Calypsonian, ska, and rocksteady artist Lord Creator, best known for his hit song Kingston Town, later covered by UB40, died today (June 30). Born Kenrick Patrick, he was 87.

“He died at 11 a.m, he hadn’t been feeling well for some time,” Mrs. Neseline Patrick, Lord Creator’s wife of 23 years, told DancehallMag.

“He had suffered two strokes, the last one in 2005, he had prostate problems, diabetes and high blood pressure , and he also had done surgery on his back in 2013. He was walking a bit until 2019 when he stopped walking altogether.”

Mrs. Patrick said that Lord Creator did not let his litany of ailments define the quality of his life. Until the end of his life, he remained a convivial, joyful soul.

“He didn’t let his illnesses bother him, he was humorous, he gave jokes, you wouldn’t believe he was a sick person, he was a real joy,” Mrs. Patrick said.

Lord Creator sired 15 kids, 8 of whom are still alive. He had been in a relationship with Neseline for 31 years, 23 of which they were legally married.

The singer, who resided with his wife in Golden Grove, received the Order of Distinction (Officer Rank) from the Jamaican Government, for his “contribution to the development of Jamaican music and community service,” on National Heroes Day in 2022.

“I will miss him,” she said.

Minister of Entertainment Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange said she was “saddened by his passing” and expressed her condolences to his widow and his relatives.

“We gave him a national honour last year,” the Minister added.

Hailed as one ska’s pioneers, he was known for hits such as Don’t Stay Out Late, Big Bamboo, Little Princess and Jamaica Farewell.

Lord Creator was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, on August 21, 1935.

He started as a calypso singer in Trinidad and recorded his first hits, “The Cockhead” and “Evening News”, in Trinidad in 1958 and 1959 respectively with Fitz Vaughan Bryan’s big band.

He moved to Jamaica in late 1959 to perform and record and decided to settle on the island.

In 1962, he recorded “Independent Jamaica” with producer Vincent “Randy” Chin, which became the official song marking Jamaica’s independence from the British Empire on August 6, 1962. That song was also the first record on Chris Blackwell’s newly founded Island Records label in the United Kingdom. In 1963, “Don’t Stay Out Late”, produced by Chin, became a hit in Jamaica.

In 1964, he scored a further hit with “Big Bamboo”, produced by Coxsone Dodd with Tommy McCook on saxophone.

Creator had another big hit with “Kingston Town”, a tune he recorded for producer Clancy Eccles in 1970.

Lord Creator had also said Kingston Town was an interpolation of Babylon, which he had composed as a teenager in Trinidad and later recorded for Randys, back in 1963, on a Ska beat.

He explained said that while performing in Montego Bay at a club, enterprising producer Clancy Eccles, had asked him to record a song for him which resulted in the track Molly Is A Big Girl Now. Enamoured with his singing style, Eccles reportedly requested “a song on the flip side” and the result was Kingston Town.

Lord Creator, in interviews, said he inserted the words Kingston Town and removed the word “Babylon” and reworked the track.

That song would become his most enduring hit.

However, it became the subject of controversy between Lord Creator and Clancy Eccles over ownership of the song after UB-40’s version sold millions in Europe, “generating enormous royalties to the writer of the song.”

According to the author, Lord Creator, who was struggling financially in Jamaica, after 22 years had returned to his homeland,  Trinidad, “almost against his will in 1984”.

It was there that after suffering a stroke which saw him being hospitalised for 19 days, Creator got the news that UB-40, after being given permission by him to record Kingston Town, had “made it into a big hit all over Europe by 1989, and generated enormous royalties for the composer of the song”.

The following year, Lord Creator returned to Jamaica and built houses for himself and his children, “and out of goodwill”, gave Clancy $250,000 “but when he returned for more, I refused and contacted my lawyers,” the article stated.

According to the article, in an interview, the now-deceased Eccles had claimed that “fifty per cent of the record is owned by me, because I wrote some of the words. I made the music for this particular song, and I don’t get a penny royalty yet”, while Lord Creator had claimed he wrote the entire song, and that the publishers came to that decision after extensive investigations.

In March 2023, UB40’s cover version of the song was certified Platinum in the UK.

After UB40 recorded the cover version of Kingston Town in 1989, Lord Creator experienced a career revival, and he did several oldies shows in Jamaica and, later Japan.

He returned to Jamaica, living in Montego Bay and then later Hanover before moving to Golden Grove.

