For months Kartel had been promoted as the headliner for the One Caribbean Music Festival in Trinidad and Tobago. But fans’ hopes to see the ‘Worl‘ Boss‘ perform on the island were crushed when Kartel abruptly announced on the day the event was scheduled that he would not perform.
According to the event’s promoter, Odane Anderson, the head of Jacho Entertainment, he now owes multiple shareholders and service providers after borrowing money to stage the concert.
“Kartel said the fans get robbed, his supporters get robbed. I get robbed too because right now my life is in danger because of borrowing investors’ money; (I) cannot pay it back. The shareholders have to get paid. Other service suppliers have to get paid. So, my next step is to try to find common grounds to work it out,” Anderson shared with Guardian Media.
Kartel, who was contracted for a total of US $1.35 million to perform at the One Caribbean Music Festival, was paid US$950,000 prior to the date of the event last Saturday. Kartel said he would not perform at the concert due to contractual issues.
Four additional acts, Malie Donn, Rvssian, Sizzla, and Moliy, also pulled out of the concert after Kartel’s withdrawal. As such, Island eTickets announced that it will be issuing full refunds to all patrons who purchased tickets through their platform.
This further worsened Anderson’s financial blow. While Kartel has cited contractual issues, Anderson expressed that he did everything in his power to accommodate and reassure Kartel. The promoter also suggested that Kartel was reluctant to perform in Trinidad due to statements made by and the actions of the Trinidadian government.
According to Anderson, the events of last Saturday could have been avoided if Kartel had expressed his feelings sooner instead of waiting until the last minute.
“My problem is not him cancelling, my problem is the time he do it. If he knew he was uncomfortable with the Government restriction on him, I find weeks before or days before he could have said it and make a notice to the public, ‘Well, I’m not comfortable performing in Trinidad at the moment because of the stance the Government take’ and I would make preparations to postpone the show to move forward,” Anderson stated.
The promoter went on to share that he went as far as to offer to fly Kartel into the country hours before the show via a private jet. He also reportedly made efforts to address Kartel’s concerns about a financial breach in his contract.
However, both were allegedly rejected by the artiste’s team. Following the failed concert, Anderson’s legal team has written to Kartel’s attorneys in regard to his contract with the artiste.
