A festival song competition for Jamaicans in the Diaspora was launched on December 18, 2020 by Atlanta KC Old Boy Garfield (Gary) McCook.
It employs a five Judge Panel, and it will be a virtual affair. The competition’s motto is, "Loving You From Afar."
The competition’s theme song, GIMME JAMAICA has been released on all platforms.
McCook feels that the Jamaican Diaspora has a wealth of talent to share and this competition will help to expose that talent.
The Premiere Event will be on July 31st 2021.
Thirty-four years ago, McCook left Jamaica to seek opportunities in the USA. His experience and development since has been a great one. He got married, completed a degree, and now has a beautiful family.
He is a Real Estate Broker/Owner of Georgia Dream Homes/New York Dream Homes Realty, licensed in Georgia and New York. He and his wife own a Personal Care Home, which they view as a way of giving back to their community.
McCook was moved by Jamaica’s success in Rio to release his first song, "Rio was good to me" in 2017. This Song was a tribute to Usain Bolt on his accomplishment at the Rio Olympics.
He traveled to China to record his second song, "A Lang Time Missa Chin A Run Tings" was released in 2018. The motivation for this song, was on a visit to Jamaica travelling on the North South Highway built by the Chinese. As a young man growing up in Jamaica, He remembered the Chinese being a major factor the island’s commerce and now they were again dominating our transportation sector.
His third song, "CELLELLA" was released in 2019. Cell phones have consumed our lives, we cannot live without them, and the song accentuates this fact.
The fourth song, ”Gimme Jamaica", released in 2020 is the theme song for the JIIFSC.
You may contact McCook by phone at 678-778-6335 or by mail, JIIFSC@GMAIL.COM.
Visit him on Facebook, Jamaica International Independence Festival Song Competition, and IG, JIIFSC.
The following link will provide more information.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4103818249632544&id=100000132292070&sfnsn=mo