The younger generation of dancehall artists brought the energy needed for the recently concluded Reggae Sumfest. For seasoned veteran Aidonia, three artists not only caught his attention but gained his stamp of approval.
Aidonia says Govana, Shenseea, and Alkaline were the picks of top performers at the festival that drew thousands. Of course, he would be a bit biased when it comes to Govana, considering how close the two are both professionally and personally. He spoke with the STAR and shared that when he saw Govana performing on Festival Night One, he felt like a proud dad.
He went on to explain that he felt this way because he was able to witness Govana’s growth from school days to where he is now, and that gave him a different type of energy. The “Yeah Yeah” deejay added that he felt personal pride because he was directly involved in the artist’s growth.
The two have a tight-knit bond that started almost ten years ago after Govana made his debut as Deablo as part of Aidonia’s JOP camp. As with many new artists at that time, Govana was searching for the right combination to bring out his best talent, and Aidonia was able to help him find it.
This was Govana’s third time on stage at the festival, and Aidonia said that he felt immense pride watching how much the crowd loved him, especially considering that he recognized Govana’s talent from the beginning of his career. Donia also said he was proud of how much his protege’s catalog had grown over the years.
It’s something that the two artists have in common, he continued. Aidonia also took a stroll down memory lane as he mused about his first appearance at Reggae Sumfest back in 2006
“Performance-wise I was shy, I used to want to hurry up and come off the stage. But just being around music and performing for different audiences in Europe, US and the Caribbean, I outgrew the shyness,” he said,
The “Banga” deejay also mentioned Shenseea and Spice, who he said electrified the audience and brought out all the right reactions from them. The 4th Genna boss also noted that he was proud that Alkaline did not let any negativity hold him back in his career. While some fans make it a point to try to bring the deejay down, Aidonia says Alkaline continues to be resilient and shows that he has a remarkable musical talent.
He added that ever since New Rules, the deejay has been delivering and engaging the audiences, and for him, this shows real growth as an artist.
Aidonia also revealed that he continues to do his part behind the scenes through his label to help mold dancehall artists emerging on the scene. Currently, he is working with Jayds, Tanso, and Posh Morris.
So far, the most challenging thing he’s faced is getting people to tune into new music because of just how much talent Jamaica has. With the advent of social media, marketing new artists have become a little easier, he added.
The “Dat Eazy” artists also said that his wish for Jamaica for the island’s upcoming Independence celebration is that the people can return to the love in their hearts that they once had as this will help to fix most issues that the society is facing at present.
