Jamaican Reggae artiste, Protoje has already arrived in T&T and has done several promotion gigs for this year’s Hennessy Artistry event Reggae on the Bay which takes place on Saturday at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain. Protoje arrived last Friday and guest appeared the following day at the Pop up Shop hosted by the Wadada Movement, host twin sisters Asha and Ayanna Diaz.
Protoje, born Oje Ken Ollivierre met and greeted scores of fans at Wadada Lifestyle on the Avenue near Gallus Street. After successfully releasing two albums The Seven Year Itch and The 8 Year Affair which spawned Rasta Love ft Ky-Mani Marley and Kingston Be Wise; which was featured in Grand Theft Auto; Protoje recently released his third studio album titled Ancient Future.
Another Jamaican artiste, Dancehall singer Andre Jay Sutherland, popularly known as Popcaan has also been revealed by promoters to be joining the lineup. Popcaan, who is currently signed to Mixpak Records, released his debut album, Where We Come From, on Mixpak on June 10, 2014. In September 2014, Popcaan was nominated for a MOBO Award in the Best Reggae Act category.
Marley will spearhead this mega cast of both local and international conscious singers. The youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley last performed in Trinidad in 2012. The 37-year-old Rastafarian is presently working on his latest album set to release later this year and has been expanding his musical versatility with recent combination songs featuring the likes of local soca icon, Bunji Garlin (The Message).
Breakthrough Band of the Year 2015, Magic will also make their debut on TT soil at Hennessy Artistry. Additionally, famed 90’s dancehall duo, Born Jamericans, will join forces once more and return to the stage. They will be backed by an equally powerful foundation cast of TT-bred reggae singers who will also deliver their unique style of conscious music.
Leading the red, white and black team under the red, gold and green banner will be none other than the queen of Reggae Queen Omega, the well-respected Isasha, King David, Levi Myaz, Inzey & The Dopeskis Da Band and Freetown Collective among others.
Speaking in an interview, management team member, Matthew Dasent, on this year’s decorated line-up, admitted that the brand Hennessy Artistry is deeply intent on becoming a long-standing contributor to the reggae fraternity. “This cast was carefully selected since recent reggae concerts have been so frequent (in T&T),” Dasent said.
“So in order for us to put together a special roster was indeed a challenge. But we are happy to announce and unveil this explosive line-up of reggae artistes for another year in the running," he added.