Tommy Lee Sparta in good spirits - Deejay’s management says they are ‘rolling with the punches’

Dancehall entertainer Tommy Lee Sparta is in good spirits, according to Nicole Taban, his manager and owner of Boss Lady Muzik, who recently told THE STAR "it's business as usual".

"I learned from a good friend of mine who is in the business, when you are part of a management team for an artiste, you live and breathe them, and that's exactly what we do. Without support, none of us can reach our goals, and Tommy Lee is easy to work with so it's our pleasure. Right now we are just rolling with the punches," she said.

Tommy Lee Sparta, given name Leroy Russell, was arrested and charged last December on gun and ammunition charges. He is scheduled to appear in court today. Despite being in police custody since December 14, Taban said the artiste is a strong and positive person.

Spread his music

"All he wants to do is spread his music. Visitations are limited, most are just a few seconds from afar, so I haven't had the chance to speak to him in-depth about anything," she said.

The dancehall deejay has not heard the good news about the release of his latest single, Elegante, a collaboration with Mexican reggae artiste Jah Fabio and Cashan which, Taban said, is going to be his breakthrough into the Latin American market.

"Boss Lady Muzik and Contractor Records have been working together for approximately three years now and he had this project which we're excited to do, especially with our working plan to transition into the hip hop, rock and reggaeton market," she said. "Tommy is so diverse in terms of genres and it is reflective in the numbers, the following he has in different countries."

Over the past six months, Tommy Lee Sparta's music received an estimated at 2.5 million streams monthly worldwide across several platforms, 78 per cent of them from males between 18 and 35, and 24.6 per cent of that is from West Africa. Other singles like Heavyweight and Holding On, released over the past three months, are steadily climbing in views and streams.

Taban added that COVID-19 has been hard on everyone, "and all we can do is support each other and rise through this".

"The same goes for us as management, we believe in being united and for this reason we have remained close to Tommy's family. He has an amazing support system from day one, and when you manage a successful and talented artiste like him, you really need the whole family on board," she said.