Businessman Inshan Ishmael is ready to face off with calypsonian Weston Rawlins, better known as Cro Cro, over the lyrics to his 2023 selection “Another Sat is Outside Again’.
According to Ishamel, the song is “highly defamatory” and he currently has his lawyers preparing a pre-action protocol letter as a result.
Ishmael, who has businesses in Bamboo Settlement #2, said he was made aware of the song after several people contacted him and expressed concern.
He said he listened to it and forwarded it to his attorneys, Richard Jagessar and Mr Anand Ramlogan.
“They have found reason for defamation, so they are proceeding, and by the end of this week or early next week he (Rawlins) should get a pre-action protocol letter from us,” said Ishmael.
In an interview with with the Express, Ishmael said he never listened to Cro Cro before because a lot of the songs that he sang are denigrating members of the East Indian community, and I never saw any merit in listening to him.”
Ishmael said it was clear that Rawlins was referring to him in his calypso.
“The fact is that at the end of the day, anyone could draw the line and see when he said ‘we is the same people that does buy your doubles and we is the same people that does buy your stolen car parts Ishmael from Bamboo’. So it’s clear. According to my attorney, there is no grey matter there. There is straightforward defamation,” he said.
“And not only that, recently I made a remark where I said that one attorney coming out of Beetham (they) should not be celebrating, that Beetham should be celebrating when there are 20 and 30 (attorneys). And we encouraged the people of Beetham to rise above just one and that was seen as a racist statement, which is the height of stupidity. There were a lot of claims of racism coming towards me… and attacks, and this is where this whole thing stemmed from,” he explained.
“I am known not to back down, so believe me, Cro Cro better save up some of his CEPEP money,” Ishmael told the Express.
Rawlins, in a later response, said: “Tell him (Ishmael) to come with it. He’s disrespectful. I have enough court clothes. I am ready.
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