SCWAYNE “Bamm” Holt, grandson of reggae singer John Holt, says his grandfather’s legacy will live on through the Voltz of Holt Foundation which selected two tertiary students as scholarship recipients yesterday.

“Besides wanting to give back, we also wanted to keep his legacy alive, that’s why we named it the Voltz of Holt Foundation. I see what’s going on with the COVID pandemic, so at first, I teamed up with SunCity [Radio] to provide essentials to the less fortunate and then we went on to help the disabled and do back-to-school giveaways until we ended up here and decided to give away scholarships,” Holt told the Jamaica Observer, adding that the foundation was officially launched in April 2020.

The recipients — Irkah Wilson and Kewell Mitchell — will receive $100,000 each. They are pursuing degrees in Music and Performing Arts at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.

Holt, who is also a singer, said the scholarship recipients displayed exceptional qualities.

“It was very hard to even pick two winners but these two stood out because of their dedication to their community. They are actively involved in church and in school and do well in their school work. One of them plays the saxophone and the other won a competition because of her vocal abilities, so that just really stood out,” he said.

The grants are being funded by Holt, who, in July released the 10-track Voltz of Holt, an ode to John Holt’s 1000 Volts of Holt. The set includes a cover of the elder’s Police in Helicopter and Wildfire.

John Holt, one of reggae’s most iconic singers, died in 2014 at age 67. He had an outstanding career with The Paragons with songs including Wear You to The Ball and On The Beach. In the 1970s and 1980s, he had several hit songs including Stick By Me, A Love I Can Feel, and Stealing, Stealing.

The Holt family is from Greenwich Farm in Kingston. Prior to John’s foray into music, his cousins were known for cricket. John Kenneth Constantine Holt played for the West Indies team in the early 1900s before they were given Test status, while his son J K Holt Junior played with distinction for Kingston College, Lucas (in the Senior Cup), Jamaica and the West Indies.