Blakk Cedi’s demotion and Kelvyn Boy’s exit: something smells fishy

Stonebwoy has finally brought all rumours surrounding Kelvyn Boy to sleep as he releases an official statement on his contract status with his label, Burniton Music Group.

The label, on Tuesday, September 24, disclosed that the “Mea” hitmaker’s stay with them ended long ago but have now made it public. According to the statement, Kelvyn Boy signed an initial one-year contract with an option of extension of up to four years.

It said Kelvyn’s contract ended on January 21, 2019, but after an audit conducted and considering his conduct during his period, they decided to let him go. The news of Kelvyn Boy’s exit came early August 2019 but as usual, they played delay tactics, trying to sweep things under the carpet.

This comes just one week after Stonebwoy put rumours regarding his then manager Blakk Cedi to rest. According to him, Cedi is now his agent and will be in charge of bookings for all his signees and himself.

During Kelvyn Boy’s period under BMG, he chalked a lot of career successes; he won a VGMA, mounted international stages, released a couple of hit songs and recently released his debut album “T.I.M.E”.

What’s the issue?

When tensions were high during the Blakk Cedi-Stonebwoy dispute, a lot of issues popped up. One of the biggest has to do with Stonebwoy’s wife, Louisa Ansong, who reportedly took charge of the afro-dancehall musician’s management, including finances. Louisa, who has zero experience about showbiz and has no connection or whatsoever with industry people, is reportedly managing the musician. Stonebwoy has denied the report but many industry insiders believe the report is true.

Blakk Cedi is an integral part of Stonebwoy and has cushioned his career since taking over from Karl Gid three years ago as his full manager (he was Stonebwoy’s road manager under Karl). After taking over, he played the role of his road and business manager as well as his ‘bodyguard’. He received a slap for Stonebwoy during the recent VGMA fracas involving Shatta Wale. Unlike Bulldog, Blakk Cedi has had insomniac nights and fought hard to make sure Stonebwoy’s brand is intact and in good shape. Considering his efforts, relegating him to the bottom creates an impression that something isn’t looking good in the camp of BMG. Other sources said Stonebwoy, at a point, felt his manager Blakk Cedi was more focused on Kelvyn Boy’s brand than his hence the demotion.

On Kelvyn Boy, it all started when Stonebwoy shaded him on social media.

“Whatever you do to help yourself especially an up and coming artiste is solely your obligation the challenges and struggles are part of the journey. many of them these days don’t know how to show genuine appreciation and selfless honour for the least support given them yet they expect it all”, Stonebwoy noted in an Instagram post. Later, he unfollowed Kelvyn on Instagram.

And Kelvyn, in response, fired back with a shady Instagram post: “The same God will prove dem very wrong.” Later, he went on different interviews to make some utterances, intending to discredit his boss regarding his authenticity in the afro-dancehall fraternity. He recently apologised for his conduct.

This is not the first time Stonebwoy has had issues with management. He has had a lot of issues in the past. He had issues with Samini, his former boss, before secretly patching up to look like they have been cool all the while. He also has unresolved issues with his former manager, Karl. And he still has issues with producer Beatz Dakay – who gave him massive hits. So this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Inconsistent accounts

Stonebwoy, who is the CEO and owner of BMG, has offered more information about the whole ‘saga’ than anyone. However, there have been some inconsistencies in his accounts. Confirming Blakk Cedi’s demotion on Hitz FM, he stated that all bookings can be done through his agent but later turned around to say people can book him [Stone] through the contact details on his social media pages. “You can book me and all the artistes through him. And you can ALSO get at me DIRECTLY through the contacts on my social media”, he told Andy Dosty on Hitz FM. His statement makes it obvious that no one necessarily needs to go through Blakk Cedi to book him. Indirectly, he has side-lined Blakk Cedi and will soon render him redundant at his label.

Also, in the press statement on Kevyn Boy’s exit from BMG label bears some inconsistencies and loopholes. The statement said the contract had an initial duration of one year with an option of expansion for four years. The initial contract ended on January 21 this year but the label has now released Kelvyn Boy. This means Kelvyn has been under the label for eight extra months without any contract/agreement.

So, what held Stonebwoy on for so long until now, and why didn’t he extend the contract in the first six months of expiration? Why wait until now?

Who takes the blame?

When a leader fails to manage his organisation and affairs, all blame goes to him. Stonebwoy failed to organised his team and put things under control. Cedi and Kelvyn can’t be blamed for what happened.

It’s his job to put his house together and make sure that there are clear KPIs for his team, and further make it available to the public (if possible). In addition, he should be consistent with his dealings and come clean when things of this sort hit the limelight. If these measures and other organisational structures are put in place, the public won’t judge him, and he won’t be blamed