Minister Marion Hall Says She Believes J Capri Made It To Heaven

December will mark eight years since the world was stripped of fast-rising singer J Capri, but Minister Marion Hall rests assured that she is in heaven. 

Formerly ‘Queen of Dancehall’ Lady Saw, Hall has been tied to the late talent since being convicted at her funeral in 2015, leading to her subsequent baptism. But more eerily, last year, a self-proclaimed prophetess accused Hall of being behind Capri’s death, a vile claim that has since been expanded by some YouTubers.

While Hall withdrew her decision to take legal action against the woman, it’s a disturbing stain on her name, which explains her bringing it up during her online sermon today.

During the Live, the Sorry to Hurt Your Feelings singjay claimed that after attending Capri’s funeral, a male artist showed her photos of the Reverse It singer dressed as the devil at a costume party, weeks before the motor vehicle accident that would lead to her death. 

“I remember the young man showed me her dressed as the devil,” Hall started. “I never bring it up…but the time you all lying on me that I work witchcraft on the girl, you ask about it. She went to a costume party and she was dressed in everything…horns and the whole bodysuit…and the fork.”

Hall admitted that she knows her statements will cause controversy (déjà vu at this point for several of her sermons), but said God has prepared her for the backlash. 

“God saw that right there… You don’t know, God might have said, ‘My little girl, I’m gonna take you now’. She was signed to a record company by the name of Head Concussion…and God saw those things. You don’t know if it was gonna be worse and God said, ‘I’mma take you now my daughter cause I see where this is heading’.”

Born on Christmas Eve, Jordan ‘J Capri’ Phillips emerged on the scene in late 2010 after connecting with acclaimed producer Rvssian. Long before tropical house or dancehall trap, Capri was ahead in fusing RnB and Hip Hop with her passion for dancehall. The result bore several hybrid hits like Whine and Kotch (2013) with Charly Black, which soared to the top of the Reggae iTunes chart in France, The Netherlands, and Caribbean territories.

The music video has since racked up more than 66 million views on YouTube.

That year also saw the release of Pull Up to My Bumper with Konshens, the visuals for which have been viewed more than 52 million times cumulatively on YouTube. She also collaborated with Vybz Kartel on Mamacita (2014) and has other notable singles like Boom and Bend Over (2014). 

Doted on as the next big thing to emerge from Jamaica, prayers flowed left and right following her accident, and extended as she spent two weeks in a coma before succumbing to her injuries at age 23.

“There’s forgiveness because before she passed, she had time to speak to God in silent prayer and ask for forgiveness, cause is right there I went and God used the pastor to preach about three people who made it to heaven, so, God bless her soul,” Hall said. “I believe she made it in. Amen?”

Hall also denied reports that they were friends, clarifying that they only shared one exchange. She continued, “(A blogger) was saying I kill the girl, I obeah the girl cause the girl was supposed to be the next Queen of Dancehall. Honey, I don’t want be nuh queen of nothing on Earth, amen? And if I wanted, I would never move.”

Though her musical journey was short, Capri left an indelible mark as one of few to have successful genre-fusing projects, paving the way for offshoots like Shenseea, who also happens to work with Rvssian. 

Capri’s legacy is further immortalised through her eponymous foundation, which was launched in 2018 to help young female artists.