BY ET Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 26, 2021: Jamaica’s COVID-19 infection rate is approaching 37,000 and the death toll is approaching 600 as the country rolled out a vaccination campaign, but many top reggae singer and influencers have seemingly crossed over to conspiracy theorists, sharing unfounded claims against taking the jab.
Among them are top reggae artists such as Buju Banton, Sizzla, Spragga Benz, Tony Rebel, Mr. Lexx, Queen Ifrica, Chronixx, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Kabaka Pyramid, according to Dancehall Mag.
Sizzla has labeled the vaccine “The Babylon Curse,” and has been demanding that all Jamaicans, including the Governor-General, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and all other politicians, refuse to take the vaccine as it was designed with bad intentions.
“Stop scare us with this coronavirus and dis vaccine ting; it ain’t go work,” he was quoted as saying. “And mi a meck sure mi a warn yuh, mi nuh wan si nobaddy in di Jamaica Parliament taking no coronavirus vaccine, no one in di military nor di constabulary force; no doctor, no nurse..,” Sizzla had said.
“So the love for this nation and its people soooo great. They will allow there friends to kill you and it’s perfectly ok#honest # Jamaica land they love # not the people,” Buju wrote on his Instagram page.
““Unoo agoh bawl fi Jah…. MEMBA ME SPRAGGA BENZ SAY DAT…COVID vaccine manufacturers to get protection from lawsuits!” he chanted on social media.
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, 85, has also questioned the integrity of people purporting to be Rastafarians who have been encouraging others to get vaccinated and wear masks, which he claims is part of the “Babylonian system.”
Perry, according to Dancehall Mag, said while he is looking forward to performing and seeing his fans once again, he is hoping that he would be able to travel at least for this year without the “shot passport,” as “once that gets required for traveling, I will sadly have to say goodbye to live-shows.”
Chronixx, in a now-deleted post, had stated that “tech heads and war heads can’t talk to Rastaman about human health” and that he would only be “going online for a concert if it’s an action against global vaccination.”
This as Kabaka Pyramid has said the COVID-19 numbers were being ramped with “false numbers fi mek sure seh di false vaccine ‘necessary’.”
Other Artists
But other reggae artists are taking a different stance. Reggae Legend Burning Spear has reportedly taken his two shots in New York.
A captioned photo of the ‘Slavery Days’ artist being injected with his second dose by a military medic, wearing a mask bearing the Jamaican national colors, was posted by New York City-based radio disc jockey and independent Reggae promoter Amy Wachtel, also known as the Night Nurse, on her Twitter page this week.
“Mr. Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear, receives his second dose of the #CovidVaccine today. People, are you ready? @burningmusic #vaccinated #VaccinteNY $BurningSpear #ChantDownBabylon,” the publicist, who has been promoting and writing about Reggae music since the early 1980s wrote.
Burning Spear, who is a six-time Grammy nominee, has released more than twenty albums throughout his music career, copping the Grammy Award twice for Best Reggae Album for his 2000 release Calling Rastafari and again in 2009 for Jah Is Real. He was also bestowed with the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government in 2007 for his contribution to the music industry and retired from touring in June 2016.
And Gaps 7G, a dancehall star, also got his jab at York College in Queens, NY.
“I made up my mind to be one of the first people to get my vaccine shot, mi have the second one fi get in a month time, and mi just a gwaan mask up and do the right ting till then,” he said.
Other reggae entertainers who have voiced their willingness to take the jab include Shaggy, Ce’cile, Macka Diamond, and Bounty Killer. Killer has categorically told his fans to get inoculated on a post he made of a flyer of the Sunclash meets Shutdown show scheduled for Ibiza, Spain from October 1 to 4 2021, which will feature himself and Beenie Man in performance.
