Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, have expressed sadness at the passing of the gospel artiste, David 'Kukudoo' McDermot. The Revivalist singer, who was diagnosed with cancer in late February of this year, passed away on Friday. He was 61.

A post on Kukudoo’s Instagram page stated, "It is with a heavy heart that we, the family of David ‘Kukudoo’ McDermott, have to tell the public that he passed this morning … at this time we ask for grace and respect in our time of grief.”

Prime Minster Holness paid tribute to the artiste on Facebook, noting that “our hearts are indeed heavy as we mourn the passing of a true original, a gifted son of Jamaica whose voice and spirit will never be forgotten".