Nine kids, nine babymothers
DJ Force Ripe’s friends say he was a good dad
Members of the entertainment fraternity continue to mourn the passing of selector DJ Force Ripe, who lost his life in a doublemotorcycle accident along a section of the Sheffield main road in Westmoreland on May 30.
“Wi mash up since him gone. Di place remain tense. Still can’t believe,” said close friend and fellow selector DJ Macky. “He never forgot his roots, even starting his business in his community. [He was] very down-toearth and always giving,” DJ Macky said.
The 33-year-old DJ Force Ripe, whose given name is Ryan Robinson, fathered nine children with nine different women. One of his children died four months ago. “He had nine children, and yes, it is true that it is with nine different women, but he was committed to all his kids,” DJ Macky said. “Every night, he was out working. Every foreign country, he represent Jamaica. It was about making things better for his mother, his father and his children.”
He said that DJ Force Ripe was one of the top selectors on the Black Blunt Sound System out of Negril. According to DJ Macky, DJ Force Ripe had a passion for motorcycles and purchased the bike he was driving a few months ago. Three other persons, Everton Spence, Shakera Hawthorne and Kaydean Campbell, died in the crash.
“This accident has left the entire entertainment fraternity in shock. I am devastated by this incident,” popular Negrilbased promoter Sean Greenfield told WESTERN STAR. “Force Ripe was one of those yutes, even if you hate him, you still have to love him,” he said.