Stitchie begs colleagues to make adjustments to their lives

Dancehall artiste Captain Barkey, who found fame as part of the duo with Wickerman, would have turned 59 on November 5.

The Go Go Wine deejay, given name Wayne Hamilton, was shot dead in the parking lot of a motel in Bronx, New York, in October 2012. According to his lifelong friend, Stitchie, weeks before that incident he had offered to baptise Barkey, who was also a former Jamaica Defence Force soldier. Stitchie is now pleading with his friends in the music industry to "Let's all take an introspective view of ourselves individually and make the necessary adjustments".

"The only thing that we are certain of is the current moment, like now, so be careful to remember: "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement."

Stitchie and Captain Barkey were schoolmates at Tivoli Gardens High School, and they were also teammates on the Stereo One Sound System.

"He was my friend, most of all. I was the one who took him and Wickerman to Germany, where we all performed together on a major reggae festival, Reggae Jam, before the duo went on to some other dates on the tour in Europe," Stitchie told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Stitchie said he remembered the very last meal that he, Captain Barkey and singer Little Kirk had at a Chinese restaurant in Bersenbruck, Germany.

"We were all rushing to be the first to pay the bill for the meals for all, after which we sat outside joking. He was singing a hot, new pre-release about God and I asked him about baptism and offered to get it done right there in Germany. He said that he was not yet ready, so I respected his decision, and that was it. It was in early August," Stitchie said.

They all continued having good a vibe as artistes on tour on the road, and then went their separate ways. By October 13, news broke that Captain Barkey and his female companion Tracy Bennett, 38, had been gunned down. The alleged gunman, Haitian national Joseph Kernizan, 42, the father of two of Bennett's children, subsequently killed himself.

Captain Barkey's body was flown to Jamaica. Stitchie and Wickerman were both pall-bearers at the thanksgiving service.

"We had it very hard, along with the Stereo One crew. We all still miss him very much; that void caused by our friend's loss can't be filled. He'll always be remembered and live in our hearts," Stitchie said.