| BY RICHARD JOHNSON— Observer senior reporter— |
Come March 12, veteran deejay Brigadier Jerry will be honored by New York-based media and entertainment entity Irish and Chin and will be crowned in recognition of his contribution to the Jamaican music in general and sound system culture in particular.
According to Garfield “Chin” Bourne of Irish and Chin, the event, which will be held at Club Amazura in Queens, New York, follows the 2019 crowning of renowned reggae pioneer, the late Daddy U-Roy. He noted that his organization is seeking to identify persons from the Jamaican music industry who have done superb work to advance the music and culture.
“For those who know me, know that sound system culture is very important to me. Brigadier Jerry represents a era in sound system culture where artistes were deejaying live off the sound and that is at the root of the culture. We just want to identify these unsung heroes of this era and giving them their flowers while they are still with us. We are so pleased that we identified and honored Daddy U-Roy back in 2019. We saw the magnitude and importance of his crowning after he passed. A lot of the footage and images that were used when he transitioned was from the crowning in New York. If that wasn’t enough he was buried in the cape and crown we presented him at out event.”
Bourne noted that Brigadier Jerry continues to earn the admiration from others within the music industry. He shared that the late Early B having referred to Brigadier Jerry as “the God of all deejays”, while Shabba Ranks describes him as a “Dancehall library”, because of his ability to recall, teach and inspire the masses.
“As we go along we will be identifying and celebrating a number of this major contributors whose contribution goes unnoticed. Of course, we can’t crown everybody so we are looking at those persons who were game changers. U-Roy and Brigadier Jerry were shifted the game and made a dent in the culture.”
Sixty-four-year-old Brigadier Jerry, whose given name is Robert Russell, was born in the Papine area of the Corporate Area and became interested in music at an early age, initially linking with U-Roy’s King Stur-Gav Hi-Fi sound system. His earliest stage appearances were as a young man performing stand-up comedy, but he soon switched to deejaying for local sound systems. He became a member of the Rastafari mansion Twelve Tribes of Israel and spread their message on the Jah Love Muzik sound system. Veteran female reggae artiste Sister Nancy is Brigadier Jerry’s sister.
Bourne noted that the March 12 event in New York will also be a celebration of the artiste’s dedication to Rastafari and as such will be held in under a red, green and gold theme. Patrons are being asked to dress in these colors as part of the celebration.
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