Versions Hub, a global music project paying homage to Jamaica’s rich cultural heritage is set to launch its full soundtrack this week.

The project, a digital archive preserving the stories, music, and wisdom imparted through the island’s cultural legacy, was created by a Canada-based non-profit led by two individuals whose love for music and culture, as they tell it, is inexplicable.

“Prior to Versions, all of the work was done within Canada and some parts of America, and during the pandemic we had to re-imagine what we do… D’Ari wanted to create a project that was mostly tied to his Jamaican heritage and pay tribute to some of those traditions,” said co-founder, Mel Larkin.

“We both have dedicated our time to harnessing the power of music for social change. Culture is important to us and a huge part of culture is music. We wanted to find a way to use the youth to preserve that rich legacy, especially the music birthed in Jamaica,” she continued.

D’Ari Lisle, the project’s other co-founder, told the Jamaica Observer that the initiative ended up bringing together 27 emerging youth artistes from around the world, including four from Jamaica, for a year-long fellowship which offered mentorship, wellness support, and leadership training.

Inspired by Jamaica’s versioning and juggling traditions (where artistes create unique songs over the same shared rhythms to showcase diverse voices and perspectives), participants collaborated with thought leaders, celebrity mentors, and top-tier producers to craft powerful music as well as design and deliver community impact projects.

“In our organisation, no matter what project we’re doing we tend to [be] intercultural. We like bringing many different voices to the table to share perspectives and join the conversations about problems that we face and so, because we love having diverse perspectives. We sort of leaned on this tradition of the versioning and juggling traditions where so many different artistes can share their ideas,” said Lisle.

He went on to explain that: “We had hot rhythms made and brought young people from all around the world to share their perspective on the beats and it grew from there.”

Gaining the support of celebrities, among them Sean Paul, Chronixx, and Lila Ike, Versions Hub, according to Lisle and Larkin, is poised to experience even more growth.

“In terms of the impact, the way l think of it is, we’re allowing 20 to 30 children to tap into their creativity, who are then inspiring others to join the programme, and so it will have a domino effect when it comes to passing things on to the next,” said Lisle. “When we put these young people into the world with these tools, these equipment, the better they become, and so every year we get the chance to level up as a programme. We learn a lot from these kids who, in turn, will take the knowledge they’ve gained and transfer it to others.”

Artiste and community engagement and content producer Kareece Lawrence shared that the programme has immense potential for development as, despite artistes’ busy schedules, they gave willingly of their time as they see mentorship as the way forward in music.

She said Versions not only offers a means for musical preservation but also a medium for entertainers to connect with the youth population they’ve inspired.

“Sean Paul from the get-go was very intrigued and excited about the project. He has a humility that allows him to be very open when you call upon him for projects like these. The other artistes, like Lila Ike, despite busy schedules, she was very committed. Chronixx was also very willing and did his best to make things work,” she said.

“One of the themes we had in the mentorship programme surrounded the discrimination in music. That was a discussion which allowed the artistes to connect with the children as they all shared experiences they’ve had during their careers where they felt discriminated against,” Lawrence told the Observer.

“Many of them could empathise with the youths and the challenges they’re facing as they pursue their careers. Many of them expressed that, coming up, they would have loved this kind of support, and so they made it very clear that they wanted to be mentors to guide these youths on their journey,” she shared.

As co-founders of Darkspark, Larkin and Lisle have garnered global recognition for their approach to merging art and social impact. Their past work earned praise from former US President Barack Obama and an award for intercultural innovation from the UN.

The final music soundtrack will be released on all streaming platforms on February 27, 2025.

Versions Hub co-founders D’Ari Lisle (left) with mentor and recording artiste Lila Ike (centre), and artiste and community engagement and content producer Kareece Lawrence.