Iconic dancehall artiste Ninja Man is gearing up to launch his own talent show in 2013 called 'The Ninja Man Star Search'.

It's no surprise the show will take the shape of a clash competition and will feature aspiring dancehall acts from Jamaica's 14 parishes.

The deejay explained that his inspiration to start the talent show was born out of his interest in preserving authentic dancehall/reggae music.

"We have our legacy, and it must be passed down to the other generation. Ninja Man is one of the greatest deejays that Jamaica has ever seen and I have been through so much trials and tribulations and I survived. I just want to pass down all I learnt and my experience to the next generation so that we can have more rounded performers to entertain people," Ninja Man said.

According to the man with arguably the most clash victories in dancehall's history, his clash show will be more about development of youth than simply deciding a winner.

"What I want to see are performers that can satisfy the people and don't just go on stage and say bla bla bla because a performance is more than that. Deejays last temporary, but entertainers last for a lifetime. Shabba is holding up the international banner for what is left of real authentic dancehall and I am responsible for the preservation of the local legacy," Ninja Man said.

a record deal

The deejay said that the winner of the Ninja Man Star Search will receive a record deal as well as a cash prize. Ninja Man revealed that he would partner with Downsound records and Bounty Killer to secure a musical home for the new talents.

"I don't have time to be a producer, so when mi find di real talent dem mi send dem to mi son Bounty Killer and Downsound records. Downsound records must also be respected locally for the work that they are doing with local music because Joe Bogdanovich cudda guh open supermarket like the rest of business people dem. Him neva haffi invest inna dancehall music," Ninja Man said.

Ninja Man said he is currently collecting names for artistes who are interested in being a part of the talent search. The competition will be hosted at Central Park, White River, Ocho Rios, and will officially commence in February. However, auditions will start as early as the second week of January.

"I can't be the number one deejay forever, so I am making sure I pass on what I have developed to the next generation. Other veterans will also be included like Josie Wales, Ghost, Skatta Burrel, Jack Scorpio, some real people who know bout dancehall lyrically and instrumentally and so much more because judges will be rotated each week plus guest judges," the Don Gorgon said.

Ninja Man can be seen in action at this year's staging of Sting, where he, along with Kiprich, is expected to go up against Tony Matterhorn and Merciless.