Jamaica’s Undisputed King of Mix-Up Culture…
Perhaps had it not been for the recent pandemic and the unplanned and unwelcomed necessity to quarantine for weeks and months, the virtual entertainment business might not have caught on with Jamaicans. The Jamaican culture encourages freedom and expression and part of that is rooted in the history of the music and the indigenous nature of the people. This means largely that with a restriction in place and no parties to attend, they find innovative ways to entertain themselves and others, still with the premise of the culture in mind. It was no surprise therefore when many Disc Jocks and entertainers from the Caribbean island used their talents and resources to make the best of the lock down by conducting their versions of ‘Club Quarantine’ made popular by D-Nice, a renowned U.S based DJ, followed and supported by the likes of Michelle Obama, Beyonce and Oprah. It might be fair to say however that D-Nice wasn’t really the trendsetter for New York based DJ Dwayne Beswick, who popularly goes by the moniker Lava Sound.
Dwayne a long time sound man and entertainer has had a colorful history with his Jamaican fan base ever since he came to prominence.What might have set this no holds-barred, jovial but pointed DJ apart from his peers earlier on in his career is his ability to use controversy and female engagement to his advantage. But depending on who you ask, part of Lava’s current rise to fame may be his unrivaled and unrestricted access to Jamaica’s current King of Dancehall, the incarcerated yet prominent Vybz Kartel, who incidentally just released his latest body of work, ‘Dons and Divas’, a critically acclaimed album he produced from behind bars. Lava may hold the title of being Kartel’s preferred music man.
Lava is now known for much more than being associated with the purported king of the ‘Gaza Empire however’, he can now easily be called the king of Jamaican Mix-Up entertainment with his hit Quarantine show, ’Chat and Laugh’, a very candid, sometimes vulgar and definitely entertaining tribal concoction of pure Jamaican gossip and drama, unmatched brassiness and sometimes cringe-worthy verbal beat downs. His followers are loyal and can be lethal with their words and emotions as are most of his guests; but they come back week after week to gobble up the drama and all its trimmings . He manages to carry the show for hours at a time giving the virtual floor to anyone who is ready to ‘talk up di tings dem’ (a Jamaican saying for bare it all) for his legions of followers who will listen. Like many of the shows we have come to partake of, Chat and Laugh is an Instagram Live showcase Lava hosts three times per week and based on his scores of followers, that sometimes maxes close to forty thousand per show, this show is here to stay.
As much as the DJ likes for his guests to be open and transparent, not much is publicly known about Dwayne and his life outside of his entertainment domain. One thing is for sure, the proverbial internet entertainment has found its way to his neck of the woods and he seems to be enjoying it. It may be for that reason why the recently debuted international reality show Dancehall Divas is counting on the show to expand its potential audience reach. The show premieres September worldwide.
To learn more about Lava, visit his instagram here. Please be advised that the link may contain mature content.