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The family of Jahshii is speaking out on the rumors that the Dancehall artist was connected to the murder of businessman Omar ‘Romie’ Wright.

According to them, these rumors have not only affected Jahshii’s career but have also taken a toll on the entire family, resulting in show cancellations and distress.

“The vloggers are setting up my family’s life and Romie’s family’s life. They need to do their research before they take up things on their head and spread it,” Jahshii’s mother, Lorna Henry, told the Observer.

“The only people who know about the rumour are the people spreading it and the vloggers. What they are running with, I don’t know anything about and Jahshii don’t know anything about it either. They take this thing to an extreme and I am scared because of the vloggers who tell lies and hoist it like how you hoist a kite.”

Jahshii’s father Mervin Clarke, and his mother Lorna Henry (Observer photo)

She added: “Both families are very close. Romie’s mother is Jahshii’s Godmother. If Jahshii is passing Romie on the street, they hail up each other. Romie’s mother and I grew up in the community. We played together and we never had any problems. Romie calls me ‘Mumma’. He used to use one mop to clean up my place and then he would clean up his businessplace where he used to sell fried food. Him also used to sell June plum and oranges. He was very clean.”

“I just want the people to cut out the nonsense and stop bait up my life and Jashii life. It is not good. Some a dem seh mi pack up and run weh, but I don’t have anywhere to run to. We are tired of it now,” she continued.

Reports are that Wright was killed on Shortwood Road at about 10:40pm on June 7 by armed men. There were allegations that Henry, who operates a wholesale business in the area, had an altercation with Wright during which he threw water in her face.

Jahshii

It was rumored that Jahshii, whose real name is Mluleki Tafari Clarke, then allegedly argued with Wright about the incident.

Wright was gunned down hours later by persons unknown.

Jahshii’s attorneys King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and Richard Lynch accompanied him to an interview session with the police last Wednesday (June 21). Chanpagnie confirmed with DancehallMag that the entertainer was subsequently released as investigations continue.

Meanwhile, Jahshii’s father, Mervin Clarke, also chastised vloggers for the role they have played in spreading propaganda.

“All these vloggers who keep mixing up the youth don’t know the true story. Talk the good things weh di youth do. We want to clear him name. They want to carry down the youth career. Dem want to get to the youth, suh dem start with the mother and the youth mother is a loving parent. She shares and everyone loves her. She is no trouble maker. Dem a frustrate the youth. He is a young youth and when all these things a reach him, if him nuh firm, he will get off him head. We have to make sure we be a rock around him,” Clarke told the Observer.

His cousin, Rochelle Gilzene, said that some promoters and corporate brands have started to give the entertainer the cold shoulder since the allegations began swirling.

“Shows have been cancelled. He has a show in August and the people are saying they can’t have him on the show because of these matters and it is unfair. Corporate entities have wrongfully tried him and this is his means of living. It is wrong. There are a lot of people who use it as an opportunity to jump on it to try and destroy him. Jashii is a born fighter and he is going to rise above this and is going to represent for all the young people in the inner city who want better. The vloggers need to be held accountable. The Government needs to do something to regulate the online platform. People should not be allowed to just say anything and not be held accountable. It affects lives,” she said.

“When you put misinformation out there, you cannot take it back. Romie and I were very close, from childhood up to the time of his passing. This has traumatised Jashii to the core. He is holding on and trusting God. I spoke to him and I heard the frustration in his voice. He said every minute is another thing, from one extreme to the next. Mi hear him ask him mother, ‘wah dem want mi fi do, kill myself?’ When mi hear Jashii seh dat, water drop out a mi eye. At 21, so much different things are on his head. Leave him alone and allow him to bloom and grow.”

In the meantime, the Cream of the Crop deejay took to Instagram Live recently to preview a track that addressed the ordeal. In the video, he sang a few bars.

“Want unuh want mi guh jail or wah? P—sy dem want mi aguh graveyard/ Human being too fake dawg, two face dawg/ Haffi skill pon di battle field…Mummy still a tell mi yuh ears hard yute/ Ah inna di mountain mi deh ah try escape…” he freestyled.

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While the BBC made much of what it described as Ghana’s “love affair with Reggae” earlier this year, there has seemingly been love lost in Nigeria, where other reports are that the West African country’s Dancehall and Reggae stars, among them Patoranking, have ditched the Jamaican genre, in favor of Afrobeats.

