Skeng, Silk Boss, Jada Kingdom etc Booked – No 90s Dancehall Artiste Will Perform At Sting 2022, Heavy D Explains – Watch Interview

October 9, 2022

In a recent episode of Onstage Tv with Winford Williams, Heavy D (one of Sting’s frontline principals) was interviewed to get more details on the return of Sting 2022.

Heavy D confirmed that the event, dubbed the “greatest one night reggae and dancehall show on earth” is officially back after being out of commission for years for various reasons. He stated, “now we have a, a new show, almost, with new venue, new artistes, and new spectators.”

According to him, Jam World (the previous location for the event over the past years) was stripped down, therefore is unavailable for use. But, the new destination chosen is Plantation Cove in St. Ann and the reason for this he says is due to its optimal position, making it accessible from most parishes after taking the toll roads.

Responding to the question of how people are reacting to the change of venue, Heavy D said, “dem get ova it already ennuh.” Expounding further, he remarked that most people are happy that the event will be hosted closer and Portmore supporters strongly believe that no matter where Sting is held, it will always belong to them.

Touching on the topic of the lineup for Sting 2022, Heavy D voiced, “this year mi think mi get one of the best line up mi get access to…this year I’m access to so much stars and so much real headline that it unbelievable.” Some of the names that were mentioned are: Skeng, Jahshii, Silk Boss, Jada Kingdom, Etana, Kabaka Pyramid, Jessie Royal, Christopher Martin, Shane O, Jahmiel and more.

He stated that the criteria for artistes are that they have to have a song or video with a million or ten million views to be slotted to perform from 11:00 p.m. onward.

“Mi a rest e 90’s fi dis year, we’ll talk to them next year…” is what Heavy D stated when the lack of 90’s artistes from the Sting lineup was mentioned. Heavy D thinks that dancehall needs to move on with the music of the new generation, but maintained the stance that 90’s dancehall will always be relevant. He remarked, “if we can’t find a show outta 22 years of music, then might as well the music stop.”

Reportedly, the reaction from the benched 90’s artistes was amicable, and some even provided names of younger generation entertainers to add to the list of performers.

Winford posed the question of there being a clash component at Sting which has been the topic of many conversations and also a headline for previous stagings of the event.

Heavy D responded to say that the stage show does not normally go out of its way to create clashes between entertainers. He then added that the Sting stage has, over the years, become a platform for artistes to contest each other after they have priorly made diss tracks about each other.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed rumours are that Sting will be having a major international female artiste perform at the event. It can be inferred from recent comments from the rapper herself indicating a possible visit to the island in December, that the entertainer in question is Nicki Minaj.

Watch the full interview below: