Sumfest history

For 18 years it remained one of dancehall’s biggest unanswered questions: Could the music that once divided a nation ever become the force that united it?

Shortly after 2:00 am on Sunday that question was answered inside Plantation Cove as a Taste of Reggae Sumfest delivered an experience of history-making proportions.

Vybz Kartel and Mavado stood shoulder to shoulder on the festival’s grand stage, writing a new chapter in one of the most defining narratives in dancehall culture. The showdown was far more than an exhibition of hit songs. It was the closing of a circle that began during the combative Gully/Gaza era — a rivalry that shaped an entire generation of dancehall fans and forever altered the genre’s landscape.

Dressed for battle, but performing in brotherhood, both deejays were ready to give fans exactly what they asked for.

Without hesitation, they reached back into the catalogue that made them icons. Serving up songs such as
The Real McKoy, Real Deal, Send A Hell, the entertainers elicited loud cheers of approval from the sold-out crowd.

The tension that once defined the rivalry had given way to celebration.

Garfield Robinson

Garfield Robinson

“This a history innu,” Mavado declared.

“Memba dat,” Kartel responded before embracing his long-time rival.

“We ago gi unnu supm unnu never see yet,” Kartel continued.

For two hours they spewed hit after hit from their arsenal of songs.

For Professor Donna Hope, one of Jamaica’s foremost authorities on dancehall culture, the significance of the moment extended well beyond nostalgia.

Gully Gaza reconnect.Garfield Robinson

“Eighteen years later… We have been through many things, they’ve been in exile in different ways, they lost things, they gained things, and so the energy was different,” she reflected after the performance. “Gaza/Gully in 2008 was a very combative energy but Reggae Sumfest 2026, it was different. Their performance reminded people that dancehall culture is alive and well and Vybz Kartel and Mavado are powerful artistes that have matured and now understand the mission and are carrying it out.”

Even while revisiting songs born from lyrical warfare, the two men frequently completed each other’s lyrics, laughed together, and embraced the shared legacy they helped create. Records that once encouraged fans to choose sides became reminders of just how deeply both artistes have shaped modern dancehall.

Mavado confidently held his own with crowd favourites, including Weh Dem A Do, Top Shatta Nah Miss, Chat Too Much, Warn Dem, and Amazing Grace.

Kartel answered with equal force, unleashing anthem after anthem through Gaza Army, Broad Daylight, Kill Dem All, Done, Weh Dem A Go, Murder Informa, and Never Scared.

Female fans were delighted with selections including Love Dem, Picture Me & You, Beg You (A Touch), and Come Home, while Mavado countered with Squeeze Breast, Bicycle, Ever Blessed, When You Feel Lonely, and Never Believe You.

The surprises continued as Mavado invited Stacious to recreate their hit Come Into My Room, while Kartel called on Gaza Hindu to perform Spice’s verses on Ramping Shop and Virginity.

As they got ready to draw the curtains on their historic set, the clash songs and romance anthems gave way to messages of gratitude and faith as the deejays delivered Hope and Pray, God Is the Greatest, The Messiah, and Thank Yuh Jah.

Then came the perfect ending. Their first collaboration, Happiest Days.

“This a the first song me and him ever do,” Kartel reminded the audience. “Listen to it good and see how everything come full circle.”

Few closing songs could carry greater symbolism — history, legacy secured!