Dancehall's fathers make the time

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Much focus is placed on mothers, but fathers in the music industry also play an important role in the lives of their children.

Some of the fathers in the industry such as Assassin, Darrio, Konshens, Delus, Wayne Marshall and Jah Cure always seem to be spending time with their children.

This is certainly welcomed in a country where many fathers are thought of as 'deadbeat dads' or 'sperm donors'.

But in an industry that is a extremely hectic, these musical fathers certainly have to be good at time management, and on Father's Day, we take a look at the ways they achieve this.

Wayne Marshall explained that being a musician and a father calls for a lot of balancing.

"You can never be perfect as a travelling dad and being on the road for weeks at a time. But I do my best when I am here," said Marshall, the father of two sons, Giomar and Jaxen.

"When I am here, I try to spend as much time with family and with my sons ... going to school, speaking with teachers. I try to be a part of whatever is happening in their lives."

Entertainer Delus has made numerous references to his daughter Karissa, even when he collaborated with his brother Konshens for She's Happy.

He is also known to make frequents posts on social media about his daughter.

So spending quality time with his child is very important, he says.

Work and family

"You haffi know how fi do it. You haffi know how you ago share the time and arrange time fi see yuh youth. You can't deh home 24/7 and hungry and yuh youth hungry. You haffi go out and look it," he told The Gleaner, adding that he sees his daughter most weekends and sometimes during the week.

Delus has one child, but Elephant Man on the other hand, is rumoured to have many. He has been said to have as many as 27 children, but in a 2008 interview, he claimed to be a father of eight.

Nonetheless, Elephant Man says he tries his best to spend time with his children.

"To me, being a father is one of the best feeling ever cause when you look and know seh a you responsible fi all a dem likkle one deh," he said.

"The responsibility deh deh and you haffi tek care a it. Everyday, dem call. Everyday, me and dem talk, and everyday, mi spend time wid dem."