Fire In the Booth’s Seven-Week Long Jamaican Dancehall Series Begins
Goody Good deejay Pamputtae, will be the queen of the pack, the lone female artist repping Dancehall in Fire in the Booth, the world’s most viewed freestyle platform, which premiers its seven weeklong Jamaica series today, featuring Jahshii, Sean Paul, Teejay, Skillibeng, Daddy1, Lalee and others.
Uptop Boss Teejay got the ball rolling yesterday with his performance which was streamed on Apple Music. According to the organisers, the performances will be streamed on the platform every Tuesday for the next seven weeks and on YouTube on Thursdays.
“Jamaica Stand Up! 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲 It’s finally here! @fireinthebooth @charliesloth is coming from J.A for the first time ever… the level of talent is immense right now – from the legends to the trailblazers – all the way to the new names you need to watch. A massive salute to every artist taking part,” the organisers noted on Instagram, in making the announcement of the commencement of the series which was shot on location in Jamaica in November 2021.
Grammy-winning Sean Paul will continue the marathon next week Tuesday at 11:00am, while Daddy 1 will run the fourth leg on Tuesday February 18 at the same time. On Tuesday January 25, Trinidadian artiste Zebee will close the month.
On the 1st of February, Crocodile Teeth fans will be expected to get a treat when Skillibeng, is expected to make his presence felt. The final artist on that lineup is Runkus, son of Reggae artist Determine.
The series is expected to reach a crescendo on February 15 when the slate of Jamaica Cypher artists, led by Pamputtae and the now infamous Jahshii, Lalee, and Zinthos of Peshengwengweng fame will show their lyrical mettle.
Other acts to be featured are Fyah Roiall, Qrush, Blizzi, Kant10t, F.S and Dreadful.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Entertainment and Culture was instrumental in the selection of Cypher participants, who were selected based on their lyrical flow, camera presence, subject matter and overall energy, according to the organisers.
An elated Pamputtae was the first to reshare the promotional post of the event on her Instagram page, to the delight of her fans.
“I’m honoured to be part of ‘Fire in the Booth – The Jamaica Series!” she captioned a poster of the participating artistes.
Fire in the Booth, which is the brainchild of British disc jockey Charlie Sloth, became popular as a segment on BBC1Xtra, has hosted the likes of Kabaka Pyramid, Protoje, Stylo G, as well as Hip Hop artistes such as Drake, Migos, Pop Smoke, Megan Thee Stallion and Stormzy in the recent past.
In an interview with the Jamaica Star tabloid in November, Sloth had said that with its new base being Apple Music, he was “shaking things up by taking the show to new regions”.
“One of the reasons I moved FITB to Apple Music was to fulfil this goal… Jamaica has always been top of my list. Jamaica is a place that I love personally but, most importantly, because of its immeasurable musical legacy. There are new names that I want to share with the world while at the same time celebrate the legacy of some of Jamaica’s most iconic superstars,” Sloth had said.
Rob Littlejohn, the editorial lead for Fire In The Booth and Apple Music had said that regular visits to Jamaica would be in the making to offer performance opportunities to upcoming stars.
“FITB is the most viewed freestyle platform in the world and the platform is a great chance for an artiste to reach new audiences. Even if an artiste isn’t chosen, this is also a great opportunity for them to connect with us and put their talents on our radar. We will be coming back regularly so this is hopefully just the first of many,” he explained.
“We take the same approach as we would choosing artistes here in the UK. Do they have that raw talent? Are they able to perform? Is this the right timing for them in their journey? We always want FITB to benefit the artistes so choosing the right ones at the right time in their career is crucial,” he added.
In addition, co-organiser Jacob Creed of Creed Music Global, had stated that he was hoping that the series will show the wide international demand for Jamaican music and motivate more platforms to come to Jamaica and showcase what he described as “the tremendous array of talented artistes”.