( l - r ) Tony Matterhorn, Arif Cooper - File

With the many rumours being circulated regarding the reason behind the postponement of Fresh Fridaze last week Friday, THE STAR went searching for some answers in an effort to uncover the truth.

The weekly event, usually held at the The Building, New Kingston, was not held on Friday night due to questionable circumstances.

A few entertainment websites hinted at the possibility of the resurfacing of the Alliance/Gaza feud where selectors affiliated with the Alliance could not play at an event associated with Gaza, and vice versa.

Manager of The Building, Cory Todd, was said to have banned a number of selectors from playing at the venue. Among them are ace selector Tony Matterhorn, Chris Diamond and Boom Boom. Todd was also said to have 'kicked' the event from the club venue.

When asked, Todd denied the rumours that there was any Alliance/Gaza bias in the mix. He, however, took time out to speak with THE STAR and explain the matter.

"I want to dispel all rumours that this has anything to do with the Alliance/Gaza situation. All that is happening is that Arif is trying to save himself from embar****ment. He used my affiliation with my business partner Vybz Kartel to stir up trouble in the business. I'm disappointed with Arif, his acts were despicable and only served to stir up bad vibes," said Todd.

"Fresh Fridaze was kicked out of the building because it was underperforming. Arif was already warned that he would be kicked out if he didn't pick up on the promotion for his event," he added.

Todd also made it clear that all selectors are welcome to play in The Building as all they have to do is "just link mi".

"Arif is just a disgruntled employee. I will be contacting Fame FM to speak with them regarding his actions. I'm very disappointed, he's creating all type of tension that's not needed," said Todd.

not play in the club

He also denied sending Cooper a message stating which selectors could not play in the club. "I didn't send Arif any message. Chris Diamond was on suspension for a while, and I don't even know Tony Matterhorn," he added.

However, when THE STAR spoke with Tony Matterhorn, he had a totally different story.

Matterhorn went straight into stating his neutral stance declaring, "Mi is not a Alliance selector or no Gaza selector. Matterhorn bigger than Gully, Gaza and Alliance, mi deh yah before anyone of those establishments. A 22 years ago Matterhorn buss. Yuh eva hear Matterhorn a war wid nobody yet? Over the years, the only thing yuh hear is Matterhorn versus Firelinks or Trooper, musically."

Matterhorn also said that Fresh Fridaze is not the only event from which he was banned, as he said he was also banned from Inclusive Saturdays.

He, however, offered his own insight on the issue stating, "Is some money feelings dem a carry fi Arif, because my advertisements for the party a play pon radio, dem deh all over Facebook, him know di party did a go ram more than any of him Thursday dem. Fresh Fridaze was gonna get a big hype, because Matterhorn returning off tour to play at the club an' Cory get upset wid dat. Him caan come steer it as nuh Alliance/Gaza ting."

Matterhorn continued, "Doan try hide under Gaza shield. Dis nuh ave nutten fi do wid Gaza. Kartel spoke to one of my close friends and him seh he had nutten to do with that decision making. Mi jus come back a Jamaica, an' Gaza was here in Jamaican all along. Weh mi fi stay an have sumting wid Gaza? Who is Cory Todd? Him caan stop Matterhorn. The Building cannot stop Matterhorn. Him caan stop my food, I'm too international."

Fresh Fridaze's organiser Arif Cooper added his voice to the matter, deciding to 'cut a long story short'.

Fresh Team

Cooper said he had had Matterhorn booked for the event as he is a part of the Fresh Team. He said he spoke with Todd the day before the event, they had a cordial conversation and none of the current problems were brought up.

He said he was informed of Matterhorn's inability to play at the club via a BlackBerry message sent by Todd while he was on air on Friday. His response to the message, he said was a mere, 'OK, wow.' Minutes later, he said, he received another message stating that he was no longer welcome at the club-based on a decision by Todd and his partner.

In response to the claims by Todd that Cooper was warned to step up his promotion or he would be kicked from the venue, Cooper said they had no such conversation and those claims were not true.

Amidst the unfortunate fallout, Cooper said he wished Todd all the best.

"As the manager of the club, he does what he wants to do with it," he said.

Fresh Fridaze was a long-standing weekly event at The Building ever since its moved from Mystic Plaza on Hagley Park Road.

Cooper says a new venue for the event would soon be decided upon and the event would continue as usual.