Delroy Escoffery, organiser of the May 20-22 Mindset Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston, is pleased with response to its inaugural staging.

The event comprised workshops covering various aspects of the music business, and was geared particularly towards gospel artistes.

On closing day there was the riveting ‘From Dancehall to Church Hall’, which heard former secular acts, Junior Tucker, Marion Hall (previously Lady Saw), and Rhoda Isabella recalling their conversion to Christianity.

Bishop Everton Thomas, who helped some of these acts make that transition, also participated.

Escoffery was pleased with the enthusiastic attendance at the eight workshops, which looked at issues such as copyright, publishing, streaming, songwriting, and marketing.

“Di workshops full, pack, jam, man! The first day which dealt with songwriting was really, really nice, then it was publishing. People were hungry for the information; each class had good numbers,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “All eight workshops, people turned out for it.”

A former Manning Cup footballer with Camperdown High School, Escoffery was involved in show promotion for many years in Jamaica and the United States. With business partner Andrew Minott, he staged some of the biggest dancehall-reggae shows in South Florida.

Eight years ago he became a Christian, but maintains ties to the music industry as manager of Marion Hall, who had got baptised one year before him.

Escoffery spoke about the importance of artistes giving testimony about the difference God has made in their lives.

“As part of the voices the Lord spoke to me about, that was one of them. He was very specific…dancehall to church hall, He gave me that first. Then after a couple of weeks, He said, ‘add I’m Baptised, Now What?’,” Escoffery related. “At my church in South Carolina we had a topic like that and, after reading up on the whole topic, it made sense. Because with me, a Danny, Danny Browne, mi reach out to and start do
Bible studies every Monday night, and dissect scriptures to understand the journey.”

Browne, founder of The Bloodfire Posse and Mainstreet Records, was among several members of the dancehall community who converted to Christianity in the 1990s.

Tucker, who had several hits for Mainstreet; Papa San; and Lieutenant Stitchie, also accepted Christ during that period.