Mr. Vegas Hopes To Raise US$100,000 For Out Of Work Dancehall Selectors
Veteran artiste Mr. Vegas has announced his intention to give back to the Dancehall fraternity through a fundraising effort for Jamaican selectors who he said have helped put the spotlight on the island, which is the birthplace of Dancehall.
Vegas made the announcement via Instagram on July 17, with a short video which he captioned: “Support our Jamaican Selectors I am starting the pot at 2000 US to raise funds for the Jamaican selectors that assisted in making us world-known celebrities.
Cash app: 9549930487. Click on the Gofundme link in bio. Goal is to raise 100K US.”
In the video, he explains why he wants to raise the money and how it will be used to support the selectors chosen.
“You have some special people in ah reggae and ah Dancehall. These people are the selectors. People call them deejays. The selectors them play an essential role in getting us artistes to where we are at. Globally people know we,” he said.
He praised selectors for their efforts of taking Dancehall worldwide and also said that because of selectors, a lot of people get to have profitable careers. He added that even though many people play critical roles in Dancehall, selectors have an extremely special one in helping Jamaican music to become familiar on a global level.
Vegas then explained that he wanted to raise the funds because many selectors have been without their regular income.
“Right now, due to the pandemic everybody ah face it. Radioman ah face it, selector ah face it poor people ah face it but me wah start a likkle pot with $2000 towards the selectors them, the people them wah give we the opportunity to go out dey and eat bread,” he added.
He asked fellow artistes to contribute to the fund as well.
“So me ah reach out to me fellow artiste brothers and sisters them, if yuh have ah ting you can throw in ah de pot, no matter how small,” he continued.
He ended the video with a plea reminding his followers that many selectors have not earned a viable income for the last four to five months.
Controversial selector Foota Hype welcomed the move and said he hoped that someone would pick up the challenge.
Commenting under the post, he said: “Mi glad mi come out fi si this lets si who pick up the challenge.” While many fans welcomed the initiative, some questioned how the funds would be distributed like this fan who said: “So how dis ya pot a go share mongst su much selectas. Di amount a people a comment unda dis weh have Dj infront a dem name. So how dat a go rerk? Or a ungle di 4 name brand selectas dem a go get money?”
Another fan wondered about the selector’s financial habits: “I only have one question.. didn’t the selectors save for raining day? Or they floss the money and invest in a hairy bank that really doesn’t garner no major returns☹️. Anyways ppl please give to this worthy cause …., but while we are at it I’m suggesting that all selectors moving forward complete a financial literacy class.”