Elephant Man Looks Forward To First UK Show In 16 Years, And Reuniting With Two Of His 38 Kids

Jamaican Dancehall star Elephant Man is set to perform in the United Kingdom for the first time in 16 years, marking not only a return to the stage but also an emotional reunion with two of his 38 children who live there.

The 49-year-old recently secured a UK work permit, a milestone he celebrated enthusiastically. “God ah the greatest. Give God thanks, we get the London work permit. and the fans been waiting, God is the greatest,” Elephant Man told DancehallMag.

During his active touring years in the UK, Elephant Man fathered a daughter and a son, now 19 and 18 years old, respectively. “Ah one time mi go England and mek the two ah dem. One go! One energy God,” he said, laughing.

He expressed excitement about reconnecting with his children.

“It’s great for the youths dem come see Energy God ah perform back on the big stage, and can see some of dem father’s performance, hug dem father, par wid dem father, it’s a blessing. Big up to the British Embassy.”

The Good To Go artist noted that his absence from the UK did not diminish his career’s impact.

“We still put out the music, the music still go over there but the fans dem, the fans were going crazy, dem need to see the Energy God go over there and perform for them, but we did still ah put out the music, and still connecting with them through the music,” he said.

He’s booked as one of the headline acts on Ultra Weekend which will be held on August 16-17 in London.

“I am booked for that show. Sandz, it’s going to be crazy. You know dem call me for some more shows, but I am just booked for that one particular show, because is not like a run round ting, it’s Elephant Man, can’t be there, here and everywhere, so it is that one particular show in London, mi will go back after and ting,” the artist, whose real name is O’Neil Bryan, said.

He also has upcoming performances in the United States, including Reggae Fest and shows in Atlanta, Miami, and Connecticut.

“The work never stop dancehall at its best, you know,” he said.

A dark cloud had hung over Elephant Man’s UK career in the aftermath of an incident in which DJ Village, a disc jock who hosted programmes on BBC Radio 1was shot dead outside a London hotel in 2001. The incident happened hours after he and Elephant Man were robbed at gunpoint of over 10,000 pounds sterling in the car park of a London hotel.

Elephant Man had just returned from a dub-cutting session at a studio, when they were pounced upon by two thugs armed with knives and guns. The thieves stripped all four of jewellery, robbed them and shot D J Village, whose real name was Horace Pinnock, who died later from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Mr Pinnock, 29, had hosted Radio 1’s weekend Dancehall Reggae show and at the time, was regarded as one of the rising stars of Britain’s diverse dance music industry.

Elephant Man last returned to London when he was promoting his album, Let’s Get Physical, which was released by Bad Boy/VP Records in the Summer of 2008.

Music insider and booking agent Tameka Reynolds of Reynolds Entertainment Agency, who was instrumental in engineering the Energy God’s return to the United Kingdom, hailed the move as a “momentous one for dancehall”.

“We based the application around the artiste’s proven track record as a performing artiste, his dedication to his craft and the fact that he has no criminal record. This is a major positive for reggae and dancehall because Elephant Man is easily one of the best, most dynamic entertainers of his generation and his absence in the UK market was a sore point for many promoters,” Ms. Reynolds said.

Ms. Reynolds is also the booking agent for Malie Donn, Jquan, Pablo YG, Gyptian and Jovi Donn.