Veteran entertainers Capleton, Beres Hammond and Leroy Sibbles, will be the recipients of national honours at Wednesday’s staging of the Grand Gala at the National Stadium.

In an interview with Observer Online on Tuesday, Capleton said he is humbled by the acknowledgement.

“When I learnt that I will be receiving a national honour at the Grand Gala, my initial reaction was a feeling of reflection on my entire career from when I started many years ago and the journey till now. I felt very humbled, and I also thought of my mother who passed, and this would have been good for her to see this moment,” said Capleton.

“This is significant for me because I’m receiving this honor while I’m alive and to know it’s coming from my country means a lot to me.”

Capleton, born Clifton Bailey in St Mary, has had a decorated career, which began in the late 1980’s.

The self-styled ‘Prophet’ shared what he said was the high point of his career.

“Well, I live in the moment and it’s times like this that I look back on my career. The high point for me is to know that I’m still relevant and headlining major festivals and still making new music. Recently I went to Malta for the first time and it was good to see that the fans knew my music word for word,” Capleton disclosed.

Capleton, who shared that if music hadn’t worked out for him, he would’ve pursued farming as a passion, moved to Kingston at the age of 18 where he did a stint with the African Star Sound System.

He recalled his time with the popular sound system.

“Well, the sound system life is challenging because there were many late nights and even carrying sound boxes but I was built to handle hard work from an early age because of the values instilled by my parents,” said Capleton.

Capleton, who last weekend performed at Reggae Land Festival in the United Kingdom, has to date released more than 20 albums. He has a new project set for release later this year.

Known for several hits including Tour, That Day Will Come, More Fire, Lock Up, Wings of the Morning and Heathen Reign among others, Capleton received a Best Reggae Album Grammy nomination for Still Blazin  in 2003.

In a previous interview with the Observer Online, Culture Minister Olivia Grange, said that the 2025 instalment of the Grand Gala spectacle will be the grandest it has ever been, with several icons set to be celebrated for their outstanding contributions to nation-building.

READ: Grand Gala poised to be biggest spectacle yet, says Grange

“We’re gonna honour icons Beres Hammond, Capleton, and Leroy Sibbles who have played a huge part in pushing our music and culture on a global scale. They have represented us well as a country, flown the flag high for us worldwide, and this is our way of saying, Thank you, we see you, and we appreciate you,” said Minister Grange.