A NEW YEAR ON DANCEHALL’S FREEDOM STREET
by Professor Donna P. Hope
I rang in the 2025 new year at the National Stadium on Dancehall’s Freedom Street. Freedom Street was, for me, an excellent and authentic showcase of Jamaica’s contemporary Dancehall culture. Dancehall remains a live, dynamic and organic blend of music and culture, with multiple layers, and all of these were on display at Freedom Street.
We arrived at Freedom Street, shortly after 8.30pm when the crowds were already rolling in and, as usual, I made my cursory walkabout to look at the venue and to see the layout The 360 degrees stage layout was a first for me and this provided excellent access and visibility for the performances to the audience that was spread around the entire National Stadium, There was no traditional backstage/media area, which meant that the entire Bleachers area was filled all the way around and the usual tussle to get close to artistes was removed to another area across the field and/or close to the stage entrance.
The sound system DJs showcase went well beyond the promised 10pm start time. However, when MC Nuffy’s laudatory introduction preceded Vybz Kartel’s arrival on stage at 11:15pm and the star of Freedom Street opened his mouth to the crowd at 11:16pm, he was greeted by roars of assent, screams of celebration and adulation, phone cameras and lighters held in the air, arms held high and vuvuzelas blaring their cacophony of sound. Everyone present in the National Stadium, and those watching on multiple digital streams from the over 150 countries was waiting on Kartel’s arrival on the Freedom Street stage. They had waited 13 years for this moment. For many, it was their first time seeing Kartel live on a stage. I was in the midst of that jubilant crowd because, that is the best vantage point to feel the energy pulling and pulsing, and to hear the comments from the audience. It is the best position from which to hear and feel the guttural sounds of joy bursting from the throats of the assembled audience and to share in that explosive moment that incorporates word sound power and vibes. For a moment I felt that the earth below me would rupture from the volume and level of sound power that erupted from the audience in the National Stadium on Freedom Street when Kartel greeted the crowd at Freedom Street.
As I had predicted, the gathered audience represented a wide demographic – uptown, downtown, out-of-town, midtown, foreign. There were people there in their 70s, in their 60s, in their 50s, but the majority of that audience were people in their 40s and under – this is Vybz Kartel’s crowd because he is the undisputed reigning King of the Dancehall, freshly liberated from incarceration and bearing his stripes along with his crown as he walks along his Freedom Street.
I have attended too many stage shows and dancehall events, and, like so many, this iconic event is a study in time. It showcased the ying and yang that of an authentic entity and the multiple layers of not just dancehall but Jamaican life and culture. Vybz Kartel’s ascendance on the Freedom Street Stage, standing tall, clad in his gold-trimmed bespoke suit, basking in the adulation of his fans is a historic moment that deserves record. Arrested, jailed, charged, tried, incarcerated, and returned to his fans after several layers of appeal – his life’s journey to Freedom Street has become ‘like a movie’ for his ardent supporters. Worl’ Boss is Free. Freedom Street was more than a stage show, it was an episode in this movie that had a large supporting cast, several stars in orbit, and one mega-star.
Freedom Street had many high points for me. One was the performance on stage with Queen of the Dancehall, Spice in her carefully designed outfit, who, as a consummate performer, fully costumed, stood with her mentor and friend to pay tribute to him and to share her lyrical prowess. The stage overflowed with unmistakable love and joy – and playfulness. This was a duet of friends and the assembled audience were wrapped in this joyous moment of pure love.
But then, it was New Year’s Eve, after all. And many persons in the crowd, like myself usually celebrate Jamaican Watch Night in other locations – church, waterfront, home, bar, – with family and friends. At 11.59pm the National Stadium paid homage to Jamaican tradition – we paused and sang Jamaica’s national anthem (with the celebratory booms). And then we paid homage to the New Year in true Jamaican fashion with persons hugging their friends, booming off fists, while a fireworks display par excellence was orchestrated. People hugged and kissed each other. People celebrated everyone. It was a Dancehall New Year on Freedom Street.
