The magnificent nine
JAMAICA’S FOOTPRINT on the international stage is much bigger than its matching land mass. Our creative industries, as one sector of production, remain in a nascent stage because successive governments see them as nothing more than window dressing.
It is this reality why the Mediamix Doctor Bird Awards (MDBA) is being relaunched to celebrate Jamaicans who continue to add value to the stock of Brand Jamaica via the creative industries and honour nine living practitioners while paying homage to those who paved the way.
The first award is in honour of two men who were the foundation of what became Jamaican popular music – Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd and Duke Reid.
The 2018 Doctor Bird Award for Music goes to Gussie Clarke of Anchor Studios.
Gussie Clarke has carried the Coxsone-Duke Reid baton by being possibly the most prolific and successful music producer in Jamaica. Gussie’s producer’s baton has coaxed a myriad of Jamaica’s hitmakers. Since 1988, his own studio, MusicWorks, remains the favourite stamping ground for some of the best in Jamaica’s music arena.
BUILDING BRIDGES
One Jamaican whose epitaph is present in the capital city is the late Denny Repole, who created the high-rise profile of New Kingston. The 2018 Doctor Bird Award for Architecture goes to Evan Williams, in honour of Denny Repole.
Since being a co-founder of