red List
Dancehall superstar Sean Paul has weighed in on recent developments concerning ‘Trinibad’ artist KMan 6ixx, who has reportedly been barred from entering Guyana and St Kitts due to his presence on the International Police’s (INTERPOL) Red Notice list.
In an interview with Overtime Media TT during the Island Music Conference last week, the Temperature artist made reference to his 2021 plea for Trinidadian artists engaging in the twin island republic’s version of Dancehall, known as Trinibad, to try and infuse more conscious lyrics into their music.
“People a guh do wha dem want to do and if him feel like that is his role in life, then I can only lead the horse to the water but I can’t meck dem drink. So I can only tell yuh di truth weh me know. A lot of violence and speaking about violence, brings it into your life more,” Sean Paul said.
“So that’s all I can say to him and he must weigh him life, the people around him, his family and the steps that he can take, opportunities that he has, that those that are open to him now.”
He added: “Mi naw tell him fi sell out that don’t, but at the same point in time, as well, if we are artists that reflect life, reflect some a di light too. Because everything that is dark is not the truth. There is truth there and we should speak about that as a artist.”
“We do not need lyrics that promote violence in this region” – Guyanese President Ali
The discussion with Sean Paul seemingly comes against the background of a call made by the Guyanese president, Dr. Irfaan Ali, for a cessation of the recording of music that promotes violence in the Caribbean during the opening ceremony of the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government on Sunday.
According to Newsroom Guyana, Dr. Ali, who is the incumbent Chairman of CARICOM, called for “a collective approach to ensure Caribbean music reflects a culture of unity and promotes positivity.” He said that Guyana had “recently decided to block a popular artiste from performing in the country due to the artiste’s alleged involvement in illegal activity.”
“For some, this may seem a soft issue, but this is fundamental. Only recently, [Trinidad & Tobago] Prime Minister Rowley and I were having a conversation when many young people, brilliant young people, questioned the decision of not having a certain artiste perform in the country [Guyana] because that artiste is on an Interpol red list” President Ali is quoted as saying.
“We do not need lyrics that promote violence in this region. We can promote good lyrics and lyrics that will move people in a positive direction and move people to think and act positively. As leaders of this region, we have to take this situation seriously and ensure the lyrics of the region are the lyrics of Bob Marley and the lyrics of positivity and the lyrics of positive living and positive change”, Dr Ali had added.
In 2022, the Home Affairs And Security Minister in Ali’s administration declared that Jamaican artist Skeng (and other artists like him) were effectively banned from performing publicly in the country. The pronouncement had come after Skeng’s performance at an event in the country abruptly ended due to some patrons recklessly firing gunshots in the air.
However, since then, several Jamaican artists—including Bounty Killer, Skillibeng, Valiant, Teejay, and Alkaline—have performed in Guyana without issue.
According to INTERPOL, Red Notices are issued “for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence in relation to serious ordinary law crimes such as murder, rape and fraud” and follows criminal proceedings in the country issuing the request” which is “not always the home country of the individual”.
The Red Notice is further described as “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action” and “is based on an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities in the requesting country”.
Newsroom Guyana noted that although President Ali did not name the “specific artist,” it was recently reported that “KMan 6ixx, who was expected to perform on February 23 in Guyana, was blocked from traveling to Guyana from Trinidad and Tobago”.
The publication added that KMan 6ixx, whose given name is Kashif Alexander Sankar, was also banned from performing in St Kitts and Nevis in February.
It said that in his home country, Trinidad and Tobago, he had been charged with offenses under the Anti-Gang Act and for possession of ammunition, and over the last 12 months, had survived two shooting incidents.