Publicist Ralston Barrett wrote a scathing post about Protoje on Facebook, challenging his account of how he earned his first Onstage interview when he was still a little known artiste in the reggae industry. Barrett played an integral role in Protoje's development, marshalling his public relations push, securing rotation for the artiste and approaching several promoters to jumpstart his career. However, once Protoje hit the big times, he abruptly discontinued his work with Mr. Barrett.