{"id":5886,"date":"2025-12-30T15:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/30\/jamaica-honors-jimmy-cliff\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T15:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:51:11","slug":"jamaica-honors-jimmy-cliff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/30\/jamaica-honors-jimmy-cliff\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamaica honors Jimmy Cliff"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>As the official funeral service for reggae icon Jimmy Cliff takes place this week in Kingston, Jamaica, at the National Indoor Sports Center, Louis \u201cLouie\u201d Grant, executive vice president and executive producer at Irie Jam Media, says that Cliff\u2019s passing is \u201cthe end of an era.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Government of Jamaica has given Cliff an official funeral to honor his immense contribution to Jamaica\u2019s culture and entertainment.<br \/>\nGrant told Caribbean Life that Cliff\u2019s music and life embodied the resilience of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cI woke up on Nov. 24 to the news that another of our cultural icons had transitioned overnight,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter everything Jamaica has faced this year, it felt especially heavy.\u201d<br \/>\nReflecting on Cliff\u2019s global impact, Grant cited \u201cThe Harder They Come\u201d as a defining moment.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThat film fast-tracked reggae to the world,\u201d he said, adding that it introduced countless young listeners to Jamaican music and culture.<br \/>\nBeyond Cliff\u2019s awards and honors, Grant said Cliff\u2019s character stood out most to him.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cJimmy Cliff was a relatively private and quiet soul,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was disciplined, focused, deeply spiritual, and was a man of character.\u201d<br \/>\nGrant also recalled Cliff\u2019s generosity during visits to Irie Jam Radio, where he shared unreleased music and encouragement.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cAt the start of our daily Irie Jam theme are the words, \u2018If the feeling is good, I want you to say IRIE!\u2019 That recording is the voice of Jimmy Cliff from his appearance at Rebel Salute in Jamaica,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cWhen DJ Roy played it for him in our studio, he was so excited that we chose to use it,\u201d Grant added. \u201cHow gracious of the man \u2014 what humility. He was genuinely excited that we used his voice in our Irie Jam theme. That kind of humility stayed with me.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Grant said Cliff\u2019s powerful music will remain a guiding light for future generations.<br \/>\n\u201cThrough songs like \u2018Many Rivers to Cross\u2019 and \u2018You Can Get It If You Really Want,\u2019 he reminded us that no matter the storms, we can always rise again,\u201d he said. \u201cWalk good, Jimmy Cliff.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the official funeral service for reggae icon Jimmy Cliff takes place this week in Kingston, Jamaica, at the National Indoor Sports Center, Louis \u201cLouie\u201d Grant, executive vice president and executive producer at Irie Jam Media, says that Cliff\u2019s passing is \u201cthe end of an era.\u201d The Government of Jamaica has given Cliff an official [&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-5886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5886","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=5886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}