DAVIE — Miramar-based VP Records announced that it will host a series of events this weekend to mark the launching of a four-disk collection of reggae music curated by Jamaica’s former Prime Minister Edward Seaga.

The tour will include a music symposium hosted by Howard “Flagga” Duperly of WDNA radio at which Seaga will discuss Jamaica’s music legacy and his role in promoting the industry.

Invited guest speakers include reggae singers Etana, Morgan Heritage, Derrick Morgan and Pluto.

The session will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 29, in the Knight’s Auditorium of Nova Southeastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship in Davie.

From 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Seaga will meet and greet fans while signing copies of the boxed set, Reggae Golden Jubilee – Origins of Jamaican Music, at VP Records, 6022 SW 21st St., Miramar. 

The collection features deluxe packaging resembling a hardcover book, extensive liner notes and 100 of the island's most celebrated hits from artists such as Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Yellowman, Shaggy, Buju Banton and Sean Paul.

Seaga, who will have come from a two-day whirlwind promotional tour in New York City in late October, is credited with playing a major role in the development of Jamaica’s music industry during the 1960s ska movement.

Born in Boston to a Jamaican-Lebanese family, Seaga graduated from Harvard University in 1952 with a B.A. in Social Sciences. In 1955, he supervised the recording of an album of ethnic music on the Folkways label, a project that grew out of scholarly research.

In the late ’50s, Seaga founded his own label, WIRL (West Indies Recording Limited) and signed Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, Slim Smith, and the duo Joe Higgs and Roy Wilson, who scored the 1959 ska hit Manny Oh which sold more than 30,000 copies.

After becoming a Member of Parliament, Seaga sold WIRL to Byron Lee, who renamed it Dynamic Sounds Recording which is now a popular studio for international stars ranging from Paul Simon to Eric Clapton.

For more information, contact VP Records at 954-378-4000 or fl.promotions@vprecords.com