In an article published in February this year, the BBC noted that “Afrobeats may be the dominant sound right now in Ghana, as in many other African countries, but the sounds of Jamaica can still be heard blaring through the speakers of Ghana’s roadside and beach bars almost every day” and that “Thursdays are reggae night in two big clubs in the capital, Accra – turning up the heat in an already hot climate”.

Conversely, the Nigerian Daily Post noted a few days ago that “it remains to be seen whether the former popular genres of reggae and dancehall will regain their prominence or fade quietly into the past”, as Afrobeat continues to evolve and shape the Nigerian musical landscape.

The BBC had noted that “Jamaican musicians such as the late greats Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and the group Culture have long been credited with planting the seeds of reggae music on African soil 50 years ago – and Ghana shows the roots have grown deep, and gone on to produce homegrown talent”.

It also noted that Reggae has been instrumental in spreading the message of Rastafari and has been “a cheerleader for Africa – singing about the beauty of the continent, boasting of its natural resources while calling for people in the diaspora to return to the motherland, which has gone a long way to solidify the bond between Reggae and Africa, especially during and after colonial rule”.

The BBC added, “it makes sense that Ghana, among the first African countries to gain independence (from the UK in 1957), gravitates to the sounds of struggle and strife associated with reggae. It has had plenty of struggle and strife, having experienced six military coups between the 1960s and 1980s”.

It listed Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, as two of the biggest Reggae/Dancehall stars as well as Kojo Antwi aka Mr Music Man, and Rocky Dawuni, who made “waves on the global reggae scene with the 1998 hit In Ghana” and whose “growing popularity saw some of his tracks featuring on various US TV dramas and three Grammy nominations to his name”.

But the Nigerian Daily Post noted, in an article titled “Reggae, dancehall, others face extinction as afrobeat dominates Nigerian music”, that while Reggae and Dancehall were among the dominant musical genres in Nigeria at the turn of the century, “right right now, Afrobeat has effectively taken over the music industry.”

According to the publication, some music fans worry that other subgenres may soon fade away due to how popular the African genre has become. 

“At its height, reggae was the mainstay of Nigerian music. Majek Fashek, Ras Kimono, Victor Essiet (from “The Mandators”), Evi Edna Ogoli, and Peterside Ottong, among others, captivated audiences both domestically and abroad. Dancehall, a subgenre of reggae, became popular between the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s,” the article noted.

It added that “Dancehall became a powerful voice that addressed societal ills and criticised the state of governance” and was particularly popular on the streets of Ajegunle, Lagos’ and that Ragga and galala, described as two additional reggae derivatives and subgenres, also experienced a boom thanks to artists like Daddy Showkey, Marvellous Benji, Raymond King, and Junglist.

Afrobeat, it noted, had early pioneers, artists such as  D’banj and P-Square, who marked a significant turning point in Nigerian music, and that “those who would carry out the transformation started to emerge within a decade”.

“What is amazing about Afrobeat is how strongly it appeals to supporters of other genres who have given up the music they are naturally drawn to in favour of trying the new fusion that has become the sound of Africa… Nonetheless, most music lovers are perplexed by how Afrobeat continues to grow while other genres are in decline.”

The article cited DJ Slixm, a well-known figure in the music business, as saying that Afrobeat’s popularity was due to its adaptability, while Dancehall’s “repetitive beats and patterns are a drawback that has aided in the genre’s dwindling appeal”.

“The genre’s lack of innovation and fresh sounds has caused listeners to seek new musical experiences, leading to the emergence of other genres such as afrobeat that offer a diverse range of sounds and styles,” he is quoted as saying.

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Minister Marion Hall says that while she’ll “never go back to being Lady Saw,” she still remains Dancehall’s “baddest” female artist.

“Nobaddy nuh bad like me inna Dancehall yah suh.  Mi jus nuh waan guh back deh!” Hall declared while performing her song Kiss Out Mi Bible at Groovin in the Park over the weekend.

“Dem nuh lyricist like mi.  Das why dem worry.  Suh, meck mi tell yuh suppm.  Yuh have a problem wid how God a use mi.  God sen mi yah suh.  Dress mi like all oonu wha day; God dress mi up inna belly skin suh Chris an Karen can hire mi, an den di devilcome wid dem plot.”

