Yaksta opens Yakocustics stage to rising reggae and dancehall acts

Yaksta put his backing of rising performers centre stage at Yakocustics, opening the night for fresh reggae and dancehall voices to take their turn before the crowd.

On Friday, ahead of his own set at The Yakocustics – The Microphone Saved Me Album Jam Session at D’Lux Restaurant and Lounge on Caledonia Avenue in St Andrew, he brought on several newer names — among them Natural Flames, Matthew Malcolm, Tycoon52 and Pepe Dan. The slot let those acts meet listeners and pick up exposure that can be hard to secure early on.

Bishop Escobar hosted, keeping the room lively as audiences heard new Jamaican voices. Yaksta pressed the case for standing behind young talent.

“This is a Yaksta night,” the artiste said. “I wanted this night to be about me, about I — but alongside my brethren them. Some people weh dem need fi know.”

He said he steered clear of packing the bill with big-name headliners and instead made room for acts still carving out a foothold, so the session could work as a launch pad for them.

“The young acts that’s coming up, we affi give dem a platform. Instead of flooding it with the popular names everybody wants to see, me just come to showcase my talent and my passion to the fans dem in the rawest form,” he said.

That same push, he said, drives Bush Clan — also called The Tribe — a group he is shaping so newer performers can be seen and heard more widely in the business.

“I have a lot of artistes weh really and truly need people to hear them,” he explained. “So I’m just making a platform that they can also utilise to get further exposure.”

Between Yakocustics and efforts such as Bush Clan, Yaksta is working to widen doors for upcoming artistes and shore up the base for Jamaican music’s next wave.