SOUTH FLORIDA – Since February 2019, when it turned Reggae Month in South Florida, the realm has been vibrant with festivities honoring Jamaican music. Stalwarts like Byron Malcolm keep in mind the times when there was little reggae presence on the airwaves or within the golf equipment.
Malcolm, a music business veteran, has lived in South Florida since 1973. From rural Westmoreland parish in western Jamaica, he has labored as a Disc Jockey, present promoter and artist supervisor.
In a current interview with South Florida Caribbean Information, he spoke of his early years in what was sleepy South Florida.
Byron Malcolm
“There have been a couple of scattered Jamaicans round, the preferred being King Sporty (singer/producer Noel Williams). He was the unofficial mayor of Miami, the hyperlink to the American group,” stated Malcolm.
King Sporty
King Sporty, who handed away in 2015, was married to soul artist Betty Wright. He had sturdy connections to the Miami membership scene. He was good pals with Henry Stone, the proprietor of TK Information. This firm produced many hit disco songs by KC And The Sunshine Band and Gwen McRae.
The business-savvy Sporty additionally co-wrote Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier with the reggae king.
Malcolm believes a turning level in South Florida reggae got here in 1975 when Michael Manley, Jamaica’s socialist prime minister, made an notorious utterance.
“Issues began to choose up when Manley introduced three flights a day to Miami and Jamaicans beginning to migrate,” he recalled.
Reggae in South Florida: Pluto Shervington and Ernie Smith
Many middle-class Jamaicans feared that Manley would flip to communism. They left for Miami and Fort Lauderdale in giant numbers through the mid and late Nineteen Seventies. Pluto Shervington and Ernie Smith had been two artists who adopted his well-known ‘three flights a day to Miami’ order. They helped develop the South Florida reggae scene.
The Nineteen Eighties noticed the reggae beat gathering steam. Shervington, who handed away in 2024, was the primary act on the widespread Sundays By The Bay present. This occasion came about on Miami Seashore and drew in West Indians and American celebrities.
Reggae Radio in South Florida
That interval noticed broadcasters like Clint O’Neil, Terry Thomas and Jerry “Tradition Man” Lewis internet hosting reggae exhibits on radio stations WLRN, WEDR 99 Jamz and WSHE, respectively. Denver “Jamusa” Silvera, John “John T” Hodgson and Eddy Edwards additionally held their very own on WAVS 1107 AM and WVCG, respectively.
Internal Circle
Marley’s with Ian Lewis of Internal Circle at Circle Home. Reggae Month in South Florida Launch
Reggae in South Florida grew quickly within the Nineteen Nineties. This was primarily attributable to Internal Circle’s worldwide hits, “Unhealthy Boys” and “Sweat.” That Grammy-winning band are additionally instrumental in Reggae Month actions.
