Lost in Time? Police pull the plug on Protoje concert
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The second staging of Protoje’s Lost in Time concert ended abruptly Sunday morning as police pulled the plug on the show minutes after 12:00 am.
Law enforcers cut the music after dancehall artiste Popcaan joined the Blood Money singer on stage. Popcaan was making a surprise appearance after being invited by Protoje to perform their collaboration, Like Royalty. But the ‘Unruly Boss’ barely got to finish one song before promoters had to end the show.
“Yow Jamaica , dem say no more. Make sure the government know say we need reggae music fi play inna Kingston,” Protoje said before a dramatic mic drop as he exited the stage.
But there has been mixed reaction on social media to the action of the police.
Some observers believe Popcaan has become a police target because of his behaviour at Unruly Fest in December, when he used expletive-laced remarks against cops who ended his concert over a breach of the Noise Abatement Act.
“OK, so I now have enough evidence to suggest that the industry, and particularly Andre (popcaan) Sunderland is being targeted by the law,” one person commented on Instagram.
Another added, “Popcaan a get a fight from the government it nuh look good.”
Others suggest that organisers didn’t do enough to manage their time as the event had more than enough hours to properly execute the event.
“The show started at 2:00 pm, people. 2: 00 pm to 12:00 am, do the maths for real. You all can’t want an orderly society but cuss when order is trying to be imposed, do better my people,” one user also commented on Instagram.
“Lost in Time Festival locked down at 12 before the performances were completed. Everyone blaming the police (for enforcing the law). No one blaming the artistes who knew it had to end at midnight and indulged themselves with unplanned segments. One artist had her grandmother sing,” one user posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In December, police pulled the plug on Popcaan’s Unruly Fest shortly after 5:00 am. The show was scheduled to end at 4:00 am but officers extended it by an hour. Still, even after that extension, a number of artistes were still waiting to perform at the event when police cut the music, prompting an expletive laden verbal onslaught from Popcaan who was later fined for his actions.
READ: Popcaan and Friends deliver at Unruly Fest despite premature ending
