Reggae World Unity Concert 2013: Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Elephant Man & More Take Over Miami

Downtown Miami became a meeting place for several generations of Jamaican music on Sunday, January 20, 2013, when the inaugural Reggae World Unity Concert took over Grand Central Park.

Presented by Effective Entertainment Inc., the festival ran from approximately 2 PM to 11 PM and brought together reggae, dancehall, Jamaican food, arts, culture and a community food drive under a message of peace, love and unity. The advertised lineup included Beenie Man, Ky-Mani Marley, Cham, Mr. Vegas, Lady Saw, Half Pint, Elephant Man, Christopher Martin, Honorebel and Tifa, backed by Ruff Cut Band.

Julianspromos was there with Intrigue Lane hosting the coverage while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.

The resulting collection includes 11 videos, moving between performances and artist conversations throughout the day.

Beenie Man Returns to Miami

Beenie Man arrived as one of the festival's biggest attractions.

Pre-event promotion specifically highlighted that the Grammy-winning dancehall star had not performed in Miami in more than three years. By January 2013, he was already more than two decades into a career that had helped define modern dancehall, but he was also entering a new phase.

Only ten days before the concert, the Jamaica Observer described 2012 as a relatively quiet year by Beenie Man's standards, despite “Dweet Again” performing well. Beenie himself acknowledged that no artist could remain “the man of the moment” forever while making clear that he intended to push hard again in 2013.

That places the Miami appearance at an interesting point in his career: an established dancehall giant beginning another year with something still to prove.

Julianspromos captured both his performance and the conversation afterward, giving viewers the stage show and the artist immediately following it.

Lady Saw Performs “Heels On” During Its Moment

Lady Saw's appearance is especially interesting when placed back in January 2013.

“Heels On” was a current record at the time, and its music video was being launched in Kingston during the same week as Reggae World Unity. Contemporary reports had the song topping BBC Radio 1Xtra's chart as well as Caribbean and Jamaican charts.

So this isn't a later nostalgia performance of an old Lady Saw favorite. The Julianspromos camera caught the Queen of Dancehall performing the song while it was part of the current dancehall conversation.

Julianspromos also captured more of Lady Saw's stage appearance followed by a post-performance interview with Intrigue.

Together, the two videos preserve both Lady Saw's commanding stage personality and the woman speaking after the performance during a very specific moment in her career.

Elephant Man Brings the Energy

By 2013, Elephant Man needed little introduction to dancehall audiences.

Years of high-energy performances and records associated with dance crazes had firmly established the former Scare Dem Crew member as the “Energy God.”

His role on the Reggae World Unity lineup was different from that of a developing artist trying to introduce himself. Fans already knew what an Elephant Man performance promised: movement, crowd interaction and intensity.

The coverage continued offstage when Intrigue spoke with him directly.

Putting those pieces together gives a better picture of Elephant Man in 2013 — the explosive performer people came to see and the artist speaking once the stage energy settled.

Cham Was Riding Renewed Momentum

Cham arrived in Miami as an artist with history behind him but fresh momentum around him.

He had already built an international catalog through records such as “Ghetto Story,” but his position in early 2013 wasn't simply that of a veteran relying on earlier hits.

During 2012, “Wine” and “Tun Up,” featuring his wife O, had driven what the Jamaica Observer described as a resurgence in Cham's popularity in Jamaica. He was still working closely with longtime producer Dave Kelly while adapting to a changing dancehall market.

That context makes the Reggae World Unity performance a snapshot of Cham during an active resurgence rather than an artist looking backward.

Half Pint Connects the Festival to an Earlier Reggae Era

Half Pint widened the musical timeline of the festival considerably.

While much of the bill reflected dancehall's 1990s, 2000s and early-2010s generations, Half Pint brought a catalog reaching back into the 1980s reggae era.

Songs including “Greetings,” “Mr Landlord” and “Winsome” remained strong audience favorites decades later. In fact, a Half Pint concert review published just nine days after Reggae World Unity described crowds singing those songs along with him.

At Grand Central Park, his place on the bill gave the festival a direct connection to an earlier generation of Jamaican music.

That performance is important to the overall page because it prevents the story from reading as exclusively early-2010s dancehall. Reggae World Unity really did bring different eras together.

Christopher Martin Was Approaching Another Level

Christopher Martin represented a younger generation whose career was rapidly solidifying.

He had first gained national attention by winning Digicel Rising Stars in 2005, but by 2012 the talent-show label was well behind him. Songs including “Paper Loving,” “Cheater's Prayer” and “Chill Spot” had helped establish Martin as one of Jamaica's notable contemporary singers. A September 2012 review praised both his growing catalog and the maturity of his live performance.