Dancehall Culture is Jamaican, and it is global. Riding on the backs of those who first orchestrated our music culture on the plantations, Dancehall’s impact extends across every single continent. Kartel’s reach, and that of his Gaza children, goes far and wide. The presence of Busta Rhymes from Rap/Hip Hop in the USA, and Shatta Wale, the reggae-dancehall star from Ghana connected Freedom Street to our Dancehall and African Diasporas. I watched Shatta Wale kneel and pay homage to Kartel and recognized the Black Atlantic movements and the cross-fertilization of cultures as we move through time. Yes, Kartel’s consummate lyricism and his craft, has earned him many stripes. But more than this, Dancehall Culture remains connected to the historical roots of and from Africa, that spread outward and return inward, connecting these black popular cultures in the diaspora and reframing new diasporas. The showcase also highlights these diasporic connections exposing them to us in full relief. This was more than a bagga man (and women) being unruly. It was a historical and cultural reminder of who we are and why we are who we are.
Standing in Freedom Street I recognized that Sting’s fragmentation has created a clear vacuum in Jamaican popular culture and the events showcase. Regardless of how we spin it, unruly performances provide spaces of catharsis and open pathways for productive lyrical engagements into a new year. Freedom Street is not Vintage Dancehall. It represents contemporary Dancehall in all its forms, including Unruly and Law-less controversies. This was my first time seeing Chronic Law perform, and I had been waiting for Popcaan to arrive on stage for several hours. When Popcaan and Chronic Law bounced on stage shortly after 2am, the energy was raw and urgent, lifting the National Stadium from its feet with incendiary and explosive lyrics. Dancehall is never without controversy and that element of controversy ripped through the stadium resonating across the audience who responded with shouts and roars, and celebration and gun signals and phone lights and flames. The maturity displayed by Kartel, Nitty Kutchie and others in dampening the incendiary moment on stage must be highlighted. But, Kartel’s unruly children defended their honor, paid homage to their mentor/father, even as this rupture presaged the ending of the show. Even as that discussion continues to trend and settle, it was clearly a Sting-like moment in time that the Downsound Team will certainly see as a nod towards an annual Dancehall end-of year-show…held late December, but not on New Year’s Eve please.
Another critical component of Freedom Street was the display of Dancehall Generations. In no specific order, the unexpected arrival on stage and performance by Bounty Killer, the Father, Grandfather and Great grandfather of Kartel and his progeny, carried people like myself, into fits of joy to see Bounty out and stunting. It was a critical moment in time when the generational demographics of Dancehall was present on stage with five or six generations of Dancehall, beginning with Bounty Killer through Vybz Kartel to Popcaan, Spice and others, Jahvinci, to Skillibeng, Skeng, Nhance and others. This showcase oriented around Vybz Kartel and his children, (literally and symbolically) along with his friends showed in one moment in time, five or six generations of dancehall artists who had lifted themselves out of poverty and obscurity to be internationally renowned as stars and superstars in their own right. I particularly enjoyed the performances by Spice, Popcaan and Chronic Law, Tommy Lee and Skeng and was impressed at how Kartel deftly acted both as host and performer at his own show.
Today’s Dancehall shows are incomplete without our Dancehall Dancers. This group has expanded post-2012, and now represents several “schools” and a variety of professional dancehall groups and crews who provide cultural and ambassadorial showcases and networks at home, in the diaspora and across all continents. Freedom Street’s showcase of Dancehall Dancers, including Latonya Style, Dyema, Cyaan Tiad, Rebel, Shelly Belly and others, paid tribute to this valuable component that has become so crucial in the rise of opportunities in what I call the Dancehall Ecosystem.
As we continue to celebrate, iron out unruly moments, and build new lyrics for 2025, Freedom Street showcased excellent performances, a mix of controversy, and a great deal of love, respect and loyalty for Vybz Kartel. It opened the floodgates for discussions in all corners – Dancehall vs. Reggae; Secular vs. Sacred; King of the Dancehall?; Moral vs. Immoral; Unruly Lawlessness; Freedom Street vs. Long Walk to Freedom Episode 1; and more. The tourism interests confirmed that they had a flood of visitors for this period; and the majority of patrons at the live event gave it 10/10 or more. No other stage show has had this kind of impact except Sting. The die is cast. Freedom Street has earned its place on the calendar of Dancehall Events. Vybz Kartel remains King of the Dancehall in 2025. “Dancehall cyan stall”
