Chairman of the Island Music Conference (IMC) Orville “Shaggy” Burrell charged fellow artistes —both up-and-coming and established — to ensure that they are deliberate in choosing their team members.

Burrell gave the keynote presentation at day one of the conference held at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston on Wednesday.

“Stars represent culture, superstars shift culture, and there’s always a culture shift, and it just takes a superstar, and the superstar is right here,” he told the hundreds of attendees who filled the room.

“But what you don’t want is [the] superstar to come up now and do his or her thing, and you don’t have the right team… no matter how good you are as an artiste, no matter if you’re at your peak, if your people around you ain’t sharing the same vision yuh nah guh mek it. It is impossible,” said the Grammy Award-winning artiste.

The second annual IMC will run until February 25.

Shaggy also said that Jamaican artistes are a cut above the rest. He reasoned that many local acts are usually the full package, however, their only hindrance is the lack of a cohesive support system.

“To find an artiste that possess charisma, charm, work ethic, and talent, and can sing, and can dance, and can conduct interviews — that’s a hard find. People put groups together just to get that; [it] is very tough, but mi aguh tell yuh seh Jamaica breeds that… this genre breeds stars,” he said.

“Imagine if you package that and surround them with people who know what they’re doing? These guys know how to get your attention, these guys know how to make records, he just needs a producer that would be able to record him well. And when I say team, I don’t just mean management; it’s also the creative side,”he continued.

This year’s five-day conference will include over 15 panels and workshops featuring prominent global music executives and practitioners who will unravel and provide insights into a slew of crucial global music topics, among them the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry, the nuances of publicity, branding strategies, artiste management, digital music marketing strategies, and effective money management.

During his presentation, Shaggy also noted the importance of artistes believing in their craft, and not trying to replicate anyone else. He cited his highly successful track
Boombastic as one of his singles that producers counted out prior to its release.

“One thing I realised [was that] I couldn’t make music like Dennis Brown, Beres Hammond, Peter Tosh, or Bob Marley, ‘cause those guys are masters of their craft…. Believe that you’re going to win, ‘cause that’s what I did,” Shaggy said.

International recording artistes Wyclef Jean, Mya, Sean Paul, Teejay, kes, Stonebwoy, Bounty Killer, Aidonia, Masicka, Marcia Griffiths, Jesse Royal, and Konshens are also participants at this year’s IMC.