Norris Man’s onstage fallout with Sizzla Kalonji in 2007 prompted arguably one of the most viral physical altercations on stage in Reggae/Dancehall history akin to Vybz Kartel and Ninjaman’s fight at Sting. In an interview released on Monday, Norris Man detailed the origins of his and Sizzla’s friendship and detailed what caused their fallout.
Speaking on the Entertainment Report Podcast, Norris Man explained that he met Sizzla for the first time at the Cell Block recording studio in Kingston. The pair later became friends, with Sizzla encouraging Norris Man to perform more and Norris encouraging a producer to record the artiste.
Norris Man said he respected and loved Sizzla like a brother, as they were both young Reggae artistes beginning to make a name for themselves in the industry. However, some people believed the controversy surrounding Norris Man’s song Move Hard, otherwise known as Big Long Gun, caused tension in their friendship.
Some speculated that the song was a counteraction to Sizzla’s song Run Out Pon Dem. It was after Norris Man began performing Move Hard at Capleton’s St. Mary Mi Come From concert that a verbal altercation between him and Sizzla started.
Their verbal exchange turned into a physical altercation between Norris Man and multiple men on stage after Norris Man told Sizzla, “Guh s**k yuh mumma.”
According to Norris Man, Sizzla never said anything to him about the controversy surrounding Move Hard, and he does not believe it caused their fallout.
“Mi nuh really tink a dat. What dis situation is all about dat turn out into weh yuh si happen is something that only me and dat artiste know. Right deh suh it deh. Weh dem a tink cause da someting deh dem nuh know wah gwan. Dat a someting weh cyah talk pan di programme,” Norris Man said.
While he did not give specific details about their fallout, he suggested that they had a disagreement about an item that was sold to him. The artiste said that he refused to give it back unless his money was returned.
He also said that there was definitely tension between him and Sizzla before the concert, which may have also been caused by people telling Sizzla things behind his back. Noting that he and Sizzla spoke after the incident and he apologised, Norris Man expressed frustration that he talked about him derogatorily in an interview on The Fix Podcast.
“Dem a ask Sizzla some question, but den Sizzla a answer di question in a way weh him a style mi as spring wata. Him a use some likkle pyschology… Him intelligent but we know weh him a do,” Norris Man said.
He added that the controversy surrounding the incident could have easily ended if Sizzla chose to dismiss it during the interview.
“At di end of di day bredda, when it all pass and gone after so many years, mi bredda, when yuh guh on Nightly Fix and a talk to di people dem, you a di bigga artiste. You a di man weh people look up to more dan me. Suh if you did seh to dem seh, listen mi, muh watch weh gwaan wid mi and Norris Man, dat done man… Dat would a done,” Norris Man stated.
He went on to share that the incident negatively affected his career, and he would like to unite with Sizzla in public to end the controversy.
Watch the interview with Norris Man below.
