IMC Effect: Lost in Time

Kingston greets me like a cousin who hasn’t seen me in years: arms wide, voice loud, already telling me what I missed before I even clear customs. The heat wraps around me like a welcome-back hug, and the city hums with that Kingston electricity: part music, part memory, part mischief.

I land on Wednesday afternoon (the only journalist on the ground from our press group) and that solitude feels like a prologue. A quiet before the cultural storm. Kiwayne Jacobs from the Jamaica Tourist Board is waiting for me, posture calm, smile warm. “Where is my sign Kiwayne,” I joke. He laughes. He is the kind of man who can coordinate a press trip, a cultural summit, and a national mood without breaking a sweat. I had met him the last time I was in Jamaica, and our energy carried over. He left to grab Orlando Hall founder of Xamaica Private & Luxury Transport, and our driver for the next few days. He was relaxed, professional, and ready to navigate anything. “Simone, welcome home,” Kiwayne says, and it lands as a truth. I was home.

THE CHAIRMAN’S DINNER; A SOLO ACT WITH A STAR‑STUDDED CAST

By 7:30 p.m., I am stepping into the Exclusive Chairman’s Cocktails & Dinner, hosted by the Island Music Conference and supported by sponsors who understand that culture is not a side hustle.
I am the only Canadian journalist in the room, and honestly? I love it. It gave me time to catch up with the Jamaica Tourist Board Kingston office, people who carry the city’s cultural DNA in their cadence.

Then the room shifts, and suddenly I’m surrounded by Caribbean royalty. Kardinal Offishall (Canada’s hip-hop diplomat) gives me a nod that feels like a cross-border salute. Alison Hinds glides in, regal and grounded, the Queen of Soca in full command of her aura. Olaf Blackwood is there too, voice smooth even in casual conversation. Around them, a constellation of artists, producers, and industry strategists gather to celebrate the power of music.

The energy is bright, intentional, and deeply Caribbean.

THURSDAY MORNING; THE PRESS TEAM BEGINS TO ARRIVE

Thursday rises soft and golden. At 10:00 a.m., I meet Sidney Madden from NPR for the first time. My first thought; she has a light spirit: cute, warm, ready to work. Her energy is gentle but focused, like someone who knew exactly why she was there and what story she came to tell.

We talk. We laugh. We align. It feels like the beginning of a good partnership.

A little later, I meet Keka Araujo, and listen, the ancestors heard my cry because I met her over KFC. Jamaican KFC. The only chicken I trust on this planet. The only chicken that tastes like it was seasoned by a grandmother with a direct line to the divine. We bond instantly: over grease, over laughter, over the shared joy of being two African Caribbean women journalists on assignment in the land of our people. Keka is bold, hilarious, and unfiltered in the best way. The kind of woman who can turn a food run into a cultural moment.

By evening, Jasmine Browley arrives: Forbes, Ebony, Matador Network. Sharp. Stylish. Observant. She carries herself like a woman who knows her value and her voice. We meet at the hotel, and the team begins to take shape.

THE OPENING CEREMONY; REPORTED, NOT WITNESSED

I wasn’t in the room for the Opening Ceremony, but the official notes tell their own story:

• 9:33 a.m. — National Anthem
• 9:37 a.m. — Maylyn Dillon performs “Rise”
• 9:41 a.m. — Welcome by Orville “Shaggy” Burrell
• 9:48 a.m. — Main Address by Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport

Shaggy, the IMC Chairman, sets the tone. The sponsors: tourism partners, cultural investors, industry stakeholders, anchor the moment.
Even from a distance, you can feel the weight of it: Caribbean music is not asking for a seat at the table anymore.

THE PANELS; WHERE CULTURE MEETS STRATEGY

By the time I join the Thursday sessions, the conference is alive.
“What’s Your Brand & Is It Forever?”
Shaggy. Pepa. Alison Hinds. Lyric Bent. Simone Clarke.

Pepa cracks jokes about early career chaos. Alison speaks with the authority of a woman who has carried a genre. Shaggy breaks down branding like a man who has built an empire brick by brick. The audience is scribbling notes like tuition is due tomorrow.

FRIDAY; THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PRESS PUZZLE

Friday morning, Kyle Denis from Billboard arrives, analytical, sharp, carrying the music industry in his back pocket. He completes the press team like the final puzzle piece snapping into place.
We are five journalists from across the diaspora: Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean, each with our own lens, our own mission, our own cultural responsibility.

KINGSTON; THE CITY HAS CHARACTER

Kingston is a living, breathing character in this story. It’s the Bob Marley Museum, where the walls still hum with genius. It’s 22 Jerk, where smoke and spice tell their own history. It’s Mystic Thai, Kingston’s best kept secret. It’s the Jamaica Tourist Board, orchestrating cultural diplomacy with precision. It’s the sponsors, investing in the future of Caribbean creative economies, and it’s the people: artists, elders, students, innovators, who make the city pulse.

As Friday night settles over Kingston, the press team sits together for the first time; five journalists, five perspectives, one shared mission: to document, to analyze, to uplift, to challenge, to celebrate.
We are witnessing a cultural shift.
A Caribbean renaissance.
A story in motion.

Next episode: The Panels That Shifted the Room…