Just a day before the highly anticipated return of Beenie Man to an American stage, issues regarding the prominent deejay’s visa have once again come of the forefront.
Beenie Man was set to perform alongside Trinidadian-American hip-hop superstar, Nicki Minaj on BET’s 106 & Park in New York on Tuesday. The duo were scheduled to perform their new hit collaboration, Gunshot, the first single off Minaj’s new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded which will be unveiled on Tuesday.
However, Beenie Man’s management team now claims that the iconic Dancehall artiste cannot meet his performing obligation on the BET show. The ‘King of the Dancehall’ does not own a work permit but does hold a visitor’s visa, which he received last summer and seemed in a good position to carry on with his performance.
But according to media reports, there is some lack of clarity in relation to whether Beenie Man’s performance on a major American television network such as BET would qualify for a royalty distribution, in turn, possibly violating terms of his visitor’s visa. As a result, Beenie Man’s management team refuses to put their client at risk.
Beenie Man last performed on 106 & Park in 2005 and appeared on the show three years prior, alongside Sean Paul."We have been advised that his appearance on BET would be considered as a paid performance because the station has to pay over royalties for live performances, so it would be a clear violation of the terms of his visitor's visa so we decided to not take the risk and comply with the US Embassy," said Beenie Man’s manager, ‘Blue’ Smith in a press release.
Source : http://www.examiner.com
