Jakal says Medellín trip reshaped his music and long-term ambitions

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A planned music video production in Medellín, Colombia, has grown into a pivotal chapter for Jamaican rapper Jakal, who credits the city's cultural energy and open reception of Jamaicans with guiding both his newest work and the path he wants his career to take.

Jakal made the journey to the South American city to capture visuals for Sicarios, the opening track on his mixtape Crime Pay$ Vol. 4: The Pilgrimage to Medellín. The clip arrived in May under the direction of American filmmaker James Williams, who also handled camera duties on the Jamaican feature Squatta.

"It felt surreal while filming in Medellín, it was a dream come true to say the least," Jakal said. "Prior to going to Colombia, the only thing I knew about Medellín was that that's where Pablo Escobar was from."

"After visiting Medellín, I know it's now my second home. The love they have for black people, for Jamaica, Jamaicans and our culture is unexplainable," he added.

For decades, Medellín carried a global reputation tied to Pablo Escobar and the violent Medellín Cartel. Escobar's operation, which peaked through the late 1970s and 1980s, amassed vast wealth from cocaine trafficking before Colombian police killed him in 1993. In recent years, the city has worked to shift that image abroad.

Born in Montego Bay, Jakal said the idea behind Sicarios took shape after he heard Carolina Panther by American rapper Sauce Walka. "When I found out I was going to Medellín, I was listening to that song and it inspired me. So, I downloaded it, ripped the beat and did my version," he explained.

The Colombia trip has also pushed him toward recording more music with Latin flavours, with an eye on entering the active reggaeton scene across Latin America, especially in Panama and Puerto Rico.