Twee Geddo ‘prays for Jamaica’

Hong Kong-based Jamaican dancehall artiste Twee Geddo is riding out the storm in the COVID-19 pandemic that has paralysed economies and halted all entertainment events and gatherings.

But he is dealing with these unprecedented times with calm and a quiet resolve.

"I'm alive, so no complaints. I never let change slow me down, change is the one constant in life. Professionally, the pandemic hurts me because I cannot engage in performing, shooting videos, recording new songs. But I am using the time to write new songs and draw closer to my family," he said.

He is pushing his latest single, Pray for Jamaica, a song designed to heal the souls of a Jamaican nation in crisis and turmoil as it seeks to battle the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.

Geddo did his last live performance at the Goa Reggae Festival in India in January.

The artiste, given name Gilroy Barrett, grew up in 19 Mile in Clarendon and attended Old Harbour High School.

He was first inspired by a dancehall artiste who was popular in the area where he grew up.

"I wrote my first song hoping one day I would get the chance to meet him and let him listen to it, and I did. I freestyled the song for him and he told me it's not bad, and I'm not ready to be a artiste yet; I'm too young," he recalled. "It kinda hurt me a little bit hearing him say that to me, but he was my hero."

After the deejay was imprisoned for a crime, Geddo stopped doing music. He migrated to Curacao in 2000, and soon after rediscovered his drive for music.

He christened himself Twee Geddo, which literally translated in Dutch means 'Two Ghetto' - a nod to his impoverished beginnings.

"The ghetto made me who I am today, that's why I gave myself that name. I found my inspiration for doing music," he said.

He recorded his first song, She is a Lady, in Accra, Ghana, in 2008. He performed at his first stage show there in 2008, then, based on his charismatic stage presence, promoters booked him for gigs in China, Sweden and India.

He now lives in Hong Kong, where there is a growing appreciation for dancehall music, and slang, among what he called 'dancehall fanatics'.

'The music (dancehall) is alive and well. It is challenging for a dancehall artiste living in Asia if you have no team, but I still make work, creating a fan base," he said.