Capleton urges better support for QORIHC

Outspoken reggae and dancehall artiste, Capleton, has expressed his disappointment at the less-than-ideal support for the recent Queens of Reggae Island Honouring Ceremony (QORIHC) event.

Held last Saturday evening, inside the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston, the ceremony honoured 14 women from various aspects of the entertainment industry, 13 of whom were present to collect their awards. However, the well-organised, glitzy affair, now in its fourth year, has yet to attract the capacity patronage it desires and deserves.

Capleton, who is himself a King (Known as King Shango), attended the red carpet ceremony with his David House crew, to show his support for his manager, Claudette Kemp, one of this year's awardees. He was quite vocal in expressing his dissatisfaction with the turnout. "The place shoulda pack to capacity and people all a line up outside," he told The STAR. "Look at the calibre of women being honoured here tonight. They deserve a better showing than this. I was going to say something while on stage, but I held back. But the truth is the truth."

Although not scheduled to perform at the ceremony, once the awardees and the audience realised that he was in the place, they demanded his presence on stage during Claudette Kemp's acceptance speech, and King Shango obliged. He sang one song, and, upon exiting centrestage, instead of going to his seat, he embraced each queen. The honorees are veteran actress Leonie Forbes; former lead singer of The Grace Thrillers, Shirley Willis; artiste manager, Claudette Kemp; singer, Judy Mowatt, international model, Stacey McKenzie; businesswoman, Tina Matalon; businesswoman, Kelly Upsetter; poet, Cherry Natural; music video director, Scorpio 21; broadcaster, Elise Kelly; dancer, Keiva The Diva; recording artiste, Ce'Cile; public relations practitioner/marketer, Coleen Douglas and social media influencer/blogger Lauren O Lauren, who was unavoidably absent, but sent a video acceptance speech.

The event is the brainchild of US-based, Jamaican nurse, Laurell Nurse.

And will King Shango be back next year? "As long as I'm in Jamaica, of course," he said.