Capleton Blazes At ‘Welcome To Jamrock’ Cruise, Turns Attention To Sting 2023

Dancehall superstar Capleton delivered an incendiary performance during Thursday night’s Welcome to Jamrock cruise.

He hit the stage chanting ‘more fire, more fire, more fire’ in between the drum beats as he revved up the crowd into a frenzy. They turned on the flashlights on their phones and waved them in the air, lighting up the deck like a constellation of stars. Capleton then segued into Hunt Yuh, digging out a forward with a series of his signature leaps.

During his performance, which was chock full of hits such as Slew Dem and Consuming, he took time out to inject a sober note of fellowship.

“Yo, people are going through some things, you never even know what dem a go through, so when you see dem in the morning, say hello, give dem a ‘have a blessed morning’ or a wonderful day. We not even meet and greet anymore, we not even grow each other’s children anymore,” Capleton reminisced.

Then he segued into a powerful rendition of Bad Mind with exhortations of ‘if yu see yu sister falling, then yu muss help her up’ and ‘yu heart haffi clean and yu must not corrupt’.

The Fireman is looking forward to his upcoming performance at Sting 2023, as the show is set to make its grand return to Jamworld in Portmore, St Catherine on December 26.

“I want to big up Mr. Laing for actually bring the show back to the original ground. I feel honoured to be gracing the stage again on the 40th anniversary, so we ah invite the people to come out in their tens of thousands, whole heap a joy, whole heap a fun and whole heap of fire,” Capleton said.

Capleton praised the return to the ’10 Giants of Dancehall’ format, which is the theme for this year’s show.

“When the 10 Giants was initiated , I was a part of it, so I feel proud to be a giant then and still a giant now so it is definitely a joy and a blessing for me, I feel elated, I feel appreciated and still ah get a chance to grace the stage with some of the young talents and young fans, definitely looking forward to the performance,” the Fireman said.

Sting, which is known as ‘The Greatest One-night Show on Earth,’ will be celebrating its 40th year. The annual year end show’s longevity was not lost on The Prophet.

“Give thanks that Sting is still around, I can name about 40 (shows) that are not around anymore, so we have to give thanks that Sting still de ya. When we talk about Sting and we talk about the ’10 Giants’, we ah talk about substance, longevity, track record and we ah defend the culture and the music, you’re going to hear authentic dancehall and authentic reggae music so I am definitely looking forward to it,” he said.

The Fireman closed with a message for his fans, saying: “More love, more blessings, more joy, keep the fire burning, tell the people love always, unity is definitely strength, you have to know who you are to know where you’re coming from and be yourself. Keep the fire burning! More fire!”

Isaiah Laing, promoter of the annual Sting concert, will be pulling out all the stops to make Capleton’s performance a memorable, ‘incendiary’ one.

“I have to ensure that he works before daylight because the fire is going to burn in Jamworld, and we need to see the fire. When him say, turn on the lighter, it’s going to be a beautiful sight,” Laing said.

This year, the theme is ‘‘10 Giants of Dancehall’ and the show will feature veteran artists such as Spragga Benz, Anthony B, Tanya Stephens, and others.

“Our aim is authentic, ‘feel-good’ entertainment and the lineup we have will give you just that,” Laing said.

The Fireman will soon jet off to the UK to make an appearance at the City Splash media launch on December 19th, which is advertised for a ‘secret location’ in London. The show will be held on May 27, 2024.

Capleton will be marking his return to the UK for the first time in 14 years.

Cabel Stephenson, Capleton’s manager, said that anticipation is high for Capleton during this Christmas season all over the world.

“City Splash is a national event that is embedded in the Jamaica and Caribbean diaspora and it has generated mainstream support in the UK, bringing out 30 to 40,000 patrons every year. The promoters are happy, there is a media frenzy moment in the UK at this moment, because has not been in the UK for 14 years, the anticipation is high for Capleton and by extension, reggae music right now,” Stephenson said.