{"id":5867,"date":"2025-11-12T16:38:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/music-for-a-cause\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T16:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:38:58","slug":"music-for-a-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/music-for-a-cause\/","title":{"rendered":"Music for a Cause"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In response to the catastrophic devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa across Jamaica, GRAMMY Award-winning artist Shaggy, through his &#8220;Make a Difference Foundation,&#8221; Inner Circle of &#8220;Bad Boys<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> and &#8220;Sweat<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> fame, has collaborated with Sharon Burke of Solid Agency and others in hosting a &#8220;Jamaica Strong Benefit Concert<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at the UBS Arena in Queens on Dec. 12, 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Other collaborators are Jamaica Strong NYC, led by George Crooks of Jammins Event; Robert &#8220;Bobby<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Clarke of Irie Jam Media; and Kacy Rankine of Roadblock Radio, LLC. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;All proceeds from the &#8216;Jamaica Strong Concert<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8216;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> will be exclusively directed to Jamaica&#8217;s official Hurricane Relief Fund and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaggy&#8217;s <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8216;Make A Difference Foundation<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8216;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to support recovery efforts for families, students, and communities in the most affected parishes,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Clarke, president and CEO of Irie Jam Radio, told Caribbean Life on Saturday, Nov. 6. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Strict transparency and accountability measures will ensure that every dollar raised reaches those who need it,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> he added. <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_78553\" style=\"width: 494px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-78553\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-78553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.caribbeanlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/shaggy-jamaica-hurricane-relief-concert-in-ny-2025-11-13-nk-cl02.jpg?quality=51&amp;w=484\" alt=\"Jamaican entertainer Shaggy.\" width=\"484\" height=\"700\" title=\"\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-78553\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"image-caption\">Jamaican entertainer Shaggy.<\/span><span class=\"image-credit\">Photo by Winston Rodney<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Endorsed by the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) through the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport (MCGES), &#8220;this landmark benefit concert is a rallying call for unity, compassion, and recovery,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> according to Anthony &#8220;ER Guru<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Turner, the Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment publicist. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;It brings together the full force of Jamaica&#8217;s culture, Diaspora, and global creative community to raise funds for relief and rebuilding efforts across the island&#8217;s hardest-hit parishes,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Olivia &#8220;Babsy<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Grange, Jamaica&#8217;s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports, said: &#8220;Jamaica&#8217;s culture has always been a source of strength, pride, and global influence. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;In times of crisis, it becomes a unifying force,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> she said. &#8220;The &#8216;I Love Jamaica&#8217; concert series reminds us that even from afar, our people and our friends around the world can come together to rebuild lives and restore hope.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaggy said the concert &#8220;isn&#8217;t just about rebuilding homes \u2014 it&#8217;s about rebuilding hope. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Our music and culture have always been powerful tools for healing and unity,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> he said. &#8220;From the streets of Kingston to stages around the world, the spirit of Jamaica connects people everywhere.\u00a0 When tragedy strikes, that same spirit calls us to stand together and take care of our own.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New York-based Rankine, CEO of Roadblock Radio, said &#8220;a growing number of prominent industry leaders, brands, and international entertainers are in active discussions to join this landmark initiative \u2014 united by a shared commitment to harness the global impact and healing power of Jamaican culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;From the entertainment and corporate sectors to community organizations, the momentum continues to build for what promises to be one of the most potent cultural and philanthropic collaborations of the decade,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> he said. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In response to the catastrophic devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa across Jamaica, GRAMMY Award-winning artist Shaggy, through his &#8220;Make a Difference Foundation,&#8221; Inner Circle of &#8220;Bad Boys&#8220; and &#8220;Sweat&#8220; fame, has collaborated with Sharon Burke of Solid Agency and others in hosting a &#8220;Jamaica Strong Benefit Concert&#8220; at the UBS Arena in Queens on Dec. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}