Reggae icon Beres Hammond, known for hits such as Rock Away, They Gonna Talk, and I Feel Good, will receive an honorary degree from the University of the West Indies.
Beres joins fellow icons Rita Marley and Jimmy Cliff as music presented with honorary degrees.
The UWI announced that during its graduation ceremony at the Mona Campus in Kingston between November 3rd and 4th, the Putting Up Resistance singer, whose full name is Hugh Beresford Hammond, will be among four Jamaicans who will receive honorary degrees.
The university in highlighting why he was chosen for the award, the UWI noted that the St. Mary native, who was presented with the Order of Jamaica in 2013 “for his exceptional and dedicated contribution to the Jamaican music industry”, “has thrilled generations with his smoky-sweet voice” throughout his five-decade career.
In continuing its veneration of Hammond, the UWI said that “his spontaneous method of composing, and unwillingness to compromise on the quality of his sound, made a home studio the natural choice for many and continues to attract a steady stream of Jamaica’s most talented musicians”.
