Nesbeth hails ‘great man’ Sizzla

Dancehall-reggae artiste Nesbeth has described Sizzla Kalonji as a "huge inspiration and role model" whose path he hopes to follow in achieving greatness.

The My Dream hitmaker made the glowing tribute during an interview with THE STAR at the reggae giant's Rise to the Occasion 30-year music celebration at Sabina Park on Sunday.

"Is a great man, enuh, one a di great ones and he has done so much inna di business," Nesbeth said.

"He is a great man walking a great path, and the seeds weh I and I a sew a seeds of greatness, so who is best to walk with but another great one," he smiled.

Nesbeth said it's the "love of music" which has kept quality artistes like himself and Kalonji in the business for years.

Reflecting on longevity in the music industry, Nesbeth said it's the "love of music" that has kept quality artistes like himself and Kalonji going for years.

"Of course yuh a guh come up on steep mountains, people a guh seh weh dem waah fi seh fa many reasons because dem nuh understand artistes," he said.

"Yuh cyaah explain it fi di average man fi understand it, but is the love of the music that will take us through troubled waters when we reach such crossroads," he shared.

The night wouldn't end without Nesbeth on stage. Invited by his musical brother Sizzla to join the second set, he delivered an energetic performance, blending seamlessly with the reggae legend. The audience was captivated as both artistes shared the stage, trading hits back-to-back. Nesbeth matched Sizzla's high-tempo energy with some of his finest tracks, including Success Story, Gunz Out, and My Dream.

He recalled one of his most memorable moments with Sizzla during a show in Anguilla, where they were the only two Jamaican artistes. Just before Nesbeth could perform--and right before Sizzla was set to close--the police ordered promoters to end the event within an hour.

"My team and I went to him and seh wi a go just sing one song and leave di stage gi yuh, and Sizzla seh 'No! No! No! Tek 20 minutes and me tek 40 minutes'," Nesbeth recalled.

"I will always remember dat, especially being in a grimy business where everybody want to be somebody, and they'll do any and everything in order to make sure that it's known that 'they are the one'. For that one experience, I salute him," Nesbeth shared.