Mr Vegas is today encouraging fellow artistes to continue putting in the work as their rewards may come from some organisations they least expect.

This advice comes days after the entertainer was awarded Artiste of the Year by the Caribbean cultural board at the prestigious Harvard University.

In an interview with THE STAR, Mr Vegas said that the music business can sometimes become burdensome and stressed that artistes may feel discouraged if they are not shown any form of appreciation for the work they have put in over the years.

“As artistes, we do this because we love it but we like to get recognized every now and then. We want this award to energize other artistes to let them know that you may not get recognized the way you think you should be recognized and by who you think should recognize you. You may not win a Grammy, but just keep working because people are out there seeing your work,” he said.

DIFFERENT TERRITORIES

He added: “I don’t want my colleagues to feel like if you don’t win the Grammy or get recognized by one of the popular awards that their career is of no use. We’re not just doing music for Jamaica or one specific set of people, other people in different territories and in different organisations are seeing the work.”

He added that although this is the first year the award is being issued, he believes it will develop into one of the prestigious and sought-after awards.

“This is Harvard University; it is one of the premier colleges in America so of course this award has the potential to be a very big one. The award is to honor musicians for their contribution to the music industry, so how can it not grow bigger?” he said. “It is a big thing for a major university to bring this award to fruition and I know it is going to manifest into the award that Caribbean people look forward to every year. It might be a little thing right now, but it is going to blow up and they may even have to move it from the university to a bigger venue when the ceremony is being held.”

Mr Vegas encouraged fellow entertainers to make the rounds on the college circuit and partake in different events surrounding the industry, pointing out that the work they do might get recognized when they least expect it.