Dancehall artiste Capleton is concerned that Jamaican consumers will be hit with higher prices for agricultural items within the next couple of weeks because of the devastating effects of Hurricane Beryl on farmers in the ravaged farmlands in the ‘bread basket parish, St Elizabeth.

“Food is the staff of life, we cannot do without food and water. So we’re calling on the government to pay more attention to agriculture, prayers up for every farmer and Jamaican right now,” Capleton said.

“The devastation in the farming communities is tremendous, the prices of agricultural products will be going up, crops have been destroyed, roads blocked, animals lost…so we need some relief for the poor, Jamaica is facing a difficult time,” he added.

The veteran deejay is promoting his latest single, Gone Up, which was produced by Control Tower Squad. Released two weeks, a video for the project has racked up almost 30,000 views so far.

“The song is very relevant, it is just about every day struggles, the cost of living is always getting high, and this is a global phenomenon, look at the protests in Kenya, since the global pandemic, rent, bus fare, school fee, toll fee gone up, can’t believe every likkle ting gone up,” the ‘Fireman’ said.

“This song is letting the people know it is not all about guzu, chopping the line or popping pills, education is the key, when mom and dad send you to school, make the best use of it.”

Jamaica is facing a difficult journey as it recovers from the recent hurricane. Against this background, Capleton urged the government to encourage youth farming to create greater food security in the future.

“We need the government to give or lease land to the youths to farm because a nation that cannot feed itself is not a strong one. We shouldn’t be importing so many items, because it makes us vulnerable as a people,” Capleton said.

Extreme weather is one of the main factors contributing towards massive price surges as massive flooding has destroyed crops and killed livestock at regular intervals. According to the Bank of Jamaica, core inflation, which excludes all food types as well as fuel prices (including transport prices), from the Consumer Price Index (CPI)) was 5.6 per cent at May 2024, marginally lower than the previous month.

Capleton is known for hit songs such as Number One on the Look Good Chart, No Lotion Man, Almshouse, Tour, Prophet and Cold Blooded Murderer.

In the mid-1990s he landed a deal with Def Jam Recordings which resulted in the Prophecy and I -Testament albums. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for the album Still Blazin on VP Records.