‘Stitchie was a beloved soldier of Christ’

The music fraternity – both gospel and secular – is mourning the passing of legendary dancehall and gospel singer Cleve ‘Stitchie’ Laing. The entertainer, 63, died on Monday morning while a patient at the Kingston Public Hospital. Stitchie was admitted there last Thursday after being diagnosed with a low blood count.

His wife Sophia, in an interview with THE STAR on Sunday, made an appeal for blood for the Wear Yuh Size entertainer. However, he passed away on Monday, September 28, the day before his birthday.

Stitchie had suffered a life-threatening brain haemorrhage in August 2024, at which time it was stated clearly by his family that “the road to full recovery will be long and challenging”. He was a resident at a private, long-term rehabilitation facility which provided the specialised therapy and care that he needed.

A GoFundMe campaign raised close to US$38,000, of a goal of $100,000, to help offset expenses related to securing the rehabilitation facility and ensure that Stitchie received the care he needed.

Cleve ‘Stitchie’ Laing, who formerly used the moniker Lt Stitchie, when he ruled the dancehall space, made a conversion to Christianity following a car crash in August 1997 while driving to Montego Bay to perform at Reggae Sumfest. Reports are that against medical advice he went on to perform as scheduled, after which he was given a Gideon Bible by a Canadian boy.

His bio states that after reading the Bible in his hotel room he became a Christian, and soon distanced himself from his dancehall songs to work in gospel reggae. Although he completed a further dancehall album, Raw Episode, he reportedly refused to promote it.

Stitchie was one of a group of reggae and dancehall artistes who, between 1994 and 1997, walked away from the secular stage and wholeheartedly embraced gospel-reggae.

“God called us all during those years,” Judy Mowatt, who was a member of Bob Marley’s backing trio, I-Three told The Gleaner. “Junior Tucker, Papa San, Carlene Davis, Chevelle Franklyn, Stitchie and myself … we were all converted.”

Mowatt, who is a gospel minister with a vibrant solo career, stated that “God did not save the singers only… . He also saved their musicians and back-up singers. It was a general gospel sweep”.

Adding that that period must go down in history for being special, Mowatt commended Stitchie for his optimism as a Christian soldier and also for his outstanding lyrical content.

“Stitchie was a very intelligent man. As a former schoolteacher, his lyrical content was on point, dealing with matters intelligently. He was careful about his legacy, and so he wrote his book himself. And Stitchie was a man who loved the Lord,” Mowatt said.

She shared a personal memory with The Gleaner about an incident decades ago when she, Stitchie and some musicians were flying home after performing on JapanSplash, and the impact that conversation had on her.

“Stitchie and I were in first class, and he was talking to his musicians and was questioning [about] His Imperial Majesty (HIM) being Christ. He said that HIM is Christ-like, but he is not Christ. At that time, I was going through my own convictions and what he was saying helped me to even solidify my convictions even more,” Mowatt shared.

She recalled that during the early years, she, Stitchie, Papa San and others who got converted around the same period, even made visits to inmates on death row, and they also boarded an all-island Gospel Train series of concerts spearheaded by Tommy Cowan.

“The Lord also gave me a compilation album to record, titled Soldiers of Jesus Christ,” Mowatt said. “The ‘S’ is for Stitchie and San; the ‘J’ for Junior and Judy, and the ‘C’ for Chevelle and Carlene. This was to musically document His calling on our lives,” Mowatt said.

She continued, “I have great memories that I will cherish because they are real to me in my transformation … and because we did it together. Stitchie, a beloved soldier of Christ, will be missed.”

Stitchie’s first album in the gospel reggae style, To God Be the Glory, was released in 1999, with further albums following in a similar style. In 2002, he won the ‘Outstanding Male Reggae Vocal Performance of the Year’ award at the Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards. In 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Cornerstone Christian University in Orlando, Florida, and in 2016 he was officially inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame.

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness hailed Stitchie as “one of Jamaica’s greatest DJs of the dancehall genre”, who “could very well have been described as one of Jamaica’s best storytellers and humourists”.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding, in a tribute posted on social media, stated that “Lt Stitchie [was] a beloved son of Jamaica whose talent and music touched lives at home and across the world”.

“His contribution to Jamaican music and culture will forever be remembered, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations,” Golding said.

In 2021, Stitchie was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com