Dancehall Takeoutja

19/08/2026

By all accounts, the recent staging of ’s Summer Sizzle was a flop, and many so called dancehall fans are rejoicing.

However, if you truly love music, celebrating the demise of a stage show makes no sense especially in a climate where so many stage shows have already faded away.

​We should actually root for Summer Sizzle to succeed so can reclaim its place as the Mecca of and dancehall culture.

This summer's biggest reggae festival, , was promoted abroad, and most other major events took place in Europe.

While Reggae Sumfest managed to capture headlines, it relied heavily on Vybz Kartel and his controversial feud with Mavado to generate buzz.

​Meanwhile, Jamaica's historical catalog of stage shows has largely disappeared.

Sting, Follow the Arrow, Easter Fiesta, St. Mary Mi Come From, Reggae Sunsplash, Island Explosion, and New Kingston Jamboree are all dead.

Rebel Salute is on shaky ground, while events like GT Taylor Extravaganza and Ghetto Splash failed to build an appealing brand identity needed to sustain long-term global interest.

​Jamaican stage shows have been in crisis for over two decades, and the industry has yet to stop the bleeding.

Beenie Man’s effort to revive the culture deserves support, not celebration over its failure.

​To the social media illiterates on tiktok posting videos celebrating BeenieMan’s failure: calm down.

Rooting against a local platform is a bad look for dancehall as a whole.

Beenie Man is not liked right now due to his disrespect to King Yellow Man and lack of praise for King Vybz Kartel. However lets not celebrate the failure of another show.

19/08/2026

MTV has dropped the category from their list of nominees, and rightfully so.

Afrobeats has been a dead genre since was released from jail and people started realizing that NO knock-off dancehall music can replace the real thing.

was running around posing as the poster boy for Afrobeats (aka fake Dancehall), while also sleeping with women in the Dancehall space namely and .

This gave him a direct foot in the headlines and the Dancehall market, which is why he was selling out arenas and tapping into the pulse of the .

My issue is this: if you are going to use Dancehall music to gain wealth, call the genre by its name and stop renaming the brand.

How dare you call Dancehall "Afrobeats" and then market it to our people like we are stupid?

Jamaica, being so small, doesn't have the audience size or buying power to compete against these bandits from continents with a billion people.

The same thing happened in Latin America: they stole Dancehall, but at least they called it Reggaeton, which gives props to Reggae music.

At the very least, that shows where the inspiration comes from even though there are still some waste man Puerto Rican artists who like to pretend they created something.

You didn't. Jamaica made that, and it's time Jamaicans start standing up for our music and stop allowing foreigners to walk in, take our creation, and rename it.

So, props to Vybz Kartel for rubbing out Afrobeats, selling out his own stadiums, and reclaiming Dancehall's dominance.

If Burna Boy and those little wanna be Dancehall acts who call themselves Afrobeats want to get relevant again, they need to present themselves as Dancehall artistes and cut out this nonsense of stealing and renaming.

Good job, MTV.

18/08/2026

Fifteen percent of criminals in Antiguan prisons are .

​Many of these individuals left Jamaica claiming they were struggling, suffering and simply wanted an opportunity to work.

They migrated to Antigua, where jobs are apparently plentiful.

However, once they arrived, they changed their minds and turned to a life of crime.

Does that mean the people of Antigua and Jamaicans in Antigua are also suffering, forcing Jamaicans who move there to resort to crime as well?

Because the excuse for Jamaican criminals is always that same..

"We are suffering hungry young men who need jobs".

​Furthermore, consider figures like and .

Are they sitting in foreign jails because of hunger and starvation?

I just do not understand, and as a fellow Jamaican who has faced hardship, I need this explained.

​The moral of the story is simple: if you do not change your mindset, you will remain a liability to yourself and everyone around you, no matter where you go in the world.

Thats is why people who are broke in Jamaica go to developed countries and they are broke there too. Beggars in Jamaica go to America and they are Beggars there too. The same outlook on life.

​Have some ambition. Stop ruining other countries and giving a bad name to honest Jamaicans who genuinely want to work and build a better life.

Now, the Prime Minister is considering stricter immigration measures that will inevitably hurt decent Jamaicans, all because of low-lifes and bums who contribute nothing to society. It is an absolute shame.

16/08/2026

The Barclays Center is 13 years old, and was imprisoned for 13 years.

During those 13 years, no other dancehall artiste thought to perform at an arena; instead, they traveled from Florida to the Tri-State area performing in clubs and parties.

​However, as soon as Vybz Kartel broke ground and proved that dancehall can sell out arenas, , , Aidonia, and Bounty Killer, among others, began aiming for arena performances.

​While this is welcomed and beneficial for dancehall, these are the same artistes who act as though Vybz Kartel does not inspire them, even as they copy his strategy.

​This reflects a familiar pattern in culture.

