Slashe hopes Festival Song win boosts career

Entertainer Slashe is hoping his victory in the 2023 JCDC Festival Song Competition will bolster his career in music.

Slashe, whose given name is Donald Anderson, has been making the transition from comedy to music. He was formerly known as Iceman.

"I've been in love with music and doing music for nearly 20 years now, but not the entire Jamaica knows this because I've been still dabbling in acting and stuff like that," Slashe said after his win on Saturday.

In his song, Best in the World, Slashe described Jamaica as a masterpiece from the Creator. He takes listeners on a tour of the island, boasting of its iconic sites while giving lessons about the county's history and culture.

"I wanted to focus on not just the food of Jamaica," he began, "... but the people who enabled us the opportunity to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy nowadays. The freedom fighters, the liberators, the Paul Bogles and the Nannys and the Cudjoes and the Tackys. I wanted to focus on them, and the song just took on a life of its own from that perspective," Slashe said.

Dancing Same Way by Shuga finished second, and Exco Levi's Feel like Home got third. All three songs were produced by Donovan Germain.

"We cannot believe it. But one thing we know, we wanted to put forth a set of songs that gave new life to this competition. No disrespect to where the Festival Competition is coming from, but with all things evolution, we wanted to give it that sound that is kind of a little bit more contemporary and kind of hits with this Jamaican demographic now, and I think we di that successfully," Slashe said.

Meanwhile, Slashe said he has spent the last two decades honing has craft as a singer. He began working with Big Yard Records in 2003 and then forged a relationship Germain in 2014

"I've been there with him working from ever since. This is just one of our efforts coming to fruition, [and] hopefully this is catalyst that leads to greater things musically for Slashe," the upbeat entertainer said.