Dancehall artiste Carlton ‘Spragga Benz’ Grant has committed himself to follow up on his son’s dream, as the pain of losing a child has given him that extra push in life.

And although his son, Carlton ‘Carlyle’ Grant Jr, died under controversial circumstances in August of last year, the deejay has adopted an optimistic view.

“Well, not one day passes and I don’t think about it, but we use it (the loss) as strength to carry us on,” he said in a telephone interview.

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“He always dreamed of writing movies, so I am going to start that and him always want to have his own clothing line, so you can look out for that also,” Spragga added.

On August 23, Carlton Grant Jr was shot by policemen who were patrolling along Church Street in central Kingston.

The Constabulary Communication Network reported that about 11:50 p.m., Grant was one of two men on a bicycle whom the police signalled to stop. They complied, but a shot was allegedly fired at the police who responded and Grant was later found suffering from gunshot wounds.

Charity

In response, Spragga has launched a charity – the Carlyle Foundation, an organisation established to help needy students. Recently, a Peace and Love Life Fest concert was held at Backyaad, which was in memory of his son.

It is the second half of what has been a more conscious response the deejay has made since he lost his son. The other is a video for the song, Livication.

“That song is definitely for Carlyle and one of my close brethren name Bally. We shot a video and it was playing in the background when I was performing at Life Fest,” he said.

Grant also commended the support given to him by fellow artistes Sizzla, Stephen Marley, Queen Ifrica, Jah Cure, Chino and Wayne Wonder, all of whom have performed free on his show.

“The artistes contributed for free and I personally went around to thank them for that. I continue to give thanks for everything and looking forward to next year, where we plan to have a children’s fun day before the stage show, because we want them to feel involved,” he said.

Spragga also said that an annual figure has not yet been announced, as the foundation is in its baby stage. “We don’t really have a figure as yet, we just did the show. We not even accept any donations as yet,” he added.

‘Well, not one day passes and I don’t think about it, but we use it (the loss) as strength to carry us on.’

Source: JamaicaStar