The timing makes this footage particularly interesting.

Seven months later, in August 2013, Christopher Martin signed a multi-album agreement with VP Records, with the goal of expanding his international audience.

The Miami video therefore catches Martin before that next major industry step, already established enough for a festival bill filled with veteran stars but still approaching another level in his career.

Tifa Entered 2013 With Momentum

Tifa also belonged to the newer generation represented at Reggae World Unity.

Her 2012 run had been strong. “Hold On” reached No. 1 on MTV Base Africa's Dancehall chart for two consecutive weeks, while also charting heavily in Jamaica. Tifa described 2012 at the time as a great year for her career.

Year-end coverage singled out “Hold On” as one of the records people would remember from her 2012 output.

That means her January 2013 appearance came with genuine momentum behind it.

The video follows her performance with a conversation with Intrigue, allowing viewers to see Tifa at a point when her profile was actively growing.

Ce’Cile Talks With Intrigue

The Julianspromos coverage also caught up with Ce’Cile during the festival.

By 2013, Ce’Cile was already an established figure in reggae and dancehall rather than a new arrival. She had emerged during the 1990s, scored an early major success alongside Sean Paul on “Can You Do the Work,” and released albums including Bad Gyal and 2011's Jamaicanization.

Her conversation with Intrigue adds another established female voice to a day that also featured Lady Saw and Tifa, artists occupying very different places in dancehall at the time.

Ziggy Don at Grand Central Park

Not every conversation was limited to the festival's marquee names.

Intrigue also caught up with Ziggy Don at Grand Central Park.

Photos From Reggae World Unity Concert 2013

The Julianspromos photo gallery captures additional moments from Grand Central Park, including artists, performances and the atmosphere surrounding the inaugural festival.

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Including conversations like this gave Julianspromos viewers a wider look at the artists and personalities moving through the event instead of treating the festival as nothing more than a sequence of headline performances.

Several Generations on One Bill

The 11 Julianspromos videos capture only part of the full lineup.

Reggae World Unity also advertised Ky-Mani Marley, Mr. Vegas and Honorebel, among the performers sharing the day with Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Cham, Half Pint, Elephant Man, Christopher Martin and Tifa.

Seen from 2013 rather than from today, the mix becomes much more interesting.

Half Pint connected the stage to an earlier reggae generation. Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Elephant Man and Cham represented artists who had helped shape dancehall over the previous two decades. Christopher Martin and Tifa were part of a younger wave still building new chapters of their careers.

Reggae World Unity wasn't presenting one period of Jamaican music.

It was putting several of them in the same park.

More Than a Concert

Music was the centerpiece, but organizers intended Reggae World Unity to be a broader celebration of Jamaican culture.

The event was promoted around peace, love and unity, with Jamaican cuisine, arts and crafts, cultural information and family-oriented activities accompanying the performances.

There was also a charitable component. Organizers partnered with Rockaz Movement and Curley's House of Style to collect food and donations for people in need across South Florida.

That helped distinguish the day from a standard club concert. Grand Central Park became a place for music, culture and community from afternoon into the night.

Intrigue on the Ground in Miami

Throughout the event, Intrigue Lane handled the Julianspromos hosting and artist conversations.

She moved between the performances and interviews while Julian C. Hackett handled the camera and later edited the coverage.

The format allowed each artist to have room rather than squeezing the entire day into one short recap.

Beenie Man could perform and then speak afterward.

Lady Saw's “Heels On” performance could stand on its own.

Elephant Man could be seen both onstage and in conversation.

Christopher Martin and Tifa could move naturally from performance into interview.

And Ce’Cile and Ziggy Don could be included even without their stories being reduced to a few seconds inside a general highlights reel.

From the Julianspromos Archives

Viewed together, the 11 Julianspromos videos from Reggae World Unity Concert 2013 capture something bigger than one afternoon of performances.

They preserve Jamaican music at a particular moment.

Beenie Man was entering another chapter after more than two decades in dancehall. Lady Saw was performing “Heels On” during the same week its music video was being launched. Cham was carrying renewed momentum from “Wine” and “Tun Up.” Tifa entered the year after a strong 2012, while Christopher Martin was only months away from signing with VP Records. Half Pint brought songs and history reaching back to an earlier reggae generation.

Those different career stages all crossed paths at Grand Central Park on January 20, 2013.

With Intrigue Lane hosting the Julianspromos coverage and Julian C. Hackett shooting and editing the footage, the collection now lets viewers move through the festival artist by artist — hearing the songs, watching the performances and listening to conversations from that exact period.