The Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2015 (Recap)

The Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2015 (Recap)

It went gold in the U.S. and featured a number of noteworthy guests including Black Thought, Bobby Brown, Nas and his brother Stephen.

It also set the stage for his most recent project, The Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise. He is certainly not the first person to charter a boat and throw a party, but he is the first to do it with some of the biggest names in reggae and dancehall.

The 2014 inaugural Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise was such a success that promoters decided to split it into two separate trips this year, the first of which set sail on Nov. 30, out of the Port of Miami with stops in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The second leg follows a similar route with a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica and will run from Dec. 5 through the 10.

Both cruises feature the same top tier line-up of reggae and dancehall artists and presents a unique opportunity for fans from the States to see acts like Popcaan, Busy Signal, Jah Cure and Bounty Killer, who are unable to travel to the U.S. because of visa restrictions. It also allows the rare chance for artists and fans to spend time together on their shared 93,502-ton temporary home.

Nearly all of the performances took place on the ship’s expansive pool deck. As it slid away from the port of Miami with the smell of spice and smoke wafting through the air thanks to a traditional jerk chicken BBQ, Protoje hit the stage for a bon voyage set. He ran through a mix of material from his three albums including fan favorites like “Who Dem A Program,” “Who Knows,” and even brought out Ky-Mani Marley to join him on vocals for a soulful version of their song “Rasta Love.”

To everyone’s surprise his band The Indiggnation also did instrumental versions of “Purple Haze” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Morgan Heritage, who played a good deal of new material off their most recent album Strictly Roots and Stephen Marley, who stole the show, were also standouts on the first night.

Marley’s set featured a healthy mix of Bob Marley tunes and original material, and Jr. Gong, Spragga Benz, Baby Cham and his son Jo Mersa joined him on stage.