Assassin

After a strong performance at Sting on Sunday morning, Assassin a.k.a. Agent Sasco, said he is still overlooked.

The artiste said he delivered what he believed was a good performance at 7:30 a.m. and was applauded by the audience for it. He did especially well, as he performed at a point when the audience at Jam World, St Catherine, was getting weary. They had been waiting all night and morning, and were forced to endure some poor performances before the big names.

During his set, he insisted on giving the people a worthwhile performance for their hard-earned money. He also noted that some people tend to overlook him, "true Babylon nah haul and pull me an' mi do mi ting decent."

And, he still believes he was overlooked after doing well on the show.

"Sting come up, and according to some people the show was nothing and me go and give a good performance. When yuh give a good performance like that, it should be mentioned. At 7:30 in the morning people give me a round of applause," he said.

"It is sad that all the crosses get the coverage and all the things that are worthy of mention, do not get mentioned."

Assassin also said that, in entertainment at present, an artiste's status can only elevate if there is something negative to talk about.

"Some artistes' popularity soar, not based on their artistic faculty, but solely on the fact that they have photos of them circulating with them in compromising positions," he said.

He added that when his set was ended abruptly at the Red Stripe Live concert, which was held at Sabina Park in March, it was all over the media and everyone was talking about it.

This he said has caused him to have second thoughts about his future in dancehall music.

"Mi really feel like mi ago done with dancehall. It's sickening. Even mi guh Sumfest, mi nah guh perform a dancehall night. Mi jus ago disconnect myself from caring about the music," he said.

But there is also another problem. He said most artistes no longer give good shows. Instead, they base the strength of their performances on the number of 'forwards' they get.

counting forwards

"Even this whole forward thing is bringing the music backward. It's all about counting forwards. When last yuh see somebody go on the stage and give a full 45 minutes? The music business is deteriorating rapidly," Assassin said, while noting that I-Octane also did well at Sting but was barely mentioned.

"It's just a sad reality. Mi decide seh mi nah go be di one fi drag down the business inna di mud. I cannot be an instrument of this rubbish weh a bring down the music and then mek society turn up dem nose."

Assassin noted that the poor performances are part of the reason people are not attending reggae and dancehall shows, because they are not getting their money's worth.

Nonetheless, he thanked the persons who did congratulate him. He added that he felt pleased that some younger artistes called to tell him that he inspired them. "That was the most rewarding and fulfilling part of the whole Sting experience," Assassin said, while noting that he was not upset, just stating an observation.

In addition, he said he did music because he loved it and his ambition was to always be consistent and help the music to grow. And, just as older artistes have inspired him to do well, he wants to be that example for upcoming artistes.

"It's very clear that the devil has instruments out there to make artistes, like myself, journeys harder. In all of this, you just have to hold your own," he added.