Vershon scared of outside

Dancehall entertainer Vershon may have released his single Outside during a pandemic, but the Warner Music signee shared that he is terrified of going outdoors.

"Everybody scared to go outside because of COVID-19, including me. I only did the song to remind people of what outside is like, but truth is, I do my best to stay inside," Vershon told THE STAR. "I have an at-home recording studio, so I am still able to record. I mostly stay home, focusing on recording music and social media marketing, as well as some promotions via Zoom. My little sister has been helpful by being the one who does the supermarket shopping."

The Inna Real Life artiste had initially planned for the release of his second EP, Only One, produced by UK-based producers FaNaTiX, on October 9, but decided to postpone it until next year. The first track was recorded at a studio in Montego Bay last year with the British producers.

He said, "It's a bad time. I see other artistes putting out their albums, and nothing is wrong with that, but the type of promotion my team and I wanted to put into the project included travelling and live performances."

Vershon says he was looking to go as far as Nigeria, having a collaboration with YCee, an award-winning rapper-songwriter from the African country. The song, titled Shake Up, is one of four collaborations. Fellow dancehall deejay Busy Signal, UK-based rappers Trillary Banks and Chip, who is featured on Reality, the EP's second release, are the other entertainers featured.

"I wanted to dedicate myself to some live acoustic sessions with the artistes, specifically because is a new version of Vershon, although it is still uniquely me. People are used to hardcore and raunchy, but I am also about melody and giving that strong energy; but with what's happening outside we haffi tek it serious, to avoid doing any damage," he said.

The artiste was expected to perform across the United Kingdom, United States and Latin America this year, but all bookings were cancelled.

"We don't know how long this [pandemic] is going to last; even though I want to be everywhere in 2021, until things free up, I'm not taking any money or making any promises to anyone (that) I'll be performing or travelling anytime soon," he said.

Some 43.2 million people have been infected with the serious respiratory illness, which first surfaced in China late last year. While the majority of the persons have recovered, the virus has claimed more than 1.15 million souls, some 188 of these deaths occurring in Jamaica.