Macka Diamond gets love in Costa Rica
Working on ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ EP
IT’S ALL love for Macka Diamond when she goes to Costa Rica. The Dye Dye hitmaker did three shows on the weekend in San José, Limón and Turrialba, following a meet-and-greet event on Thursday.
“Costa Rica is like being in the music business back in the day,” Macka Diamond told The Gleaner. “By that I mean, how Jamaicans used to behave when we never used to have social media and they were excited for artistes, they wanted to meet us. Costa Ricans always treat me with a love that is different and they came out and they always support, and it’s not just older people like myself; it’s all these young people that admire me and love my songs and it’s unbelievable but it’s a good look.”
The Big Woman vs Yung Gyal singjay made her highly anticipated debut in the country in 2019, three years after the release of Play Tune, a DJ Cross dubplate-turned-hit in several Spanish and French-speaking countries. That song, plus the 2020 release Wuk Off, were greater motivation for her return to Costa Rica.
“I was booked to go there and I know because of the song Play Tune, and a second song that’s doing great there which is called Wuk Off produced by DJ Kendo – he’s also a big selector there in San José – and I think dem know I’m having a good stronghold with songs there and so they will send for me every now and then for shows. It is an experience; you’ll have to go to understand what I’m saying.”
She filmed the music video for Wuk Off on Sunday while there, and also hit the studio for some dubplate sessions. The song will form part of her upcoming Diamonds in the Rough EP to be released in August. Macka Diamond also shared that a Spanish version of the song will be released, adding that while she knew some fundamentals of the Spanish language, she only learnt the specifics for the song. But “I think I’m going to get better at it if I’m going to be pushing songs over that side.”
The entertainer has primarily been in the US since the pandemic hit to maximise opportunities for work, considering the clampdown on live events in Jamaica. Her first show outside the US over the past two years came in March when she went to South Africa for a series of shows.
“I’m heading to Jamaica soon because you know Jamaica fully open now and I have shows and a lot of stuff to do, so, we’re getting back on track, ”she said. “The COVID has had an impact on our music industry and we as artistes have to find ways to survive and that’s what I did and everything is great now, it’s back to normal with a lot of shows. I’m also going to go to Canada and all over so I want the people to follow me on my social media platforms and keep up to date.”