Fri | Jan 3, 2025

Vybz Kartel honoured at Strictly 2K

Published:Wednesday | January 1, 2025 | 12:07 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
From left: Ibrahim Konteh, director of marketing and promotions, Strictly 2K; Shaun ‘ZJ Chrome’ Chablal; Strictly 2K honourees dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel and veteran dancer Keiva ‘Keiva di Diva’ Hibbert and Gabrielle Curling, director of execu
Contributed
From left: Ibrahim Konteh, director of marketing and promotions, Strictly 2K; Shaun ‘ZJ Chrome’ Chablal; Strictly 2K honourees dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel and veteran dancer Keiva ‘Keiva di Diva’ Hibbert and Gabrielle Curling, director of execution.

Just days before Freedom Street, patrons gathered at the Mas Camp in St Andrew on Saturday night to enjoy one of the season’s most anticipated events, Strictly 2K. Instead of a performance line-up, the throwback festival honoured three icons in the music industry: dancehall superstar Adidja Palmer, better known as Vybz Kartel, veteran dancer Keiva ‘Keiva Di Diva’ Hibbert and deejay collective Chromatic Live.

“It was a big deal. And a day I had been anticipating for years. Vybz Kartel is the truest representation of 2000s dancehall, dominating the genre from then until now. He has been a supporter of Strictly 2K from the start as well. So, having him there meant a lot. We also knew the patrons would love it,” event organiser, Shaun Chablal, more popularly known as ZJ Chrome, told The Gleaner.

Gracing the stage to accept his award, Kartel hailed the audience, telling the crowd, “Big up all ah di fans dem at Strictly”.

After cleverly showing appreciation to the fans before him, Di Teacha gave his attentive crowd a history lesson, listing his tracks, such as Clarks, Dumpa Truck and Dancehall Hero, that were produced by none other than ZJ Chrome.

“Working with Vybz Kartel over the years has been flawless. He is always ready to work, and working with him doesn’t feel like work. With someone as creative as Vybz Kartel, it is more fun than work,” Chrome highlighted.

Speaking of the night’s three awardees, the producer added: “We had a list of names. And after doing an internal poll, we decided that it was fitting for these three persons at this time”.

“We believe that they were all very instrumental in the 2000s in laying the foundation for what we call dancehall: the artiste, the dancing and sound system.”

The Strictly 2K team is already gearing up to make this award ceremony a staple for the event, “We have a long list of people who deserve their flowers,” Chrome highlighted.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com