Dancehall Veteran Frankie Paul dies at 52

Veteran reggae/dancehall artiste, Frankie Paul, died earlier this morning. The Gleaner, reported on Monday that the singer, whose popular original recordings include Kushumpeng, Alicia, Worries in The Dance and Big and Ready with rapper Heavy D and Supercat, as well as covers of Sarah and Head To Toe, was in dire straits at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). His sister, Tisha Clarke, said then "he's not doing well. His state is really bad.” Frankie Paul, whose professional music career goes back to the 1980s, working with producers Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes and Lloyd ‘King Jammy’ James, had been hospitalised since last month, With his kidneys failing, he had required dialysis twice weekly at a cost of $20,000 each. His bill up to that point had been $1.4 million. The visually impaired singer, famed for his rich vocal quality, was born in 1965. His last performance in Jamaica was the Alive and Well concert at House of Dancehall, Cargill Avenue, St Andrew, last October. A fund-raiser to buy a prosthetis after his right foot was amputated in January, it was poorly attended. Then, Frankie Paul told the audience “Back in time, not long ago, when I had complications of my own, I just took it like a man and went through it, prayed to the Most High every day that I would overcome the tribulations, trials, pain and agony." Before that, Frankie Paul performed at Startime at the Mas Camp, National Stadium, St Andrew, in January 2017. via Jamaican Gleaner