Dexta Daps brings Champagne Tour to New Jersey in milestone US performance
Key Points(5)
- Tonight in Newark, New Jersey, dancehall superstar Dexta Daps’ journey in the music industry will be on full display when he takes the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
- This performance will be extra special, as it will mark what he describes as a milestone moment in a career that has taken him from the streets of Kingston to one of the most prestigious performing arts venues in the United States.
- Stepping into NJPAC carries a weight that goes beyond a typical concert stop, he shared.
- “Coming from where I’m coming from with this music, standing up on a crate to perform, to being on a stage at NJPAC,” he said.
- “When the owners tell me that only Beres Hammond has performed there as a reggae and dancehall artist, that was like, wow.” Learning about the venue’s place in reggae and dancehall history will make the moment tonight even more profound.
It is official! Tonight in Newark, New Jersey, dancehall superstar Dexta Daps’ journey in the music industry will be on full display when he takes the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This performance will be extra special, as it will mark what he describes as a milestone moment in a career that has taken him from the streets of Kingston to one of the most prestigious performing arts venues in the United States.
In a rare interview on Roadblock Radio last weekend — heard in the Tri-State on WCBS 101.1 FM-HD3; WZMX 93.7 FM-HD3 (Hartford, Connecticut); WMXJ 102.7 FM-HD3 (Miami & South Florida); and on the newly added WLZL 107.9 FM-HD2 (Washington, D.C., Maryland & Virginia - DMV) — the “Shabba Madda Pot” singjay opened up about tonight’s performance, his upcoming album, and the journey that brought him here. Stepping into NJPAC carries a weight that goes beyond a typical concert stop, he shared.
“Coming from where I’m coming from with this music, standing up on a crate to perform, to being on a stage at NJPAC,” he said.
“When the owners tell me that only Beres Hammond has performed there as a reggae and dancehall artist, that was like, wow.”
Learning about the venue’s place in reggae and dancehall history will make the moment tonight even more profound.
Fans attending tonight’s concert can expect something unlike anything he has previously delivered.
“We have to make sure the fans get something different from what we’ve been doing,” Dexta said. “We have to make sure this one is special.”
A DECADE WORTH CELEBRATING
The Champagne Tour is built around gratitude — a direct acknowledgment of the fans who have carried him throughout his career.
“Every performance is surrounded by the celebration of everybody supporting Dexta Daps for over a decade,” he explained. “It’s been over ten years now since I really got through this music business. It doesn’t feel so long, so I have to point that out to the fans and make them know, thank you so much.”
That appreciation sits at the heart of everything he is currently creating.
“I just want to say thank you so much for always believing in me and my craft,” he said. “You are the reason why I put this thing together to make sure it sounds so good.”
His latest single, “Shine,” is a release he describes in deeply spiritual terms.
“You can’t stop stars from shining through the darkness. We bring light,” he said of the song’s message.
The single is connected to a larger project in the works — an upcoming album called Toast To 10, conceived as a tribute to the supporters who have stood by him throughout his career.
“I don’t want to rush it,” he said. “It’s me saying thanks for over a decade of supporting me.”
The album is designed to showcase every dimension of who he is as an artist.
“I want to give them every angle of Dexta Daps,” he said. “I want to give them some culture, some love, some streets, some reality.”
