1 month ago
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Isaiah Laing, head of Supreme Promotions, has announced that the annual Sting concert will be held on Boxing Day at its traditional Jamworld venue in Portmore, St Catherine.
Laing is adamant that the show must go on.
“We cannot allow Sting to die, dem caan kill it. Mi ah go fight for its survival because I am a fighter,” Laing, a former high-profile crime fighter, said.
“Sting is an institution in entertainment in Jamaica. It is a show that the majority of poor Jamaicans look forward to. They get reggae, dancehall, gospel all in one night at Sting at a very affordable price. We can’t allow a show like this to die,” Laing, the Supreme Promotions chairman and founder of Sting, declared.
This year’s Sting launch will be held on November 26 at a venue to be announced.
“If the show doesn’t keep this year, it can never keep again. I know the kind of forces that are behind a push to kill the show, but is God Almighty mi have around me,” he said.
He admitted that though he doesn’t have the magnitude of the sponsorship partners on board that he had last year, he is prepared to press ahead as he is still getting overtures from interested parties.
He is also getting a lot of logistical support and ideas from his son, Tahheer Laing, director of events at Supreme Promotions, to help the show connect with a younger age demographic.
“I am unstoppable. One man against the world again. People are coming to see what the Sting team is coming with, the anticipation is high; the show must go on,” Laing said.
The artistes who have been confirmed for Sting 2024 include Tommy Lee Sparta, Macka Diamond, Jamal Dunceman, and Bushman.
He has a section called Unsung Heroes, which will showcase an excellent slate of top-notch performing artistes that he believes should be more appreciated by the public.
Laing said there is a perception that Vybz Kartel’s Freedom Street concert is the hottest ticket in town and that has hampered this year’s prospects for a bumper crowd at Sting on December 26.
“A lot of Jamaicans will be coming for Christmas, and they will want somewhere to go on Boxing Night and that place will be Sting, there is room for both events,” he said.
Laing believes that even Vybz Kartel, an artiste with whom he has a chequered history, doesn’t want Sting to die.
“Kartel knows that ah Sting mek him. He still owes me an apology. Everybody is saying to me that he is coming for Sting, he will still pass through at Sting, just like how him pass through at MECA. And he will pass through and say, ‘People, respect’; and the stage is there for him, if he wants,” Laing said.
“I don’t carry no grievances for anyone.”
Laing said he helped to protect Vybz Kartel on the fateful night that the World Boss got into a physical altercation with Ninjaman on the Sting stage in 2003.
“I put Ninjaman in a hotel room and placed a security guard at his door so he couldn’t leave, I did that to protect Kartel,” he recounted.
He said that night at Sting cost him over $30 million in settling medical expenses for patrons who were injured in a stampede at the show, and at least one major civil suit.
“After all that, Kartel returned to perform on Sting several times, so he knows the importance of Sting and he knows the support that we have given him in the past,” Laing said.
Laing also said that Vybz Kartel got his badge of ‘dancehall immortality’ by participating in an iconic clash with rival Mavado at the Jamworld stage in Portmore in 2008.
“Kartel himself knows the cultural relevance and significance of Sting,” Laing said.
Quizzed as to why Sting concerts have such a well-earned reputation for mayhem, he explained:
“I never tell anyone to fight or mash up my own show. Is a ghetto-made show, is a poor people ting. People must understand that when you go to events like these, you’re going to find the rough crowd, the aggressive crowd. Yu caan kill crime, yu have to minimise the violence as much as possible, that’s why we have great security.”
Laing said Sting remains the show that gives artistes that ‘stamp of approval’ with the world of reggae and dancehall.
“It is the show to give you the approval if you’re good or not...that’s why so many artistes rise and disappear from the scene after years,” he said.
“When yuh buss a Sting, yuh buss. Why you think this new crop of dancehall artiste don’t have the longevity, and as dem do a song it dies? The stamp of approval is not on it. Sting is the stamp of approval. All who have gone ahead, they know this to be true. Dancehall needs Sting. Sting is dancehall. “
English (US) ·