Visa delays put brakes on Eek-A-Mouse’s US concerts

A long-awaited tour of the West Coast of the US by outspoken reggae artiste Eek-A-Mouse, which was scheduled for May, has been postponed to August, owing to "a delay to the processing of the visa itself at the consulate".

Billed 'Eek-A-Mouse Returns to the America West Coast Tour', 11 dates were advertised for May 4 through to May 21, in Tuscon and Phoenix in Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and Oregon. It would mark the reggae artiste's first time in the US since 2013.

Eek-A-Mouse had been actively promoting the series of shows and his long-awaited return to the US, and although disappointed at the delay, he sees it as a hiccup.

"I can go to America. Mi nuh have nuh felony," Eek-A-Mouse told THE WEEKEND STAR, as he explained away his more than decade-old charge in North Carolina, which put a dent in his flexibility to travel.

Subsequent to being charged, Eek-A-Mouse spent six months in jail, and was released after a plea agreement. He pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanour charges for assault on a female and attempted crime against nature, with his time already spent in prison covering his sentence.

"That was all a set-up because of who I am," he said.

The entertainer was banned from the US for five years, from 2013 to 2018, and has been living comfortably in Europe.

"I have no felony," stressed the colourful Eek-A-Mouse who keeps his themes controversial, with his unsteady flow of videos on YouTube.

With regard to his current status, he declared, "I was granted a one-year work permit. Visa granted."

He then shared the official apology for one of the rescheduled shows, at Great American Music Hall on May 9. It has been postponed to August 3, and all original tickets will be honoured.

The notice stated that the artiste's work visa was approved "but there has been a delay to the processing of the visa itself at the consulate". But some dates had to be cancelled altogether.

Eek-A-Mouse, whose given name is Ripton Joseph Hylton, has been said to have created 'singjaying'. But he does not readily embrace such titles.

"I am unique," he said. "That's why Warner Bros called me and said they wanted to use my song Black Cowboy in The Simpsons. They used a 15-second clip and paid me US$20,000 (approximately $3.08 million). I am rich!" he laughed. Black Cowboy was released in 1996.

Eek-A-Mouse began his music career when he was in college, releasing two roots-reggae singles under his own name. He adopted the stage name Eek-A-Mouse in 1979, the same year he had his breakout hits Once a Virgin and the blockbuster Wah Do Dem, which topped Jamaican charts for several weeks.