LIME opens portal for Marley

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

On Wednesday evening, LIME Jamaica Chairman Chris Dehring announced that the telecommunications company has opened up a portal for deejay Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley, its newest brand ambassador. However, he also made it clear that as content from Jr Gong is available on smartphones and other mobile devices on the LIME network through limeportal.ogangi.com, Marley is also opening up a portal for LIME in the two-year partnership.

"We are talking about a huge global brand named Damian Marley ... . Obviously, this is a huge brand. It is a larger brand than LIME," Dehring said in the brief open-floor section which followed the launch. "We are hoping to use Damian to reach the entire global village," Dehring said.

However, the opportunity goes both ways. Marley, who will also make appearances at LIME events and stores across the region over the two years, pointed to the dramatically changed structure of the business of music. "The traditional way of doing things is not the way they were then," Marley said. "I don't think anything like this has been done before in any genre, not only reggae," he said, underscoring the groundbreaking nature of the deal.

Jamaica Reggae Industry Association's Michael 'Ibo' Cooper put historical context to the announcement, remembering the days when Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were "walking up and down in Parade with their attachés, trying to get a corporate deal and it was not happening". Now, Cooper said, it has reached the stage where the 'boogo yagga music' is getting corporate sponsorship.

He congratulated LIME on the move, but noted in the spirit of Garvey that we must use our propaganda medium to spread our propaganda. "Utilise the LIME sponsorship and relationship in the most positive way to advance the self-esteem of a people. Your father would be proud of you if you do that," Cooper said.

Marley's finely honed deejay skills were on display at the launch, live and recorded. For the former, he deejayed without music and then leapt nimbly astride the rhythm to 'set up shop' as it started abruptly. And the audience was witness to the premiere of the video for his song Affairs of the Heart, a preview of the Marley content that will be available through LIME's portal.