Tanto Irie Lends His Voice to Hurricane Melissa Relief Benefit For Jamaica

For almost 30 years, the folksy tone of Tanto Irie has been a fixture on South Florida’s Caribbean radio. Twenty-five of those have been as host of Reggae Runnins on Hot 105 FM.

On February 8, the veteran broadcaster will lend his familiar voice to the Hurricane Melissa Relief Benefit For Jamaica, a live concert scheduled for ArtsPark at Young Circle in Hollywood. Burning Spear, Third World, Glen Washington and Kumar Fyah are expected to perform.

Reggae Runnins has teamed with the Broward County Cultural Division, The Rhythm Foundation and DVCAI to promote the show which will raise funds to sustain the recovery effort in Jamaica which was hit by Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

“When Hurricane Melissa struck, the station became a central hub for recovery efforts through initiatives like I Love Jamaica and Jamaica Strong. We used the reach of our Saturday night Reggae Runnins broadcast to mobilize the community, coordinate relief supplies flown out of Miami International Airport with support from Marlon Hill, and promote benefit concerts and national recovery programs,” said Tanto Irie.

He added that Hot 105 FM has always assisted the Caribbean community in times of need. Its staff went into action in the aftermath of Melissa, a Category 5 monster that destroyed the south-western region of Jamaica, causing 45 deaths.

Tanto Irie was born in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, but raised in Trelawny parish, one of the areas devastated by Melissa. He had radio stints in Texas, New Mexico and New York before settling in South Florida in 1997.

After spells at WAVS 1170 AM and 1080 AM, Tanto Irie moved to Hot 105 FM where he made his name as host of Reggae Runnins which airs on Saturday from 10 pm to 1 am.

“What started as a three-hour music program has expanded into Reggae Runnins Live, encompassing concert promotion, artist development, and travel-based documentaries like Island Vibes,” he said. “While I continue to honor the foundation artists like Beres Hammond and the Marleys, we’ve also embraced digital streaming and social media to reach a younger, global audience.”