A few years ago, I wrote a story about how political parties in Jamaica utilize reggae and dancehall music to drive political campaigns to win elections. After doing a presentation about the phenomenon on a radio program a few weeks ago, I decided to reprise parts of the story here.
From Jamaica’s fiery campaigns of the 1970s to the 2025 general election, dancehall and reggae songs have powered rallies and sometimes even changed history. The PNP under Michael Manley elevated this technique throughout the 1970s, delivering a slew of election related hit songs.
One big tune that helped to redefine party leader Michael Manley’s campaign was Neville Martin’s song titled “The Message,” sometimes called, “My Leader Born Yah.” The song celebrated Manley’s political accomplishments and birth in Jamaica while condemning Edward Seaga’s birth in the USA. The song’s potent lyrics,’ My father born ya. My grandmother born ya. I and I born ya. My leader born ya. That’s why I nah leave ya,’ remains one of the most popular political songs ever recorded. Delroy Wilson’s ‘Better Must Come,’ struck a familiar chord among PNP followers as well. It too became an anthem during Manley’s rise in the 1970s. Years later Shaggy’s “Strength of a Woman” was successfully used to get female voters out. The song which was associated with Portia Simpson Miller’s campaign, symbolized female empowerment.
The JLP powered their campaign, enlisting the support of popular artists and songs to bring momentum and relevance to election campaigns as well. In 2016, the Andrew Holness led administration made political inroads utilizing Alkaline’s “Champion Boy.” The song, which was not created as a political song by Alkaline, was used nevertheless by the JLP as a campaign anthem and helped to energize party supporters and won over some young voters.
In 2018, an entertaining and memorable moment happened in political history at Famous Night Club in Portmore at a ‘sound clash’ between political rivals Daryl Vaz of the JLP and Damion Crawford of the PNP. During the clash, Crawford playfully ‘dun’ Vaz with a series of custom dubplates that went viral. A dubplate by then incarcerated DJ Vybz Kartel’s “Mih nuh se’ JLP, mih nuh se’ PNP, mih se’ Selassie I till mi see end” earned raved reviews and was a highlight of the clash.
By 2020, Jamaican politics had started to tap into the growing popularity of social media reimaging sound system dubplate by popular recording artists. Customized songs from dancehall recorders like Spice, Beenie Man and Shenseea helped both parties mobilize voters, particularly at political rallies held across the island.
For the recently concluded 2025 elections, both major parties once again leaned heavily on the power of dancehall music. The ruling JLP’s engaged dancehall star Mr. Vegas, Valiant, Masicka, Shenseea, and Skillibeng, while the PNP was supported by Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Vybz Kartel and Spice which ensured that their campaigns had popular soundtracks at political rallies.
The PNP campaign song that was used to power their 2025 campaign was a re-recording of the classic reggae anthem, “Blood and Fire”. The updated version of the song was widely circulated on social media at home and here in the diaspora and was a party anthem at meetings and rallies. The lyrics were a rallying cry against corruption. The popularity of the song was evident in one viral video that featured supporters of both political parties dancing to the song in Jamaica. A friend later told me some JLP supporters went further saying the song was so infectious, ‘it lived rent free in their heads.’
Reggae and dancehall’s influence on politics is no longer confined to Jamaica. In 2018, a dubplate of Nadine Sutherland’s hit “Action” was repurposed during the U.S. midterm elections to drum up Caribbean-American support for then-vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, whose father is Jamaican. It was one of the clearest examples of Jamaican cultural capital being imported into U.S. politics.
While some dancehall and reggae acts volunteer their songs and image to political campaigns, not every song that is used in politics is endorsed by the artists themselves. Years ago dancehall group T.O.K. objected to the use of their song “Chi Chi Man” being used without permission given it was labeled homophobic by LGBT advocates. At a political conference in Clarendon in May this year, Member of Parliament Daryl Vaz was seen in a viral video requesting the playing of the controversial “Chi Chi Man” song. The incident garnered some public condemnation.
Now that the 2025 General election is behind us, it remains clear that in Jamaica, the ‘get out the vote campaign’ engaged by both political parties will always have a dancehall or reggae soundtrack powered by a custom dubplate.
