Well-known artiste manager and Jamaica Reggae Industry Association director Apryl McIntosh-Smith went to Spain to help open doors for Caribbean music. Her sudden death there on Saturday has left the Jamaican entertainment industry reeling—and reggae singer Ras-I mourning the manager he considered family.
In an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, Ras-I remembered a manager whose role in his life extended far beyond business.
“Still can’t believe this is real. You had so much more to offer this world. A mother, a protector and a big sister in one, he wrote.
“We laughed, we fussed and then we figured it out as a team and, above all as a family. Jah see and know Apryl it doesn’t feel real not one bit. Always love, Bossy.”
Other artistes such as Kabaka Pyramid, Mortimer, Romain Virgo and Lila Iké mirrored the general feeling of shock and sorrow.
The CEO of Niche Entertainment Group and director of education at JaRIA was in Gran Canaria representing Jamaica at WOMEX 2026 as part of the Caribbean Women in the Business of Music delegation.
Her company was among eight women-led music businesses selected for the mission, described as “an opportunity to connect, collaborate and build new possibilities for Caribbean music internationally”.
For McIntosh-Smith, the trip aligned with her work in artiste development, music business education and helping Jamaican talent reach wider audiences. But the tributes following her death also speak to the personal relationships behind that work.
For JaRIA chairman Ewan Simpson, told the Gleaner that the news was especially difficult to process: he had spoken with McIntosh-Smith the night before her death.
“I spoke with her the night before her passing. She was updating me on some JaRIA Awards matters and she advised that she was out of the hospital. She informed me that she was hospitalised due to her reaction to mould in a previous hotel room and that she had been suffering from some effects of that,” Simpson said.
Simpson’s account describes what McIntosh-Smith told him about her hospitalisation; it does not establish the cause of her death. No confirmed cause was provided in the information available.
He said the JaRIA family “has been plunged into shock and disbelief at the sudden passing of our education director”, adding that members had been “cheering her along as she represented us all at WOMEX”.
For an industry that had been following her international mission with pride, the weekend brought an abrupt shift from celebration to mourning. For Ras-I, the loss was captured in the three roles he said she held: mother, protector and big sister.
