Alkaline, Mavado didn't sabotage Tommy Lee - Sumfest organiser

Member of the Sumfest organising team, Robert Russell, has denied that Alkaline and Mavado extended their time onstage to prevent Tommy Lee Sparta from performing on his show-closing debut.

Tommy Lee himself hinted that the duo purposely tried to stall his set during his performance.

He said: "Mi see some bwoy a try wul out the show" and proceeded to aim his song Not A Badness at Alkaline.

However, Russell said Alkaline and Mavado performed in their allotted time.

"What happened is that the show ran late due to the award segment and the band changes and so the show ran into the morning. Mavado and Alkaline performed during their allotted time and no artiste can take it up on themselves to stay on the stage longer than they ought to. That is why we have stage managers, who have the power to cut their sets," he said.

Exceptional

Russell also commended Tommy Lee for a job well done, despite the shortened time. He was originally booked to perform for 20 minutes, however, he performed for a little less than eight minutes.

"I think he did well and people have been saying he was exceptional. He was able to use up the time wisely and to his advantage. It may have worked in his benefit because people are usually tired in the mornings. What we must pay attention to is that Sumfest was a huge success and one of the best ever. It was incident free and all events were supported," he said.

Tommy Lee's manager Tanya Thelwell, however, disagreed. She said Alkaline said on the stage after he finished performing that the show was over, therefore it was time to go home.

"Tommy Lee had not performed as yet, so it's clear he did that to sabotage his set. But Tommy Lee still managed to do a good job and took the show, and that shows you that who God bless no man curse, that is why I pray for my team every day," Thelwell said.

THE STAR contacted DJ Frass, a member of both Mavado and Alkaline's team. However, he was unable to give a comment.