Grown and Sexy! Entertainers Aging Gracefully....

The late songstress Aaliyah once sang the undeniable words, ‘age ain’t nothing but a number’, and Jay Z recently announced that forty is the new twenty, but a lot of Jamaicans obviously haven’t gotten these messages, clearly proven when one of the hottest topics in the streets of Jamaica and on the internet, is the age of some of our top entertainers and who should retire and who shouldn’t. There is no denying that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when ones opinion is shrouded by the blurriness of senseless analysis, addressing the matter is inevitable.

Vybz Kartel recently addressed Bounty Killer as a Dinosaur, carbon-dating him as prehistoric, (while Kartel, is a mere three years Killer’s junior), causing the Warlord to not only get cross, angry and miserable, but also forced him to literally go hard or go home.

Dancehall diva Macka Diamond seems to be the latest victim of the age discussion, with claims on the internet that she is fifty years or older, when nothing is further from the truth. What however is really funny about this argument is that those who are making these ridiculous claims feel as if music started with them, and will end with them. So with that said, the obvious question seems to be, what is the retirement age in the Jamaican entertainment industry, because although some are talking, one look around and we can see that there are those inside and outside our shores who have continued working way into their twilight years, and are actually doing a wonderful job of it, so what is all the talk of age, and who is old and should retire all about, when all the real heavyweights in the entertainment industry are all grown, and still very sexy.

*Date of Birth FACTS:

LOCAL Artistes D.O.B.

Bounty Killer - June 12th 1972 (37)
Macka Diamond - January 12th 1971 (39)
Lady Saw - July 12th 1972 (37)
Marcia Griffiths - November 23rd 1949 (60)
Beenie Man - August 22nd 1973 (36)

Elephant Man - September 11th 1977 (32)
Sizzla - April 17th 1976 (34)
Capleton - April 13th 1967 (43)
Shaggy - October22nd 1968 (41)
Buju Banton - July 15th 1973 (36)
Vybz Kartel - January 7th 1976 (34)
Tony Matterhorn - March 9th 1972 (38)
Ricky Trooper - January 16th 1965 (45)
Anthony B - March 31, 1976 (34)
Spragga Benz - May 30th 1969 (40)
Mr. Vegas - December 29th 1974 (36)
Junior Reid - June 3rd 1965 (44)

INTERNATIONAL Artistes D.O.B.

Jay-Z – December 4th 1969 (40)
Mary J Blige -January 11th 1971 (39)
Janet Jackson - May 16th 1966 (44)
Halle Berry - August 14th 1966 (43)
Puff Daddy - November 4th 1969 (40)
50 Cent - July 6th 1975 (34)
Snoop Dogg - October 20th 1971 (38)
Lil Kim - July 11th 1975 (34)
Will Smith - September 25th 1968 (41)
Fat Joe - August 19th 1970 (40)
Gabrielle Union - October 29th 1972 (37)
DJ Khaled - November 26th 1975 (34)
Doctor Dre - December 5th 1963 (46)
LL Cool J - January 14th 1968 (42)
Ky-Mani Marley - February 26th 1976 (34)
Tyler Perry - September 13th 1969 (40)
Oprah Winfrey - January 29th 1954 (56)

Now with most of the relevant ages on the table, maybe we can all agree that Aaliyah was right after all, because from the list above, it’s quite clear that age ain’t nothing but a number, wouldn’t you agree?