Krista Henry, Staff Reporter
Deejay Elephant Man wants back his Mercedes Benz after what he feels was abuse by the Inland Revenue Department.
Last week, the deejay, born O’Neil Bryan, got a rude awakening when the Special Enforcement team at the Inland Revenue with assistance from the St Andrew police swooped down on his house off Hope Road and seized his red Mercedes Benz. The operation was aimed at seizing assets to settle millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.
When THE STAR spoke to the deejay’s lawyer Roderick Gordon yesterday, he explained that his client is adamant about getting back his vehicle. He commented, “Elephant Man wants back his car, he feels he has been abused by the authorities, and used as an example to the entertainment community, he’s very upset about it.”
According to Gordon, it was “coincidental” that the vehicle was seized last Tuesday, two days before Dancehall Night of Reggae Sumfest, which was held in Montego Bay.
delinquent
Gordon explained that the deejay had made a payment, in the millions, to the Inland Revenue at the end of March, with discussions made for him to continue making payments in the future. In March, the tax department had placed Elephant Man on a list of 50 high profile delinquent taxpayers.
“He feels they are giving people the impression of him being a chronic delinquent which he’s not,” Gordon stated.
He told THE STAR that the deejay wants his legal team to look into his legal and constitutional rights concerning the matter. He elaborated that the legal team received all the documents from the deejay yesterday, after his slew of recent performances were over, and are now looking forward to proceed to the next step.
While they have not made contact with the Inland Revenue Department as yet, Gordon said they plan to contact them soon. Currently, they are looking into three options which includes a payment for the redemption of his vehicle, a settlement between the deejay and the Inland Revenue or to challenge their position through court proceedings.
Meris Haughton, the director of communications at the tax department, had previously explained to THE STAR that in cases like these, delinquent taxpayers have 10 days to pay off their arrears or the confiscated asset will be auctioned. She said if the proceeds from the auction does not cover the debt, the taxpayer could face criminal or civil charges.
Elephant Man is known for songs such as Sweep and This is How We Do It featuring Bounty Killer.
If you have been keeping abreast of current news and topical issues, you might have heard that Sandra ‘Sandie’ Coke has been barred from Tivoli Gardens. Yes, you actually read that sentence correctly. She has been barred. For those who are not aware, Sandie Coke is the sister of alleged crime lord, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
Sandra Coke turned herself into the Half-Way Tree police, escorted by Rev Al Miller on June 24, 2010. She was asked to turn herself in by the police, who labelled her as “a person of major interest”. She was originally detained for seven days, before the National Security Minister, Senator Dwight Nelson approved a request by the police to lengthen her detention by thirty days.
At present, Sandie Coke has been released from police detention. She was released on Saturday June 17, 2010, under rather strict conditions by the police. It has been reported that one of these conditions include staying away from Tivoli Gardens. I do not know for sure if this has ever been done before, but I find the situation quite out of the ordinary.
I have never actually heard of someone being restricted access to specific areas in Jamaica. Therefore, I do not know whether to agree or disagree with this condition. What do you think? Should Sandra Coke be barred from going to Tivoli Gardens? Does this condition go against any of her civil rights? Have your say
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
At 5:40 Sunday morning, the mud-lake-turned-entertainment-complex at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay was solid as a rock, as the massive crowd waited loyally for the renowned cure that the ‘doctor’ Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis would administer.
With a lyrical bag filled with prescription items, the crowned ‘King of the Dancehall’ dispensed Buju Banton’s The Lord’s Prayer before pumping incredible elec-tricity into the psyche of a sleepy crowd that had gone through a night of moving and thrilling performances from the likes of rhythm-and-blues star Usher, Shaggy the philanthropist, Tarrus ‘She’s Royal’ Riley and the immensely talented Christopher Martin.
As the curtains closed on Reggae Sumfest 2010, Beenie Man, looking like a Project Runway fashion model, glistened in a black-and-silver suit, his dapper outfit caressing the eyes even as his song selection, Girls Dem Sugar, had the Catherine Hall crowd completely transfixed.
