How St. Lucia’s indecent language law marred Joeboy’s concert

Nigerian singer, Joseph Akinfenwa Donus, famously known as Joeboy, has given insights into why his performance was halted in faraway Saint Lucia.

Joeboy, billed to perform at an event over the weekend in the Caribbean island nation, had his performance cut midway into the show.

Taking to his Instastory, Joeboy explained that he was prevented from performing because his disc jockey used a cuss word.

The 25-year-old said he and his team should have been informed about such a law in the country.

He wrote, “I couldn’t perform today due to issues with the organisers. I tried to give you the best performance today, but my set was cut off, and my DJ was taken off stage.”

He further explained that his DJ was taken off stage because he used the ‘F’ word.

“We were not given any memo that we couldn’t use any cuss word on stage.”

He added that the organisers threatened to get him and his team arrested if they insisted on performing.

Indecent language law

Saint Lucia is an Eastern Caribbean island nation with a pair of dramatically tipped mountains, the Pitons, on its west coast.

The nation, which has a population of 179,651 as of 2021, has a law that abhors swearing or using abusive or indecent language in public places.

Section 508 of its Criminal Code forbids the use of unsavoury language.

According to that section, “Any person who in any public place, or to the hearing of the public (a) swears; or (b) uses any abusive, indecent or obscene language; is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars.”

READ ALSO: Why Asa slammed N300m lawsuit against Joeboy

In 2011, a singer, Nicole David, popularly referred to as St. Lucia’s Queen of Soca was fined $400 or, in default, faced seven-day imprisonment.

This follows her guilty plea to a Swearing or Using Abusive or Indecent Language in Public Places charge.

Taking liberties: The Nigga Raw example.

There are many examples of Nigerian artistes sanctioned for not following the rules outside the country.

However, an excellent example of an entertainer adjusting to suit a global audience would be eastern Nigerian rapper Mr Raw, who had to change his name from Nigga Raw.

Explaining the rationale behind the name change in a 2018 interview, Mr Raw said it came about because on-air personalities could not say his name without deriving a negative connotation.

“It was affecting information about me. Some foreign stations like MTV Base couldn’t play my music until I removed the word ‘Nigga’ from my name. I had to do it. But what pushed me to change my name to Mr Raw was when many people complained that they couldn’t buy my songs online.

“So I had to change the name. Then again, if you are going to foreign embassies to get a visa, the promoter is usually scared of telling them at the embassy that a ‘Nigga’ wants to go to their country,” he said.