IPB Image
Reggae singer Luciano, known for his pleasing demeanour, lost his cool at Saturday night's 'Unite the People' show held at the Montpelier Show Ground, in St. James. Luciano kicked a monitor box off the stage before leaving in a huff after he was heckled by a fan.

The artiste, who was billed to perform at 2:00 a.m. but was not called to the stage until 4:30 a.m., hit centre stage looking eager and ready to work. However, after kneeling down and saying his customary opening prayer, a voice from the crowd shouted, "come off the stage Rasta."

With a look of shock and disbelief on his face, the man known as 'The Messenger' looked in the direction from which the sound came and proceeded to blast the person who had made the comment.

"Wha yu seh - seh me fe come offa de stage but wait - unoo nuh respect righteousness," said Luciano. "So unoo nuh love righteousness. Well, I am going to sweep over unoo soul tonight."

As the band began to play the song, Sweep Over My Soul, Luciano stopped singing, and still looking in the direction from which the comment had come, kicked the monitor box of the stage.

"I come here from midnight to perform for the people and now you telling me to come off the stage," said the still-seething Luciano. "Yet it is unoo same one listening to the slack lyrics dem and jumping up and down. Bout unoo want to fight righteousness."

Luciano briefly regained his composure and began singing the song, So Long Rastafari Call Yu, but his eyes were soon swimming in tears. He then stopped singing again, told the audience he was leaving and walked off the stage.

Backstage, he had to be consoled by friends and fans as he wiped tears from his eyes.

In an interview with The STAR about half and hour after he left the stage, a still crestfallen Luciano, with tears still in his eyes, said he was greatly disturbed by what he had heard, contending that as a singer of edifying music, he deserves to be treated better.

"It is something that I have been noticing for some time now and it is bothering me," he said. "Our people are glorifying slack and derogatory lyrics and rejecting that which is positive and uplifting. That cannot be a good sign."

While promising to remain steadfast in his mission to sing uplifting music, Luciano said he was calling on other artistes to do the same as no effort should be spared to rescue the current generation of wayward youths.

"I lost my cool because I was so disappointed with what I heard," said Luciano. "However, I will continue to soldier along in righteousness because that is my mission in life."