Twenty minutes into his set, the doctor had the crowd going wild, proving again that he was one of the few artistes capable of touching their being, even while they hankered for sleep. The Sumfest crowd stood still, not prepared to walk out on their star performer, whose extraordinary stage appearance and incredible dance routine gave added light to the sun that peeped from behind the clouds.
The energiser bunny got even more attention when he asked, “How are you, darling?”, then corrected a lady who had responded, informing her that he was speaking to his wife, D’Angel, minutes before singing, “Got appeal what a feeling.”
No apologies
Without any apology, he confirmed rumours that he and his wife were again a couple, and showcased why this angel was able to clasp her wings around ‘Di Girls Dem Sugar’.
Inviting D’Angel to share the limelight with him, the two made humour of those who felt they were capable of breaking them up. “No gal caan step inna di first lady house,” sang D’Angel, adding, “You stuck inna mi life and dem caan get you out.”
Before long, she was humouring her husband, asking: “What were you doing with Barbee?” His response: “It was a music thing.”
Beenie Man’s performance was preceded by the man whose image and philanthropic efforts are now bigger than his music, Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell.
Notwithstanding, it was Shaggy’s music for which the females screamed and clamoured last Saturday night, even before he appeared on stage with his signature enamel cup in hand.
Militantly attired in black fatigues, with sidekicks ‘Bonafide’ and ‘Rayvon’ in the wings, Shaggy showed why there was hardly any man with the ‘winery’ that he was blessed with.
With Rayvon he did Pretty Little Woman and the song that climaxed his stardom, It Wasn’t Me, while making fun of ‘cheaters’ Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods.
Tarrus takes over
Shaggy was not the only girl’s man closing another successful year of Reggae Sumfest. Amazing ace performer, Tarrus Riley, had the women eating out of his hands, too. With Nothing Can Divide Us and More Than A Million Reasons, he encouraged the audience to believe in Jamaica, no matter how hard the times are.
Drawing for the rub-a-dub song Beware, Riley, with sweat dripping from his beard, connected and commanded the stage with Stay With You, the wedding song that heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis and wife, Violet, played when they exchanged nuptials. The two stood in the audience and danced to every word from Riley’s mouth.
By the time he reached She’s Royal and Good Girl Gone Bad, the crowd was equipped to take on his father, Jimmy Riley, Buru Minott, Bongo Herman, Tristan Palmer and Little John, who paid tribute to the late icon, Sugar Minott.
Christopher Martin, whose distinct melodious voice had the females in awe, was the other act that created waves on Saturday night.
Gramps Morgan, Lymie Murray, QQ and Richie Loops completed the acts that made centrestage at Reggae Sumfest International Night 2.
While Chris Brown has always made it clear that he looks to Michael Jackson for inspiration, there are nearly as many parallels to be made between Brown and Usher. And last weekend, Breezy joined Usher on stage during the Reggae SumFest 2010 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The duo wowed audiences in the concluding night of the festival.
Brown had already performed his own set on Friday, tearing through songs like “Run It” and “Forever” and showing off his formidable dancing skills. But it was his surprise appearance during Usher’s set the following day that really set the crowd off. According to TheChrisBrownBlog.com, the two were also joined onstage by Elephant Man and later engaged in a dance-off.
Video footage from the performance had not surfaced online at press time, but photos reveal the two singing together and even showing some affection with an onstage hug.
Brown took to Twitter Saturday to thank Jamaica. “I wanna thank you Jamaica for your wonderful embrace last night at the show,” he wrote. “Next time well do passa passa … lmao … (oh hell naw). Love ya!”
Later on Saturday, he tweeted about performing with Usher. “Me and Usher killin Jamaica right now,” he wrote.
When Chris burst on the music scene five years ago, he was overcome with excitement when meeting Usher. “To see him face-to-face, I was like, ‘OK, Chris, it’s gonna be all right, just chill out right quick. You about to do the song, man, don’t be no punk,’ ” Brown told MTV News about recording a song that was later featured in Usher’s 2005 film “In the Mix.”