Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 monster, made landfall in Jamaica on October 29. While the capital Kingston escaped serious hurt, the farm-belt/tourist-dependent parishes of Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. James and Trelawny bore the brunt of devastation.

Thirty-two people died as a result of Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful force of nature to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

The entertainment industry has played a vital role in the recovery campaign. Grammy winners Sean Paul and Shaggy, Spice and Vybz Kartel, have donated money, food and other urgently-needed supplies to the affected areas.

In Stuttgart, Germany, the Jugglerz Sound and Jugglerz Records companies have joined in. Their November 1 dance at The Loft Club in that city raised €1000 which was donated to a family in Belmont, Westmoreland, the hometown of reggae legend Peter Tosh.

The sound system and record company also made a separate donation through supportjamaica.gov.jm, the official government relief platform.

“We will continue to collect donations at events and we are also going to set up an online platform for people to donate to us. Jugglerz as a business will also donate, this is just really quick first aid by us as private persons. We always recommend the official sites as well. But these first donations are going to individuals and real people that we know and have links with,” said Christopher “Chris Black” Mendy, a member of the Jugglerz team.

Although they officially launched Jugglerz Sound and Jugglerz Records 13 years ago, Chris Black, Dj Cutlass, Dj Meska, Shotta Paul and Sir Jai have been associated with Jamaica since the late 1990s. Chris Black first visited there in 2001 and maintains strong links to friends in Westmoreland.

Unlike his colleagues who are German, Chris Black was born in The Gambia which has a vibrant community in Stuttgart and other major cities. They play major roles in Germany’s dancehall-reggae scene.

Jugglerz Records have worked as producers with several marquee dancehall acts including Beenie Man, Romain Virgo, Christopher Martin, Chi Chi Ching, and Gentleman as well as a host of German rappers.

Jugglerz Sound has played at two popular events in Jamaica — the annual Dream Weekend party series in Negril, Westmoreland, and the weekly Weddy Weddy dance in Kingston.

(Photo contributed)