Beat Street unveiling

It was a historic gathering last Sunday at North Parade when signboards with plaques honouring the contributions made to the Jamaican music industry by Vincent and Pat Chin of Randy’s Records and VP Records; Sonia Pottinger of Tip Top Records; Joe Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Studios; and Winston Riley of Techniques Records were unveiled. It was the highlight of the second annual Meet Us On Beat Street festival put on by the Sounds and Pressure Foundation in partnership with Kingston Creative, to promote downtown Kingston as a cultural tourism destination, that gave birth to the Jamaican music industry.

Celebration

In the picture celebrating the occasion are (from left) , Colin Leslie, director, Sounds and Pressure Foundation; Deputy Mayor of Kingston & St Andrew, Winston Ennis; David Plummer representing celebrant Sonia Pottinger’s family; deputising for Minister Olivia Grange, Jo-Anne Archibald, principal director, Culture and Creative Industries Policy in the Ministry of Culture Gender Entertainment and Sport; Julian ‘Jingles’ Reynolds, chairman, Sounds and Pressure Foundation; Pat Chin, celebrant; Trevor ‘Leggo’ Douglas, director, Sounds and Pressure Foundation; Cheryl ‘Fox’ Osbourne, Sounds and Pressure Foundation; Chris Chin, CEO of VP Records; Roy Black, director, Sounds and Pressure Foundation, and Andrea Dempster Chung, president, Kingston Creative. Sponsors were VP Records, Randy’s, Continental Enterprises, Ministry of Culture. Gender, Entertainment and Sport, andKingston & St. Andrew Municipal Corporation; and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.