A Jamaican will see someone selling oranges along the Bog Walk gorge, and decide to set up a shop right next to them selling the same thing, only to become enemies of the very person they copied.

Although other nationalities exhibit similar behavior, the focus here is on Jamaicans.

​Before Vybz Kartel began selling out arenas, dancehall was stagnant, allowing to dominate and sell out major venues using k**k off dancehall, in places where reggae and dancehall should have been reigning supreme.

No wonder why Afrobeats has experienced a decline since Kartel's return.

People no longer care for imitations now that the authentic source has returned.

​Credit should be given where it is due. Vybz Kartel opened the doors for the many ungrateful artistes who are now benefiting from the opportunities he created upon his release.

There would be no Masicka concert at the Barclays Center without Vybz Kartel, just as there would have been no Alkaline performance there a few months prior.

​ Alkaline had to cancel his tour following his Barclays performance, proving that not every artiste possesses the star power and longevity required to tour on Kartel's level. He is truly one of one.

But, artistes whom are eating the crumbs from the table Vybz Kartel created, should be more grateful.

16/08/2026

Dancehall artiste Chevaun Bowen, known as Linguiss Di Saviour, sparked public backlash after he dragged a 120-pound wooden cross through the streets of dressed as .

Bowen claimed he was on a divine mission to purify and restore music.

The stunt drew widespread media coverage and heavy public ridicule on social media, with many dismissive of his claims of a spiritual calling. The stunt also failed to launch his commercial music career.

A similar incident occurred years later when another local artiste, Xojay, carried a heavy wooden cross into Kingston’s Half-Way Tree area.

Xojay publicly stated that a vision instructed him to rescue the genre from "trap dancehall" and industry gimmicks.

Both acts highlight the extreme publicity stunts used by iron balloon artistes attempting to gain attention in the competitive Jamaican music scene.

Shock value and lying for attention was made popular by who lied to that he tattooed his eyes. However luckily for Alkaline, the stunt worked in his favor and saw him gaining a fanbase.

14/08/2026

"Despite being pregnant, kicked her into the pool. Yet, the pregnant woman told the police, 'Hey, at least he didn't kick me in the belly.' That, ladies and gentlemen, is what women do for money.

14/08/2026

sold 107,000 copies in his first week when he dropped The Trinity.

was out here moving over 200,000 copies a week during his absolute peak. Both of these artistes were signed to major labels, were in their prime, and proved what Jamaican music can do on the global stage when the machine is behind it.

Masicka says he is the greatest.
On top of that, he is signed to Def Jam a major international label with all the budget, distribution, and playlisting power in the world.

Masicka is in his prime right now, so it is only fair that we expect big numbers from him. Looking at the standard set by the legends, we are looking forward to seeing him push over 100,000 to 150,000 copies his first week.

If you claim the title of the greatest, and you have a major label machine behind you, that is the standard you set for yourself.

and did what they did as independent artistes. No push.

Masicka has . Because of this, we don't want to hear any excuses. We don't want to see no 2,000 or 3,000 copies being sold in week one and called a "success."

According to your own logic, you are greater than Shaggy and Sean Paul, and you have the major label machine right behind you. Anything less than 100,000 copies first week is a failure.

Album out this week. Let's see if the numbers match the talk.

14/08/2026

10/08/2026

Watching this level of disrespect makes me proud of even more.

The promoters of popular event have come under fire after several brutal fights took place at the event over the weekend, with no security in sight to protect patrons who were being abused.

One video that has now gone viral saw a crew of over seven men putting hands on two younger men.

The men were punched, stomped, and kicked for over five minutes with no help in sight.

Patrons stood and watched while the waste men pummeled the youths, all the time poking out their chests like prideful roosters.

Social media commenter has called for a lawsuit to be levied against the organizers, while others contend that the event is now attracting too many waste men with low emotional intelligence who either belong in prison or caskets.

Zimi Seh is one of those events that pulls a strong contingency of women.

So it is quite ironic that a bunch of men are so in love with each other that they ignore women and are out to seek trouble and the attention of other men.

This makes Jaii Frais look like a genius for having a tool to defend himself when attacked at a party earlier this year at Carnival. But clearly, waste men have not learned their lessons.

In my opinion should have never been charged.

10/08/2026

Following news that st*****rs from the were arrested and charged for working in strip clubs without valid permits, several Jamaicans have taken to social media to criticize the Prime Minister, claiming the government is trying to tax everything, even adult entertainment.

Critics argued that women should have the right to self the wrenking meat if they choose.

They also accused the government of wanting a cut of every industry, pointing out that recent efforts to reclaim captured land in St. Thomas and other parishes mirrors the PM's attempts to profit off the island's nightclub culture.

However, others supported the arrests, arguing that the women should have followed the proper legal channels to secure work permits before operating in the country. As one viewer noted, Jamaica is no longer a "free-for-all."