THE year 2020 was daunting for the local entertainment industry. With the pandemic raging and restrictions on mass gatherings in full effect, the music indstry in Jamaica was set to suffer. However, there were moments. The Jamaica Observer sought the views on local industry players and affiliates as to what that light in the dark was for the music industry during the year just ended.

Overwhelmingly, the Verzuz battle featuring Jamaican ace deejays Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, which was held in May, topped the list for the majority of our respondents. The event, which was created by American music producers Timbaland and Swizz Beats, saw over 600,000 viewers joing the live Instagram feed at any one time, with over a million intermittent viewers. The event event attracted local lawmen who arrived at the Corporate Area venue during the broadcast and resulted in Beenie Man’s now famous line “Do you want to be that guy?”. Post the event, the two deejay’s also experienced the Verzuz effect as their stocks rose in the global entertainment arena, refrective in streaming figures, with music sales rising to impressive heights.

The global health crisis also resulted in major events, including Reggae Sumfest and the revamped Reggae Sunsplash, going virtual. Sadly, the music fraternity also lost a number of its members, including Toots Hibbert who died on September 11. These two events also made the memorable moments list for 2020. 

Sharon Burke

Artiste manager, booking agent, promoter

My moment: Verzuz / Shaggy’s Christmas album

“ Verzuz featuring Beenie Man and Bounty Killer stands out as I was the one who reached out to Swizz Beats and encouraged him to do this clash, as I knew the world would appreciate it; ust look at how our clash changed the whole Verzuz game. It was previously done in two locations and we insisted that it be one place, and created hitory. I knew we would do it in terms of the numbers as the world looks to Jamaica for this authentic sound. Even though reggae and dancehall is made all over the world, there is nothing like it coming from Jamaica — and Verzuz showed just that. This year’s staging of the Jamaica Music Conference was also another standout moment as well as Shaggy’s Christmas album, which was one of the few projects out of Jamaica which was truly marketed to a local, regional and international market.” 

Odessa Chambers

TV producer, blogger

My Moment: New music

“I had many moments in [the] musical [arena] for 2020. Two albums that I really did enjoy and I’m still playing are Sevana’s Be Somebody as well as Burna Boy’s latest project. For a single, what stood out was when Chronixx came out with Cool as the Breeze. What I really loved about it was, not only the visuals but the sound was Chronixx experimenting with that drill time kinda sound out of the UK. But he still had his reggae and dancehall element on top of it and showed him as a lyrical deejay, not just as a soulful reggae singer. I love the versatility. The video was just epic, and even though we were in a pandemic it made me feel like nothing is better than summer in Jamaica.” 

Nikki Z

Radio personality

My Moment: Verzuz

“It has to be Verzuz and what Beenie Man and Bounty Killer brought to that platform. They showed the power of what dancehall music can achieve and hopefully changed the mentality of those who thought this music could not bring in the numbers. It was monumental and showed what fans of the music have known all along. The artistes showed up big time and I’m sure industry players were motivated to reassess and get an understanding of the power of this music… and I’m speaking of the people here in Jamaica. For the international set they were shown how financially profitable the music and culture out of little Jamaica can be. They saw the effect the music had on the world and the numbers were right there to prove it. We showed them that we are in the big leagues.” 

Lloyd Stanbury

Entertainment attorney

My Moment: Verzuz

“The musical moment that stood out for me was Verzuz: Beenie and Bounty… It has to be… it was truly a big moment. This was the opportunity for dancehall culture to be showcased to the world and demonstrate to the non-believers the power of the culture and how impactful it is globally. Beenie and Bounty gave Verzuz the injection and push that it needed, and this was revealed in the significant numbers. It was a big moment.” 

Richie B

Radio personality

My Moment: The Passing of Toots

“About late August 2020 Toots of Toots and the Maytals sent me a message, via his manager Jeffrey, asking me to introduce him [Toots] at a performance he was recording for distribution to some major television networks. In addition to that he was also planning to use these recordings as a way of assisting in promoting his new album Got To Be Tough. Because the time of the recording clashed with my business hours I initially said ‘Sorry, I can’t do it,’ but Toots insisted. He always told me that he really enjoyed the way I introduced him and he has taken me overseas on tours. So, he insisted and told me in no uncertain terms that it was an important assignment and that he needed my involvement in that particular project. So I agreed, put on my suit and headed to the location, gave him the best intro that I could muster and then watched him perform. As it turned out it was the last time that I would see my good friend perform, and that was actually his last performance. With the level of mutual respect that we shared I’m just so happy that I was able to share that stage with Toots and the Maytals for his very last performance. We’ve really lost a legend and an icon… he’s greatly missed.” 

