Belfon: 'I did nothing wrong'

Soca artiste Denise “Saucy Wow” Belfon yesterday said she was confused as to why the LGBTQI plus community was offended by the dub plate she made for Belizean DJ Dro.

In an interview on 94.1 Boom Champions' On Point programme on Sunday, Belfon said “I am confused. Why you all choose now to say and do the things that you feel that you need to do to tarnish my reputation? I have done everything and anything in my power to be neutral, I do not discriminate, I don’t judge nobody, because in my mind I am not perfect.”

It was reported that Belfon, known for songs like Wining Queen and Bicycle Wine, had used anti LGBTQI slurs in a 20-second video posted on the Instagram page of Belizean “selecta” DJ Dro. The DJ had said in another video that Belfon had sung the dub plate for him.

Belfon is insisting she did absolutely nothing wrong in the recording of the “dub plate” in which she calls for the killing of a “b----r” and a “batty bwoy.”

There have been calls on social media to boycott Belfon.

On Sunday, Belfon said, since the entire scenario took place, she had been oblivious to the majority of what was said and done on the issue.

She said, as an artiste, one would be asked to do a dub plate and those who did not know about the culture, should visit the selector’s social media page to understand what sound clash culture was all about.

In a sound clash, people say the “baddest of words,” “nastiest of things” and it must be something “dissing” the other selecta, according to DJ Dro.

Belfon said the way in which she was approached on the issue, she felt offended as an artiste.

“You see people who feel that they could take whatever they want to take and run with it, and just try to tarnish somebody’s reputation and name after building it for 24 years. No one took the time to understand what dub-plate culture was all about.”

Belfon also questioned if certain endorsements or certain situations were taken away from her and who was going to apologise to her or even give her back what she might have lost?

“That is what I want to know…who going and take care of me if no one want to deal with me again when it comes to these things? Who's going to compensate me?

“If they can give me back whatever I have lost because of what happened, I will be very grateful. I want them to man-up and woman-up, and really do what they supposed to do in a situation like this when they realise what they did to me.”

Belfon said the international sound-man fraternity has been backing her and she thanked them for their support, because they understood what the dub-plate culture was all about.

She said the fraternity will always defend an artiste who would have done something to "up-lift” the fraternity where a dub plate is concerned.

“Especially coming from an artiste of my calibre, where they will have a Denise Belfon plate special in the crate…that is a big thing because Denise Belfon do not do dubs. But when she is called to do dubs… is always to do a killing plate.

“I get the most calls for killing plates because of my accent as a Trini and in the way we would use obscene language, they love it for the clashes. Then due to my voice, being as husky and aggressive as it is, they love it. This is our thing,” Belfon said.