Jah Cure Behind Prison Walls Once Again

On Tuesday, a Dutch court sentenced Jah Cure to six years in prison on a charge of attempted manslaughter, despite prosecutors’ demands for an eight-year term.

His lawyer, Jan-Hein Kuijpers, stated that a decision on an appeal would be made after a conversation with the Jamaican musician. “We don’t know if an appeal will be filed yet.” On Tuesday, Kuijpers told the Jamaica Observer, “We have to debate it first.”

If the Grammy-nominated artist and prosecutors disagree with the court’s decision, they have two weeks to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

In the absence of an appeal, Jah Cure would have to serve four years before being released, according to Kuijpers. “Of course, the time he spent in prison will be removed,” he remarked.

Jah Cure, 43, faces a charge of attempted murder as well. That charge, however, was dropped. Prosecutors had demanded Jah Cure’s criminal records from Jamaica at the court hearing.

Since October 1, 2021, the singer has been in detention for reportedly stabbing and hurting show promoter Nicardo Blake in the abdomen at Amsterdam’s Dam Square. Blake, the owner of Roots Vibes, a company that puts on reggae performances in the Netherlands, was apparently taken to the hospital. Jah Cure has been held at an unidentified detention center outside of Amsterdam since the event.

Prosecutors said the Jamaican entertainer brought a knife to a meeting not to protect himself because he was wearing an expensive Rolex watch, but to injure the victim — and that this was evidence of “premeditation” in a March 8 court hearing.

“These are serious crimes that have not only harmed the victim’s personal dignity, but have also shattered the justice system.” The fact that the man was stabbed in broad daylight in Amsterdam’s crowded city center provokes emotions of insecurity among the general public, according to the prosecution.

They also claimed that Jah Cure was purposefully seeking confrontation, as evidenced by voice messages sent to the victim and chats with others.

“The last time you will live to diss man thing,” was one of the messages reportedly left on the victim’s cellphone. In view of the fact that the incident was not caught on CCTV, eyewitnesses were brought to testify at the trial.

“This is the nigger I have to kill,” a witness recalled Jah Cure saying before making a stabbing motion.

The suspect informed police that the victim drew a knife from his right pocket, according to prosecutors. The victim, on the other hand, is left-handed, and the suspect was unaware of this.

Jah Cure’s lawyers made a plea of self-defence on his behalf. However, this was ruled out.

Jah Cure has had multiple run-ins with the law throughout the years. In April 1999, he was found guilty of rape and illegal possession of a pistol, and he spent eight years of a 15-year sentence. In July of 2007, he was released.

Jah Cure urged young Jamaican artists to keep on the straight and narrow road in an interview with the Jamaica Observer in August 2019. “Prison neva mek fi dog,” he said, issuing a warning to them.

He’s also had a few run-ins with promoters in the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, but they were all settled without going to court.

Jah Cure’s real name is Siccature Alcock, and he’s enjoyed a lot of chart success. Prison Walls, Only You, Love Is, Unconditional Love, and All of Me are some of his best-known songs. Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Torey Lanez, and Mya are among the artists with whom he has collaborated.

His 2015 album The Cure was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album the following year.