As Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel closes his historic three-show run in the city, Toronto’s Caribbean community is uniting to celebrate while also raising funds to support Hurricane Melissa relief efforts through an after party.
The after party and fundraiser is being organized by popular local Caribbean events organizer Uncle Delroy, as well as local artists DJ Joshua Lucas and DJ Rennie. The event will take place from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. at 145 John St. after Kartel’s final show on Thursday.
Hurricane Melissa made its way through the Caribbean island early Tuesday, becoming one of the strongest storms to hit the Atlantic since record keeping began in 1851.
Since then local relief efforts quickly took off, with Toronto’s Jamaican community uniting to send aid back home. For Uncle Delroy’s team, the decision to join the movement was an easy and personal one to make.
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“A lot of Uncle Delroy’s team actually were born and grew up in St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. Ann and the areas most affected,” said Ashley Henry, a member of Uncle Delroy’s team.
Henry, who is originally from Jamaica, witnessed firsthand the impact the hurricane has had within Toronto’s Caribbean community.
“A lot of us do have that immediate family back home, so for us, it was pretty personal to really use our platform to show love and unity,” she told Now Toronto.
All proceeds from the after party will be donated to the Government of Jamaica’s hurricane relief efforts.
The event will also feature an extensive lineup of Toronto’s top Caribbean DJ’s, including DJ Brandan Duke, who tells Now Toronto it’s important now more than ever for the city to show support.
“Toronto has a very huge population of Jamaican people,” he said. “When things like this take place in the islands, it requires not only one place to unite together, but everybody to unite together. Because at any given point it can happen to any of us, no matter if it’s Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, etc,” he said on Thursday.
Duke says the event will be one that displays Caribbean solidarity and pride, as the city officially closes Kartel’s run.
“This week just showed how important and how much of an influence Caribbean culture truly has on the city of Toronto, because he didn’t just sell out one show, not two, but three shows,” he said.
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Henry agrees, and says the concerts were a special moment the city will never forget.
“It meant a lot for anybody of Caribbean heritage, whether you’re Jamaican or not, just being able to see someone in person that you’ve heard a lot,” she said.
And while the event is sure to be an unforgettable party, both Duke and Henry remind guests that there’s a deeper purpose behind the celebration.
“This is bigger than just a party or just music in general, this is for a great cause. There are people out there that genuinely need the help, genuinely need the relief,” Duke said.