Dancehall Artist Grown and Sexy! -Aging Gracefully-Entertainers-

The late songstress Aaliyah once sang the undeniable words, ‘age ain’t nothing but a number’, and Jay Z recently announced that forty is the new twenty, but a lot of Jamaicans obviously haven’t gotten these messages, clearly proven when one of the hottest topics in the streets of Jamaica and on the internet, is the age of some of our top entertainers and who should retire and who shouldn’t. There is no denying that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when ones opinion is shrouded by the blurriness of senseless analysis, addressing the matter is inevitable.

Vybz Kartel recently addressed Bounty Killer as a Dinosaur, carbon-dating him as prehistoric, (when he; Kartel, is a mere three years Killer’s junior), causing the Warlord to not only get cross, angry and miserable, but also forced him to literally go hard or go home.

Dancehall diva Macka Diamond seems to be the latest victim of the age discussion, with claims on the internet that she is fifty years or older, when nothing is further from the truth. What however is really funny about this argument is that those who are making these ridiculous claims feel as if music started with them, and will end with them. So with  that said, the obvious question seems to be, what is the retirement age in the  Jamaican entertainment industry, because although some are talking, one look around and we can see that there are those inside and outside our shores who have continued working way into their twilight years, and are actually doing a wonderful job of it, so what is all the talk of age, and who is old and should retire all about, when all the real heavyweights in the entertainment industry are all grown, and still very sexy.

*Date of Birth FACTS:

LOCAL Artistes DOB                                        INTERNATIONAL Artistes DOB

Bounty Killer - June 12^th 1972 (37)                    Jay-Z – December 4^th 1969 (40)

Macka Diamond - January 12^th 1971 (39)          Mary J Blige -January 11^th 1971 (39)

Lady Saw - July 12^th 1972 (37)                          Janet Jackson – May 16^th 1966 (44)

Marcia Griffiths – November 23^rd 1949 (60)     Halle Berry – August 14^th 1966 (43)

Beenie Man – August 22^nd 1973 (36)                Puff Daddy – November 4^th 1969 (40)

Elephant Man – September 11^th 1977 (32)        50 Cent – July 6^th 1975 (34)

Sizzla – April 17^th 1976 (34)                              Snoop Dogg - October 20^th 1971 (38)

Capleton – April 13^th 1967 (43)                         Lil Kim - July 11^th 1975 (34)    

Shaggy – October22nd 1968 (41)                      Will Smith – September 25^th 1968 (41)

Buju Banton – July 15^th 1973 (36)                     Fat Joe – August 19^th 1970 (40)

Vybz Kartel – January 7^th 1976 (34)               Gabrielle Union –October 29^th 1972 (37)

Tony Matterhorn – March 9^th 1972 (38)          DJ Khaled – November 26^th 1975 (34)

Ricky Trooper – January 16^th 1965 (45)          Doctor Dre –December 5^th 1963 (46)

Anthony B – March 31, 1976 (34)                   LL Cool J – January 14^th 1968 (42)

Spragga Benz – May 30^th 1969 (40)            Ky-Mani Marley –February 26^th 1976 (34)

Mr. Vegas – December 29^th 1974 (36)            Tyler Perry – September 13^th 1969 (40)

Junior Reid – June 3^rd 1965 (44)                     Oprah Winfrey – January 29^th 1954 (56)

Now with most of the relevant ages on the table, maybe we can all agree that Aaliyah was right after all, because from the list above, it’s quite clear that age ain’t nothing but a number, wouldn’t you agree?