A new version of the popular YUSH party series is set to unfold on Saturday, November 26 at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Billed as Mega YUSH, the event will feature performances by multi-platinum-selling R&B singer Ashanti and hip-hop star Ja Rule.

The event is a fund-raiser for The University of the West Indies scholarship fund.

Phillip Palmer is co-CEO of YUSH.

“Mega is a new version of the YUSH brand, which focuses on introducing big acts from the 1990s to the early 2000s era. We intend to have at least one such event per year in addition to the standard YUSH No Long talking, just Dancin’ events,” Palmer told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

“We wanted to launch a new version of this very loved YUSH brand. We realised that Jamaicans has been yearning for top international acts and so we created a wish list. Ashanti and Ja Rule came out on top. We courted them with the idea for months and they agreed to make it happen,” he continued.

Although Palmer and his business partners have been involved with several charity efforts through the years, this is the first time that YUSH has taken on such a move.

Palmer gave an insight into what fans can expect at the inaugural staging of Mega YUSH.

“We will maintain the same energy of the original YUSH format. A musical journey from the 90s to the 2000s. Coppershot sound, which came into prominence in 1994; Richie Feelings, formerly of Stone Love and who was the main DJ for the popular Bembe Thursdays series in the early 2000s; and DJ Kurt Riley [The Party Animal] will be our musical guide providing party music for patrons.”

“The stage will be raised in every area. And as the name suggests mega . All will be mega. It will be as mega as any international music festival. Production, performances and overall execution,” he said.

Having won four Lady of Soul awards, including the Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award in 2002, Ashanti has made her mark in music.

Collectively, all her studio albums have exceeded more than 10 million in sales globally, while earning platinum, gold, and multi-platinum singles along the way.

Hits such as Baby, Rock Wit U, What’s Love, Foolish, and Rain on Me have earned Ashanti fans around the globe.

An eight-time Billboard Music Award winner, she has won a Grammy, two MOBOs, two American Music Awards, and six American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) music awards.

Earlier this year Ashanti received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her latest single Falling for You was released on October 28.

In 2014 she collaborated with dancehall veteran Beenie Man on the track First Real Love, a cover of Jamaican singer D Wisdom’s 1991 chart-topping single My First Real Love.

Ja Rule has sold more than 20 million albums globally. His Billboard chart-topping hits include Livin it Up, Always on Time featuring Ashanti, Thug Lovin featuring Bobby Brown, and Mesmerize featuring Ashanti.

A multi-platinum and gold-selling artiste, Ja Rule is a four-time Grammy-nominated rapper. He has won numerous accolades for his work, including MTV VMAs, NAACP Image Awards, and BET Awards. He has been nominated for the American Music Award on multiple occasions.