Florida\u2019s Jamaican community is preparing for an evening of music and culture as the City of Lauderhill hosts its Jamaica Independence celebration featuring dancehall icon Beenie Man.<\/p>\n
The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, located at 3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, Florida, beginning at 6 p.m. The celebration is being presented by Mayor Denise D. Grant and Commissioner John T. Hodgson and will commemorate Jamaica\u2019s 64th year of Independence.<\/p>\n
The event will also serve as an early birthday celebration for Beenie Man, who turns 53 on Aug. 22.<\/p>\n
With a career spanning more than four decades, the Grammy Award-winning deejay has built one of dancehall\u2019s most influential catalogs. His international hits, including \u201cWho Am I (Sim Simma),\u201d \u201cGirls Dem Sugar,\u201d \u201cKing of the Dancehall,\u201d \u201cRomie,\u201d \u201cDude\u201d and \u201cFeel It Boy,\u201d have helped establish him as one of Jamaica\u2019s most recognizable musical ambassadors.<\/p>\n
Joining Beenie Man on the stage will be reggae legend Marcia Griffiths, whose decades-long career has produced classics such as \u201cElectric Boogie,\u201d \u201cDreamland,\u201d \u201cFeel Like Jumping\u201d and \u201cStepping Out of Babylon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Griffiths has enjoyed success as both a solo artiste and collaborator, with her smooth vocals and timeless catalog earning her a place among reggae\u2019s most celebrated female performers.<\/p>\n
Lovers rock fans will also be treated to a performance from Mikey Spice, known for his soulful voice and romantic hits such as \u201cBorn Again,\u201d \u201cPractice What You Preach,\u201d \u201cI Am I Said\u201d and \u201cSo Much Things to Say.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lineup also features singer Shuga, who has gained recognition for her powerful vocals and conscious musical themes, as well as performers Empress Uneek and Mical Rustle Mustle.<\/p>\n
With a mix of dancehall, reggae and lovers rock artists, organizers say the Lauderhill Independence celebration will showcase the diversity of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s Jamaican community is preparing for an evening of music and culture as the City of Lauderhill hosts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-350716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}