5 Questions With Lloyd Laing
Published:Friday | September 5, 2025 | 12:05 AM
Lloyd ‘Reggaeology’ Laing is no stranger to Jamaica’s cultural and creative landscape. Raised in the breadbasket parish and educated in the “city on the hill”, his formative years were guided by grandparents who were educators in Cornwall County and inspired by uncles Dave and Errol, whose entrepreneurial spirit shaped his own. But perhaps his boldest influence came from his mother, Althea Laing – the first Jamaican woman to grace the cover of a major international magazine, Essence. From her, he inherited the drive to be daring, different and original. Those early influences helped propel him into a life deeply rooted in culture and creativity. He has been a fashion model, music insider, brand strategist, and cultural entrepreneur. With more than a decade in the international music space, Laing has carved out a reputation as one of the island’s strongest voices championing the business of creativity, reminding artistes that talent is only the beginning.
Chief brand strategist and creative director for IslandRock Entertainment Group, he continues to push boundaries and has turned his sights to film, with an AI-driven short film, Madworld.
Laing has guided artiste development, championed discussions on intellectual property ownership, and recently presented on creative brand strategy at the Music Mastery: Empowering the Sound Industry workshop, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. Following his presentation, he sat down for a quick 5 Questions With… to share more about his journey, philosophy, and why the business of music matters.
1. Did you always know you would end up in the entertainment industry, and what is the greatest lesson your mother taught you?
It wasn’t really an option – it’s in my blood. At nine years old, I was doing Michael Jackson routines at Shaw Park Hotel. At 13, I modelled for Cedella Marley. By 18, I was under the wings of Gussie Clarke. Along the way, the most important lesson my mother taught me was this: follow your dreams, learn from your failures, and build on the experience gained throughout your journey because many people talk and dream, but the real deal is to try. My drive, my dare-to-be-different attitude, that’s from my mother; everybody knows she is her own trendsetter.
2. Why are you so passionate about Jamaica’s music industry?
Jamaican music is one of the most untapped natural resources this country has to offer. Dancehall, to me, is like the works of [Jean-Michel] Basquiat – it is neo-expressionism. That is bigger than a genre; it’s a cultural movement that the world continues to look to for inspiration and innovation; from film to fashion. Dancehall is more than a musical texture – it’s part of our social fabric. So, any keen investor who sees the future of music this way, would understand or should be passionate about it.
3. At the Music Mastery workshop you stressed the business side of creativity. But what’s the key to financial success for creatives?
Intellectual property. The creative industry is about the exploitation of intellectual property. It is built on it, and owning it is everything. Understanding how you own your property is more important than the simple sale of it. If you don’t own it, you can’t sell it. At the end of the day, the music business is a business, and in any business, sales outweigh every other metric. What’s the sense in having 100,000 followers if you can’t sell 100 records? Or a trending video if you can’t draw 250 premium paying fans to a show?
4. Why is learning the business so important for Jamaican artistes and creatives?
Even if you have someone handling the business side for you, you still need to understand how it works and how it’s done right. That knowledge protects you from the pitfalls and ensures you are not blindly trusting others with your career. We see this happen too often, not only at a local level but at a global level.
5. Your project ‘Madworld’ is being called groundbreaking. Tell us more.
Madworld is a 20-minute short film and the first AI-driven text-to-video production out of the Caribbean. It’s also the first 3D CGI animated film featuring a Jamaican lead character and the first animated film worldwide with a reggae driven soundtrack. It’s set in a futuristic steampunk dreamscape, where a dying comatose girl dreams her father into a Rasta superhero, and music becomes her path home. We created it in seven weeks with the support from IslandRock Entertainment Group, SYNANIM CGI, GOJO Media Works, and singer/songwriter Keith ‘Roughhouse’ Powell. So far, the response has been phenomenal from private screenings and international trailers. The elders used to say ‘tek yuh han’ an’ tun mek fashion’ and this film embodies that spirit of making something extraordinary from what we have.