Brigadier Jerry To Receive ‘Crownin’
Veteran Dancehall artist Brigadier Jerry is slated to become the second recipient of Irish and Chin’s ‘Crownin’. The prestigious conferment is bestowed on Reggae/Dancehall and Sound System icons, whose musical originality create indelible cultural shifts in the industry.
The coronation will take place on March 12, in New York.
In 2019, the debut awardee was the late Daddy U-Roy, known as the ‘God Father’ of Dancehall. He was ceremonially robed and crowned by specially invited guest, Shabba Ranks. U-Roy openly shed tears of gratitude for the acknowledgement, an emotion that audiences around the world also expressed. Similarly upon his death in 2021, his family chose to bury U-Roy in his ‘Crowning’ garb.
In a release, the organizers of the grand event said they were anticipating the ‘crowning’ of another musical stalwart.
“Irish and Chin looks forward to celebrating another musical stalwart, Briggy, as he is affectionately called by his peers. The artiste came to fame on the Legendary Jah Love sound and despite multiple entertainers using the title ‘General’, Brigadier Jerry earned the moniker, proven by the number of artistes who imitated his performance styles throughout his career,” the statement read in part.
It further noted that other Dancehall legends such as Shabba Ranks have sung the deejay’s praises, and the momentous occasion was a long time coming.
“Brigadier Jerry continues to earn the admiration from others within the music industry with the late Early B having referred to him as “the God of all deejays”, while Shabba Ranks describes him as a “Dancehall library”, because of his ability to recall, teach and inspire the masses,” the statement continued.
The ‘Crownin’ is the brainchild of Irish and Chin’s CEO Garfield ‘Chin’ Bourne, who heads the media and entertainment entity based in New York. The special event is being held in tandem with their nostalgic “Time Travel Series: 1983.” The company has an outstanding track record for promoting various aspects of Jamaica’s music culture for almost 30 years.
Jerry, whose given name is Robert Russell, is the elder brother to another veteran, Sister Nancy, whose real name is Ophlin Russell. The 64-year-old has spent his career performing over countless sound systems and still records the occasional single, most recently for the Ranking Joe label, but remains primarily a live performer (mostly for King Sturgav).
He is considered by many to be U-Roy’s greatest student; a stable which includes Ranking Joe, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, U Brown, down to modern-day deejays such as Buju Banton.