Jahshii Eager To Tour Africa, But Developing His Band First

Cream of the Crop artist Jahshii says he’s eager to tour Africa but wants to perfect his craft first prior to arriving in the Motherland, as he intends to perform with his full band whenever he touches down on the continent.

“A ova deh suh wi waan guh right now, right now.  A ova Africa wi waan guh,” Jahshii excitedly told Onstage’s Winford Williams in a recent interview.  “But is a way how mi a try create it… Mi nuh waan do no track shows and dem ting deh when mi guh Africa, yuh know.”

According to the Stronger artist, he does not want to end up sacrificing accuracy for speed, and so he was taking his time to develop vocally and performance-wise before heading to Africa.

“It haffi be band and ting, suh yuh haffi sacrifice dat; don’t guh Africa yet, put mi band togedda, meck di African dem si Jahshii as First Nation, you know – Jahshii an him band you know.  Yeh, caw wi waa teck di music di real way – live music wi waan tour wid, you know.  Wi nuh just waa tour wid tracks.   Das why wi jus a try keep it simple and a try build wi background and wid di band; build a perfect team, suh when wi ready fi Africa, di Motherland – trouble!” he explained.

In another interview with Onstage, prior to his Reggae Sumfest performance, Jahshii had also said that all young artists, as far as possible, should ensure they master their craft and not be left wanting.

“Stage is a thing weh is just like a baller, yuh a train everyday.  Him caan wait till a match day, you know, caw yuh train whole pre-season yuh can wait till a match.  So same ting wid me; mi been a practice and try fi master mi craft,” he explained.

“Dat mi think nuff a di young artiste need fi do still – spend time pan mastering dem craft yuh know.  Suh when yuh guh pon stage nobody nuh seh yuh nuh good an dem ting.  Once yuh spend time and develop, den di ting a guh forward perfect man.  Suh Sumfest a match day fi mi.  Mi been a train fi it enuh,” he had reasoned.

As for Africa, the continent has been pinpointed in recent times, as the “new frontier for the Dancehall genre” and the ideal place for Jamaican artists to place their focus, especially following sojourns by stars such as Popcaan and Konshens who headlined sold-out concerts toward the beginning of the year.

The opportunities for touring Africa, particularly countries on the West Coast and in Kenya in the East, were also a hot subject for discussion during an Onstage interview conducted by veteran entertainment journalist Winford Williams with Dancehall producer NotNice in February 2021.

Williams had contended that Africa was fertile ground for Jamaican Dancehall artists, and that the genre and its parent Reggae, were the “soundtrack” of Kenya, where Konshens, Christopher Martin, Etana, and Vybz Kartel are huge.

According to Williams, he believed Dancehall and Reggae supporters are “more in Africa, than anywhere else”.

The journalist had also recommended that Jamaican musicians conduct strategic positioning of their work “to meet particular taste of various demographics”, as Africans naturally gravitate to the music of Jamaica, as the music forms have great African retentions.

Earlier this year, Reggae/Dancehall singer Jahmiel had revealed that Popcaan, in a show of brotherly support, had advised him to look to the African continent as a mainstay for performances, as he is well-loved in many countries in the Motherland.

Jahmiel had also said that he had seen some indication that he has strong support, particularly in The Gambia where he has performed on two occasions to a 15,000-strong crowd and was treated like a “legend” and a “great man”.