Tearful send-off for female dancehall artiste Keshan

Twenty-six year-old Brown – a prodigious Jamaican dancehall talent from Marlie Mount, Old Harbour – was shot dead on July 20 under questionable circumstances by her estranged boyfriend, who is a licensed firearm holder.

Several tearful tributes reverberated around the hallowed grounds in memory of “this beautiful soul” who went by the stage name Keshan.

From Bychan Bryan’s version of the 1977 Christian classical hymnal Cried Holy to Sandra Brooks delivering the Road is Rough on a very somber day, which for the most part had a dark cloud, amid light drizzle, literally hovering above.

“The family does not deserve this. The community doesn’t deserve this,” said Senator Kerensia Morrison, who was among the long list of persons who paid tribute.

She also implored those in attendance to have the courage to walk away from relationships that’s going in the wrong direction.

Brown’s schoolmates from Old Harbour High’s Class of 2010 also remembered their dear friend in song, which raised the roof of the church as several wept uncontrollably in anguish. 

Pastor Kevan Barnaby, in delivering the sermon, centred his message on the popular Psalm 23, in which he reminded the congregation that there is a higher power that they can rely upon in the most difficult of times.

‘I’ll always keep our memories in my heart,” elder sister Sallian Brown said in a pictorial remembrance. “Your death has left a heartache no one can heal but you left a memory no one can steal.”

Her death sent shockwaves throughout Old Harbour and wider Jamaica, particularly in the entertainment arena, where she was known for teaming up with dancehall icon Vybz Kartel to produce the 2015 hit single Bubble Up Yuh Body which garnered over one million YouTube views. She is also known for other songs such as Nirvana and Walk Out among others.

Her death has also generated a lot of public interest. However, it is understood that her file is still with the Director of Public Prosecution who is yet to make a ruling as to whether or not formal charges should be laid against Brown’s lover who was only warned by the police of possible prosecution. Old Harbour News has been reliably informed that the family has been denied a copy of the autopsy report because the matter is under investigation.

On the night of the incident Brown went to a Sharper Lane address where her boyfriend was said to be at. There was an argument between the two which developed into a fight, a report from the police stated. She received a shot to the head during a tussle, while her boyfriend, who managed to drive her to the hospital, is said to have been stabbed three times.

Brown's body was interred at the Thetford Cemetery, Church Pen, Old Harbour.