Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Years after surviving separate violent attacks, Trinibad artistes K-Man and Plumpy Boss met face-to-face on Saturday, in a bid to promote peace and positivity among communities in east Port-of-Spain and Laventille.
The meeting, held at the El Dorado, Tunapuna constituency office of Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, brought together K-Man, formerly known as K-Man Sixxx, and Plumpy Boss as part of an initiative aimed at fostering unity and reducing violence.
While Alexander facilitated the meeting, he said the effort was made possible by the willingness of both artistes, their management teams and members of their respective communities to put aside differences in the interest of stability and peace.
K-Man, whose real name is Kashif Sankar, is from St Paul Street in east Port-of-Spain.
In December 2023, Sankar and members of his entourage left the Piarco International Airport and were travelling along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway towards Port-of-Spain when gunmen in another vehicle opened fire on them in St Augustine.
The group was pursued, and their vehicle eventually crashed. While Sankar survived, Damien Criss, Levi Criss and Jerry Hollingsworth were shot and killed after the attackers continued their pursuit.
Earlier this year, Sankar announced that he had dropped the “Sixxx” title from his stage name in an effort to distance himself from the street gang associated with the name and to rebrand his image in a more positive direction.
Plumpy Boss, whose real name is Meschach Emmanuel, is from Beetham Gardens. He survived being shot in the head during a performance in St Martin in July 2024.
Alexander noted that references to shootings, murders and gang-related violence had often featured in the music of both artistes. However, he said their willingness to meet and show mutual respect represented a promising step toward building safer and more peaceful communities.
“A couple years’ ago there was warfare even in the music, but they are sitting here today on the same chair, with the same vision. Let’s bring about an end to war in different environments. Let’s bring a complete end to what I would call nonsensical warfare,” Alexander said.
“They have been through a lot. We look at what is happening and, if we have to set the stage for peace so that young men and women can have a better quality of life in these neighbourhoods, then we will do so.”
He added, “There are a number of people from their communities who realised this violence wasn’t making any logical sense. This started about a month or two ago when they reached out to me. I said, ‘Listen, if you all are serious and this can happen, let’s try it and see if it can happen.’ It’s going quite well, I must say.”
Alexander also said based on his observations, divisions between neighbourhoods in east Port-of-Spain and other socially depressed communities were gradually fading. He noted that people were becoming more comfortable visiting areas that had previously been considered off-limits because of gang warfare.
“There are people in Laventille having parties among each other. Places people couldn’t go before, they are going now, and we are seeing that level of peace. We hope it continues,” Alexander said.
“I told them that for me to spread my wings through Laventille in a positive way, they must show us this peace is for real.”
Speaking to Guardian Media, K-Man agreed with Alexander that communities were experiencing a greater sense of peace and optimism. He expressed hope that the progress would be lasting, provided residents remained committed to working together.
He also urged young people and his fans to avoid criminal activity, warning that such choices often lead to ruin.
“The life of crime only has two things in it, poverty and death. Anybody who lived a life of crime will tell you they regret it and wish they could live over again,” K Man said.
“The street life has nothing in it because when you get older you will want a family, you’ll want a nice car and a nice house. When you’re involved in crime, you can’t get that at all.”
Plumpy Boss said he preferred to reserve most of his comments until his performance at the Summer Stage dancehall concert last night, but affirmed his commitment to the initiative.
“This peace here is staying right where it is, and that’s what it is.”
Alexander said he encouraged community members to de-escalate disputes before they erupted into violence. He added that respected elders in various communities had also been engaged and encouraged to play a role in promoting peace.
Also present at the meeting was Justice Minister Devesh Maharaj, who praised Alexander’s efforts to engage communities in the interest of public safety.
Maharaj said the Government’s proposed parole legislation would complement other initiatives, including the establishment of a dissuasion commission aimed at rehabilitating low-risk offenders, as well as entrepreneurship programmes designed to promote self-reliance and reduce recidivism.
