Reggae News
Eric Donaldson To Make Debut Performance In Kenya
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Seven-time Jamaica Festival Song winner Eric Donaldson received royal treatment upon landing in Kenya after he jetted into the East African country on Monday, for his first-ever performance.
Donaldson is booked to perform at the Reggae-themed event, the “Umoja Splash Festival”, on Saturday at the Carnivore grounds.
The St. Catherine native, who is most known for the mega-hit Cherry Oh Baby and the legendary This is the Land of My Birth, was officially received in Nairobi by Governor Ann Kananu, and promised fans a thrilling show, according to a report from the Nairobi City County.
In an interview with the media, upon his arrival, Donaldson promised a magnificent show.
“Well, its one bucket I have; its full of Reggae music enuh. And that is what I want to offer to people: love, unity… if these songs that I am going to sing are on the lips and the minds of the people, then everything is going to be OK,” he said.
Eric Donaldson has been composing and recording songs since 1964. He rose to national stardom in 1971 with his winning entry in the annual Jamaican Festival Song Competition, with the mega-hit Cherry Oh Baby then followed up with Sweet Jamaica in 1977, Land of My Birth in 1978, Proud to Jamaican in 1984 and Big it Up in 1993. In 1995 he scored again with Join the Line and then Peace and Love in 1997.
His visit to Kenya comes at a time when there is a growing push to get Jamaican entertainers to look to countries in the Motherland, in particular Kenya, as a place to ply their trade, as Reggae music is well-loved there.
Earlier this year, following sojourns by Dancehall and Reggae artistes such as Konshens, Beenie Man and Popcaan – who had called for direct flights from Ghana to Jamaica – to headline sold-out concerts in sections of the African continent, suggestions had resurfaced that the Motherland is the “new frontier for the Dancehall genre” and this is where Jamaican artistes’ should place their focus.
In November 2019, Mojo Morgan of Reggae Grammy Award winning group, Morgan Heritage, had said that Africa was highly lucrative for Jamaican acts.
