Lee “Priest” Johnson won the fifth Jamaica International Independence Foreign Song Competition (JIIFSC) which took place on Saturday, July 26 at Shiloh High School Theatre in Snellville, Georgia, United States.

A resident of Conyers, Georgia, Priest is originally from Blenheim, Manchester in Jamaica. He topped six rivals with Jamaica ina mi Blood, and was awarded US$8,000 (J$1,280,000) and a trophy.

Finishing second was Ernel Earlington and Doxology, the 2024 winners, with If yuh Love Jamaica sey Yes, while Boston-based Dion Knibb was third with My Sweet Jamaica. Earlington and Doxology received US$4,000 and a trophy, with Knibb getting US$1,000.

Dr Garfield McCook, who started the JIIFSC in 2021, told the Observer Online that the event continues to grow.

“We had a great turnout, with intense audience participation and kicked off our 63rd Jamaica Diaspora Independence Celebrations yardie style,” he said.

Other contestants in the 2025 JIIFSC were Chawlih Crux out of Washington DC with Jamaica Now, Lisa Blackford representing Virginia with My Jamaica Home Sweet Home, IJAHKNOWAH out of Georgia with Yardie, and Tania Lou from Canada with Jamaica Soul.

McCook, a Jamaican businessman who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, based the contest on the popular Festival Song Contest in Jamaica. It is open to Jamaican artistes in the Diaspora.

– Howard Campbell