Andrae Sutherland, widely recognised by his stage name ‘Popcaan,’ was slapped with five charges on Thursday, January 4th, following an investigation into his conduct during the staging of Unruly Fest in Yallahs, St Thomas.
Mr. Sutherland made his way to the Area 5 Police Headquarters where he received five summons pertaining to his actions between December 22nd and 23rd, 2023. The charges against him include breaching the Noise Abatement Act, making threats, using abusive and calumnious language, employing indecent language, and engaging in disorderly conduct.
The Noise Abatement Act prohibits singing, playing a musical or noisy instrument or operating or causing to be operated a loudspeaker, microphone or device for the amplification of sound from any private premises or public places at any time of day or night where the sound is audible within one hundred metres of the source of that sound.
As confirmed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s official Facebook page, Popcaan is set to appear before the St Thomas Parish Court in Morant Bay on Wednesday, January 10th, to address these charges. The announcement was made with the hashtag #AForce4Good.
For those unfamiliar with the artist, Andrae Hugh Sutherland, known professionally as Popcaan, rose to prominence in 2008 when he joined Vybz Kartel’s Gaza Music Empire. Over the years, he has garnered international attention, signing with labels like Mixpak Records in 2013 and later with Canadian rapper Drake’s OVO Sound and Warner Records in 2016. His musical contributions include albums such as “Where We Come From” and “Forever.”
The upcoming court appearance has sparked significant attention among fans and the music industry alike, awaiting further developments in this legal matter.
Responding to the post, a Facebook user living in Irvington, New Jersey, in the United States of America, Alvin Charles Forrest, wrote: “Hope he spends at least a few days in jail as a deterrence for others, who think they can just pay a small fine and walk away.”
Angela Staples corroborating, said, “They must try and conduct themselves better as a lot of young men look up to them. And that’s not the things u want to teach them. I use to see him as a humble person.”
Laurel Bicknell said, “I love this artiste but the law is the law.”
Someone thinks show promoters should equally be held responsible. “I don’t condone his behaviour but what he said was true, ” according to Junior Campbell. Now I only hope when certain promoters have them show and artist behave bad them get charged too.