The fifth annual Jamaica International Independence Foreign Song Competition (JIIFSC) brought down the house on Saturday, July 27, at the Shiloh High School Theatre in Snellville, Georgia, with Jamaican diaspora talent on full display.
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Emerging as this year’s winner was Lee ‘Priest’ Johnson, a Conyers, Georgia resident originally from Blenheim in Manchester, Jamaica. His song Jamaica Ina Mi Blood earned him the top prize of US$8,000 (approximately J$1.28 million), a trophy, and the bragging rights that come with winning the increasingly popular contest.
Past winners Ernel and Doxology placed second with their entry If Yuh Love Jamaica Sey Yes, receiving US$4,000 and a trophy. Third place went to Boston-based Dion Knibb for My Sweet Jamaica, earning him US$1,000.
“We had an excellent turnout with intense audience involvement and kicked off the 63rd Jamaica Diaspora Independence Celebrations in yardie style,” said Dr. Garfield McCook, the event’s founder and organizer, in an interview with the Observer Online. McCook, a Jamaican-American businessman based in Atlanta, launched the competition in 2021, inspired by Jamaica’s longstanding Festival Song Contest. It is open to Jamaican artists living in the diaspora.
Other finalists in the 2025 staging included Chawlih Crux from Washington, D.C. with Jamaica Now; Lisa Blackford from Virginia with My Jamaica Home Sweet Home; IJAHKNOWAH, representing Georgia, with Yardie; and Canada’s Tania Lou with Jamaica Soul.
The event marked a spirited start to Jamaica’s Independence celebrations across the diaspora, blending music, patriotism, and cultural pride.
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