Professor Donna Hope

University lecturer, cultural commentator

My Moment: Verzuz

“The Beenie/Bounty Verzuz clash was the biggest moment for Jamaican music. What it did was remind people of the strength of the brand of Jamaican music and the strength of the brand dancehall. It also reminded us of the importance of the clash as both a motif and an art form inside of dancehall culture. Verzuz billed it as a battle because in that culture, hip hop, they use the term battle. The strength of that brand was shown in the numbers before, during and after. Verzuz as a new online entertainment facility moved from just over 400,000 followers and crested at a million because of that particular clash, as it attracted fans from Jamaicans at home in the Diaspora and elsewhere plus a huge number of rap/hip hop fans from the United States of America who wanted to see them. It also reminded us of the value of men like Beenie Man and Bounty Killer in dancehall. These are veterans. They started to trend again. Their music hit new heights and people who didn’t understand what clash meant, even though it was not a full-blown clash, got a taste of it particularly because of the way it was staged by us here in Jamaica, by Sharon Burke and the team. I hope we will be able to showcase the strength of the music and the value of the music right now with a lot of entertainment moving online; and that component of a version of dancehall artistry was an important and critical insertion in the entertainment features of 2020.” 

Nadine Sutherland

Recording artiste

My Moment: Verzuz

“It’s definitely the Verzuz battle between Beenie Man and Bounty Killer; I wish it was still happening. It was just incredible. I was on my verandah and danced for the whole time. I loved the drama when the police showed up and Beenie Man said ‘Do you want to be that guy.’ I loved the last segment when they were playing some house music and Bounty Killer was doing his little wild dance and everything. That was the moment for me, hands down.” 

Alaine

Recording Artiste

My Moment: Verzuz

“The musical highlight of my year was definitely the Verzuz battle with Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. The vibe was incomparable and they brought some much-needed joy in a very uncertain, anxiety-filled year. The power of our culture to transcend anything was on full display for the world to see. I was also really impressed by the female artistes who released projects this year. Keeping my eyes and ears open to Koffee, Lila Ike, Sevana, Naomi Cowan and Shaniel Muir.” 

Ewan Simpson

President, Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA)

My Moment: Reggae Sumfest

“Due to COVID-19 Reggae Sumfest was forced to go virtual. Night two of this festival stood out for me; this was an excellent package of Jamaican music. It was packaged digitally and presented at a global standard. I was proud. Among the artistes who performed on that night were Tarrus Riley, Freddie McGregor, Sizzla, Gyptian, Maxi Priest and Koffee. 

Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah

Director, Institute of Caribbean Studies, UWI

My Moment: Reggae festivals amidst COVID-19

“The most impacting musical moment of 2020 was when it dawned on me that Jamaica had successfully pivoted in the midst of a dreadful pandemic, characterised by a shrinking night economy, to host not just the major Reggae Sumfest in July online, but also the planned return of Reggae Sunsplash in November — both indigenous festivals. But it didn’t stop there. Jamaica not only hosted its own reggae festivals but played host to the Swedish Uppsala Reggae Jam 2020 virtual festival, which was broadcast online from Harry J Studio in Kingston featuring a host of reggae stars including the young sensation Mortimer. A bit like Reggae Sunsplash then, Uppsala found new steam, proving to reggae fans globally that COVID-19 was no deterrent. As Jamaica battled with lockdown of music events it continued to make its mark musically on a global level among the top players, in a musical arena where Jamaica remains a production giant per capita. The analytics for these festivals reveal that tremendous global reach was achieved and the door is wide open to build on these initiatives because of the shrinking digital divide.” 

Craigy T

Recording artiste, TV personality

My Moment: Toots in Jamaica Festival Song Comepetition

“For me it was really cool seeing Toots, the very first winner of the festival song competition, back on the festival stage. I don’t think a lot of Jamaicans grasped the magnitude of this moment but for me it was just amazing. I remember watching the finals on TV with my wife and just sharing with her what an awesome performer he was. I have had the opportunity to see him in full performance on tour all over the world and know just how great he was. He was just a shadow of himeself at that time but even though he was not at full 100, he was still great. As it turned out this was one of his last, as within weeks we lost this icon.”