Dancehall wins big at Sumfest 2025 as Vybz Kartel Crowned King

4 months ago 17

The much anticipated ’Dancehall Night’ for the 32nd staging of the greatest show on earth, Reggae Sumfest was held on Friday Night, July 18. The event was one for the books as artistes took centre stage to deliver a slew of memorable performances and moments for the fans at the venue and all over the world.

A lot of upcoming and established acts were on the bill for the historical event as fans enjoyed some of the highlighted performances.

One of these included the perfomance of Dancehall artise, Govana, formerly known as Deablo. The artiste came with with high energy which ignited the crowd as he opened up his performance with his monster single on ‘Name Brand Duppy’. The ‘Dozen Plus Ten’ deejay was feeling it as he delved into his extensive catalogue of hit songs which included tracks such as ‘Gal Clown’, ‘Bake Bean’ and ‘Upfront’ just to name a few.

His performance was nothing short of sensational, However, the biggest moment of his performance came when the Spanish Town native brought his mother on stage to share a very heartfelt moment as he gifted her a brand new Honda CRV on set while singing his ‘4 storey’ single, a song that details the deejays journey from rags to riches.

Another performance that was a major highlight last night was that of the “Dunce Man” himself, Jamal. It was a full circle moment for the deejay due to the fact that he was performing in his backyard of Montego Bay and he wasted no time in giving the fans what they came for while performing without a live band.

The deejay started out with his single, ‘Millions’ which set the tone for the entire performance as the energy was at a high all throughout.

Firing out local hits from his discography such as ‘Balon D’or’, ‘Tru Believer’ while keeping the crowd engaged with his witty slangs and quick messages.

Even though the deejay had a short set, he shared his airtime with fellow Dancehall artiste, Qwella. After Qwella’s strong cameo, Jamal closed his performance with a motivational message along with singing his popular single ‘Time’.

Skeng was another artiste, who brought the energy with his performance as he came out in a joker themed outfit along with the face painting and green coloured hair, truly embodying the character on stage.

The deejay said, “This might be mi last Reggae Sumfest yuh understand? because mi cya tek the styling ting, mi a bad bwoy.”

After the statement, the deejay proceeded to put on a show for the viewers and patrons, beginning is set with his ‘Reverse Time’ single which lifted the mood of the crowd. The Portmore Native dug into his deep bag of hit songs, performing crowd favourites such as ‘Whites’, ‘Update’ and ’20 matic’ in his near hour-long set.

Masicka also shared his performance space and time with Dancehall Artiste, Jahshii who performed a few hits of his own along with their collaborative single, ‘Pieces’. The ‘Rich Sex’ deejay engaged the crowd some more as he closed his memorable set off with his motivational track, ‘Stay Strong’.

The Headline act was non other than the ‘Worl’Boss’ himself, Vybz Kartel who made returned to the Sumfest stage after 14 years since his last appearance. This was one of his most anticipated performance since being released from his 13 year incarceration in the summer 2024.

The deejay entered the stage Saturday morning to give the fans what they came for as he reeled out non stop hits. He started out by taking fans on a journey with him in the time machine as he performed songs and anthems from the earlier part of his career when he was known as “Blacka Kartel”.

The deejay continued to rock the crowd with hits such as ‘Any Weather’, ‘Real Badman’ along with ‘Love So’ and “Tun up the F*ck’ during his session for the ladies. The legend also paid homage to fellow artistes such as Mr Vegas and Mavado during his set as he performed their songs while the crowd sang along.

The performance lived up to the billing as it was clear that the crowd was thoroughly entertained right throughout.

The performance ended with the official crowning ceremony where the deejay was knighted as the new king of Dancehall by the Spice, the Queen of Dancehall.

In his ceremonial speech, Vybz Kartel acknowledged his supporters while also paying homage to the former King of Dancehall, Beenie Man along with his mentor and Dancehall legend, Bounty Killer.

Artistes such as Shameil Muir, D’yani and veteran Harry Toddler also had strong and impressive outings.

Although the show was largely deemed a success in some regards, a couple of reported incidents regarding crowd stampedes left a bitter taste in the mouths of patrons who were at the venue.

It is being said that these incidents took place during the crowing ceremony for Vybz Kartel and also during Tommy Lee’s set. A number of patrons were injured in the aftermath of these incidents.

Watch Govana’s performance below.