During the event, which was held in Queens, New York, Hall made references to two of her raunchiest songs, Sycamore Tree and If Him Lef. “Mi used to do sittn bout tree an dem sittn deh and If di man lef.  Mi muh haffi worry bout if di man lef.  No man naw lef mi right now.  If anybaddy lef me, dem lef di holy ghost,” she said to the delight of some audience members.

She also reeled off a slew of new songs written for stage performance, with lyrics supposedly aimed at her detractors within and outside of the music industry. In one instance, Hall blasted her critics for what she considered their setting of double standards.

“Some people say because I am a Christian I should not deejay; I shouldn’t speak broken English; I shouldn’t talk Patois… Once mi deejay, dem seh mi tun back. Papa San deejay; Lieutenant Stitchie deejay.  Everybaddy.   and is not a problem.  Worried dem worried bout me,” she declared.

Prior to that, she seemingly took aim at one of her Dancehall compatriots with whom she has recently had an online tiff.  

She sang:

“Mi nuh come yah suh fi igleMi nuh come yah suh fo Dancegall titleMi come yah suh fi preach up di gospelSuh tell a bleach-out duppy mi nuh frighten”

She then added:

“Mi a one Cristian weh clap backAnwhen mi clap back head must crack”

In December 2021, Hall declared that “even now,” she could still rip errant deejays apart with” just gospel, godly songs,” as through her sheer talent, she could use the word of God in Dancehall style, to minister to and even clash and obliterate “‘in the name of the Lord,” any Dancehall rival who tried to test her on any stage, anytime, anywhere.

“I have this talent that is beyond me.  It’s like it just exceed my expectation and others.  Even now, I could step out and stand beside any one of those females and rip them apart with just gospel, godly songs,” Hall had told Tamara McKayle on The Trailblazers show.

The God Speaks artist had also shrugged off suppositions being made by some Dancehall fans that she might have thought she was fading away, thus her exit from secular Dancehall in 2015.  Instead, she pointed out that her departure was not of her own free will, but a command from God.

“I could go on to 100 year old and still be the best at what I do… A lot of people see me here and they believe that ‘she just parked up’.  No.  God told me it’s time to preach.   If I wanted to be out there, I would be out there. But God has a time when he lock us in,” she had stated.

A few weeks later, veteran music selector Foota Hype, and many other fans of Hall had batted hard for her to come back and dominate Dancehall.

Foota’s followers had urged her to return to the genre, even from a gospel perspective and take the path of Lieutenant Stitchie, who pioneered gospel Reggae/Dancehall, and who like her, is a Minister of Religion and still a dominant force in Dancehall music.

Some claimed her nemesis Spice, would be dethroned should Hall resume her once-prolific recording of Dancehall songs, even if only from the gospel realm like her male compatriots Lieutenant Stitchie and Papa San.

Others said nobody in Dancehall matched up to the 53-year-old, whether in aesthetics or talent.

In the meantime, Minister Marion Hall says she has a slew of new songs in her lyrical arsenal, which she has written for her upcoming performance at Reggae Sumfest’s concert night two in Montego Bay on Saturday, July 22.

“I’m writing for Sumfest too, and Sumfest is the place to be.  That’s the place to be.  That’s when you’re gonna hear the real…,” she told Onstage’s Winford Williams after he commended her on her performance at Groovin in the Park, and suggested that “Jamaicans now, after this, they can’t wait to see you at Reggae Sumfest.”

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Dancehall artists Shane O and Kash Promise Move left an indelible mark on the residents of Portland at the recently held Rum Bar Vibes Fest on Friday, June 23 at the Port Antonio Town Centre.

The event peaked with Shane O’s acapella entrance onto the Rum Bar stage which was enough for patrons to pay keen attention while the Kingston native belted out his 2021 song, We Alright produced by 1st Class Musiq.

During this moment, everyone’s focus remained glued to the star’s deeply-felt interaction that lifted the masses, before segueing to his other hits Lightning Flash, Last Days, and 7 Jacket. However, it was his gloomy take on being lonely with Dark Room that stirred cheers from the crowd.

Before Shane O’s set, Kash Promise Move’s energetic delivery riled up the masses in preparation for what was to come.

In a big move curated specifically for the interests of Dancehall lovers in Portland, Rum Bar sought to entice partygoers with free entertainment and giveaways with its third staging of the concert series. Hosted by former dancer T.C., and musical entertainment by DJ Bigga 5, Port Anotonio’s Town Centre was brought to life with Rum Bar branded paraphernalia and staging for a perfectly fitting Friday night Dancehall stage show fiesta.

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