Lead singer of Grammy award-winning group Baha Men Isaiah Taylor yesterday charged that it is "disrespectful to all Bahamian artists that the government has once again chosen to invest in foreign artists to headline Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival after promises that this year's lineup would only showcase Bahamian artists".
Trinidadian soca singer Destra and former Fugees rapper Wyclef Jean are set to headline Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival 2016. The decision was announced on Wednesday in a press statement released by the Ministry of Tourism.
"Reading the newspaper today and seeing Destra and Wyclef named as headliners was very insulting to me as an artist and the reason I'm saying that is because [the government] is paying local artists peanuts and giving all the big money to foreigners, who are not bringing anything into The Bahamas or adding to the economy in any way," Taylor said.
The Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) was under fire leading up to the inaugural event last year for a similar reason when various artists were being considered to headline the event, including Barbadian superstar Rihanna.
The commission eventually announced Trinidadian soca singer Machel Montano as the headliner for the mega concert with Baha Men as the opening act.
That decision led to a heated debate over whether the event was promoting Bahamians in the proper manner.
Ting'Um Dem Band leader Fred Ferguson, who recently pulled out of his production role in the Music Masters competition, said he thinks it's a bad move for foreigners to headline a Bahamian event and this year is no different from last year because carnival is still not promoting Bahamians.
"I'm not very happy about it and I noticed Bahamian artists are just thrown into the lineup behind all these other artists," Ferguson said.
"When this is all said and done, the real questions are how much of this is going to benefit our industry? And how much of it is going to improve our artistic skills? Our government is not investing in Bahamian artists like other countries are investing in their artists who are coming to The Bahamas and taking our money."
Other regional soca artists, including Ricardo Drue, Kerwin Du Bois, Farmer Nappy, Rupee, Fadda Fox, Patrice Roberts, Skinny Fabulous, Bunji Garlin and Lyrikal, have also been confirmed for the three-day event.
Among the Bahamian artists to perform are Julien Believe, Elon Moxey, the Blue Band Connection, Willis and the Illest, Veronica Bishop, Ira Storr, Funky D and Puzzle.
Taylor said he believes the few Bahamian artists who are involved in carnival this year were only included to avoid an uproar.
"The whole idea for carnival was initially to put heads in beds," he said. "I don't care if they did not invite [Baha Men] to perform this year - that's their prerogative, but just be honest with the Bahamian people when bringing in these other artists and giving them all the money and leaving nothing for Bahamians.
"We as Bahamians only live here but this is not our country; this country belongs to the foreigners and the only time bahamians are relevant and valuable is when it's time to vote in an election."
The government spent $12.9 million on the inaugural event, which was nearly $4 million over the $9 million original budget.
Earlier this year, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe admitted that the price tag for carnival last year was too high and carnival would cost less this year.
The BNFC has yet to determine a budget for carnival this year, despite already choosing a lineup.
When contacted earlier this week, BNFC Chairman Paul Major told The Nassau Guardian that the commission will release details on the cost of the event at a later date.
Carnival 2016 is set to take place on Grand Bahama on April 14-16 and on New Providence on May 5-7.
Simone Davis
Guardian Staff Reporter
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