What happened at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 11 and 12 wasn’t just the biggest dancehall concert in New York City history — it was a cultural reset, witnessed by 40,000 fans across two unforgettable nights. Reggae Fest Presents: The Return of Vybz Kartel was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and at the center of it all was CJ Milan, the visionary orchestrating the chaos, surprises, and seismic moments behind the scenes.
In this exclusive post-show interview with World Music Views, the New York native breaks it all down — and makes one thing clear:
“Put some respect on dancehall’s name.”
Coming off a high from Friday’s epic performance, Milan revealed the team had to pivot hard after noticing Vybz Kartel’s voice was strained going into night two.
“After that amazing performance Friday night, we noticed Kartel’s voice was a little hoarse,” CJ explained to WMV. “So on Saturday, we didn’t get too much sleep. We just had to go into emergency mode — we didn’t know how his voice was gonna hold up.”
From there, everything was improv — but the kind that turns out to be historic.
“We just said, ‘Hey,’ TJ (music producer and Kartel’s manager) had connections, I had connections, artists were hitting us up — we had to make it work. That’s where TJ’s mastermind came in, thinking about ‘Ramping Shop’ and all that. We were building the show on the fly.”
Always ten steps ahead, CJ also had a plan to surprise Kartel with a few major artists but the second night’s lineup became a cultural summit. YG Marley, Jah Vinci, Blak Ryno, Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Rvssian, Lil Kim, Shenseea, Moliy, Skillibeng, Spice, Chronic Law, and Kranium all took the stage.
“That was me,” she said laughing. “Moliy’s team hit me up and I said wait a minute… I hit up my friend Mo and said I need Shenseea and Skilly (Skillibeng) on these tracks. That song is hot. I said, ‘Get them!’ I already had Shenseea lined up for another date, but I needed them all for this night.”
The ever-loyal Spice, whom CJ calls family, was instrumental in helping Kartel relax and regain control of his vocals on both nights. Whatever was needed, Spice delivered — her presence alone reminded everyone why she’s the Queen of the genre.
“Spice is the one who always has our back. Whatever we need — she’s there. She’s family,” Milan said.
Backstage was tight, but the love was everywhere. Lil Kim’s appearance to sing ‘Lighter’s Up’, CJ says, was just Brooklyn being Brooklyn. They were winging it, but somehow, it worked. What looked spontaneous was actually anchored in years of experience.
“I had other hip-hop artists who wanted to perform, but backstage was packed. But the love? It was everywhere. Little Kim — let me tell you — that was just Brooklyn love. We were winging it, but it worked.”
If you felt the beat drops syncing with fire cues perfectly — that wasn’t by chance. That was CJ, a trained drummer on the boards, literally cueing pyro with the rhythm.
“I used to produce. I used to play drums. So I was hitting those beat drops like I was drumming with my fingers. When you saw me cueing the pyro? That was muscle memory.”
CJ had flown to Jamaica last year to lock in Kartel for the show, and in that process, built a deep bond with his team. Everyone operated like family. They spoke the same language — creatively, logistically, and emotionally.
“We were speaking to each other like family. They understand me. I understand them. They know my creative side and know I’m gonna figure it out. And we did. For the culture.”
Despite the last-minute changes and vocal challenges with the headline act, the second night ended up being the one people are calling historic she says, because of the big musical cameos and star studded moments.
“I was nervous. I asked people after, ‘What do you think?’ They told me, ‘CJ, you got a win. This came together perfectly.’”
She wasn’t sure how the dancehall crowd would take to the hip-hop moments but she went with her gut instincts.
“I was nervous, but the choice of hip-hop was perfect. (They were all Brooklyn artists.) It made sense. Everyone loved it,” she reflects.
Reggae Fest is a year-round party and concert series. And now, with Barclays in the rear view, she’s setting her sights on what’s next.
“Let me tell you — Labor Day Weekend. People need to book their tickets now. We’re doing this for the culture.” At the after party she put the question to Kartel, “are you going to be here for Labor Day?”
Amid the global rise of Afrobeats, CJ wants the world to remember who laid the groundwork and is committed to taking dancehall to the next level with big shows and big headline acts.
“They Forgot, But We Reminded Them,” she quipped.
“Everybody been praising Afrobeats — and it’s dope — but they forgot who’s been holding it down since the ’90s. From then to now, dancehall’s been here. This weekend, we reminded them.”
With the success of Reggae Fest and her partnership with Live Nation, Milan is not just the biggest female reggae promoter in the U.S. — One of the Biggest, Period
Despite the spotlight, CJ remains grounded — but proud of what she’s building.
“They can say ‘female promoter,’ but let’s be real — I’m one of the biggest promoters out right now, period. And I’m doing it for the culture.”
And yes, ‘put some respect on dancehall’s name,’ she said one more time.
