Post by kaya on Jul 23, 2005 19:26:08 GMT -5
The night Sizzla erupted
Lady Saw showed her religious side
MiCHAEL EDWARDS, Observer writer
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Sizzla loosed arrow after arrow from his quiver full of hits.
MONTEGO BAY, St James - On a night that had Lady Saw praising the Lord and roots reggae moralist I-Wayne delving into the profane, the 2005 renewal of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest Dancehall managed to meet both the positive and negative expectations of the bumper audience that thronged the Catherine Hall grounds to partake of the entertainment on offer.
Thursday night's showcase had all the dancehall stereotypes in effect: the revealing outfits, the silencing of the backing band by the artistes for extended "talks" with the audience, the innumerable commands to "wheel" (halt to restart) and an opening half peopled mainly by the wanna-bes, the also-rans and the eminently forgettables.
Elephant Man delivered some of the dance numbers for which he has become popular.
Among the few who managed to break out of the "talent show ghetto" were DJ-singer duo Conrad Crystal and Sugar Roy, Bascom X, Lutan Fyah.
Impersonator-parody duo Twinz of Twinz hinted at becoming more than a novelty act. Their set had an air of danger about it, but a Michael Jackson routine fell flat and other excesses in their exchanges robbed the act of its full impact. Little Hero also impressed in his brief stint.
Lady Saw gave a mixture of the salacious and the sacred.
Dancemeisters Voise Mail injected a sense of levity and fun into the proceedings at just the right juncture. They took the audience through their sundry moves before being joined by a "dancehall chorus line" for even more demonstrations.
But the night unmistakably belonged to Sizzla Kalonji, who strode onto the stage to the strains of Rise To The Occasion. Undoubtedly buoyed by the announcement, delivered by no less than hip-hop record mogul Damon Dash, that he (Sizzla) would be joining the Roc-A-Fella Records roster, the deejay was truly devastating. No other artiste on the night achieved his level of unforced intensity. Indeed, judging from the near slavish response of the Catherine Hall audience, one suspects that even if he had opted for songs from the soundtrack of Mary Poppins, they would have stayed with him.
Turbulence (left) and Sasha scored well in combination.
Of course, he had his own repertoire, and, by turns caustic and compassionate, he loosed arrow after arrow from his quiver full of hits. Regrettably, his act included the deplorable violent references to homosexuals, but if the sponsors were irked, there was hardly anything that could have been done at that stage to contain him as many in the audience had already decided he could do no wrong.
Among the other strong performers left in Sizzla's wake were the aforementioned I-Wayne, who in his zeal to attack unrighteousness, relied once too often on lines that would render his hits unfit for airplay. Assassin, recognising that the success of his forthcoming debut album was possibly riding on this occasion, delivered an impressive set that bore the hallmarks of extensive preparation. The "poor people Defenda" Chuck Fenda, suffered no apparent fall-out from his publicised falling-out with Fifth Element, taking the stage amid a pyrotechnic fusillade (fireworks, torches, lighters and the like) and closing in fine style with a tribute to his mother.
Turbulence also scored well, both in his hit combination with Sasha as well as with his breakout single Notorious.
Two female members of the audience show their appreciation for the performances at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest Dancehall Night Thursday. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)
The Energy God Elephant Man appeared a little slow out of the gate on the night, taking some time to get to the point where he was in command of the venue. He delivered some of the dance numbers for which he has become popular, but marred his presentation with crude sexual references before nearly redeeming himself with an unexpected foray into singing, closing with his take on We Are The World.
Lady Saw also closed in song. Having gone through some of her more salacious material, the "Striptease" did an about-face, declaring "not because I am Lady Saw, don't think I don't believe in God". She then rendered a gospel number declaring her devotion to the Lord. She also became her own cheerleader, with the song I'm Fine expressing her gratitude for her achievements despite "not being the prettiest".
On the other hand, Macka Diamond, in a silver [or make that "diamond"] halter, micro-mini and hair to match, was all about the money. Having debuted in 2004 with the now ubiquitous "Money-O!!" the DJ now declared that her new name was "Tief!" (a reference to her ability to con men out of money), adding she was proud of the moniker. She also saved some time for the kind of raunchy activities that helped put her in the spotlight in the first place.
The night's closer, Capleton, backed by his Prophecy band (the band Venom ably backed the majority of the other artistes) made a game attempt to justify his closing spot, but the audience had already decided who reigned supreme that night.
There were scattered skirmishes both on the grounds and backstage, and a number of the artistes also disparaged the sponsors in their desire to appeal to the audience (given the absence of dancehall headliners Beenie Man and Bounty Killer). But overall, Dancehall Night offered enough action and surprises to satisfy audience and promoters alike.
Taken From The Jamaica Observer
www.Jamaicaobserver.com
Lady Saw showed her religious side
MiCHAEL EDWARDS, Observer writer
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Sizzla loosed arrow after arrow from his quiver full of hits.
MONTEGO BAY, St James - On a night that had Lady Saw praising the Lord and roots reggae moralist I-Wayne delving into the profane, the 2005 renewal of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest Dancehall managed to meet both the positive and negative expectations of the bumper audience that thronged the Catherine Hall grounds to partake of the entertainment on offer.
Thursday night's showcase had all the dancehall stereotypes in effect: the revealing outfits, the silencing of the backing band by the artistes for extended "talks" with the audience, the innumerable commands to "wheel" (halt to restart) and an opening half peopled mainly by the wanna-bes, the also-rans and the eminently forgettables.
Elephant Man delivered some of the dance numbers for which he has become popular.
Among the few who managed to break out of the "talent show ghetto" were DJ-singer duo Conrad Crystal and Sugar Roy, Bascom X, Lutan Fyah.
Impersonator-parody duo Twinz of Twinz hinted at becoming more than a novelty act. Their set had an air of danger about it, but a Michael Jackson routine fell flat and other excesses in their exchanges robbed the act of its full impact. Little Hero also impressed in his brief stint.
Lady Saw gave a mixture of the salacious and the sacred.
Dancemeisters Voise Mail injected a sense of levity and fun into the proceedings at just the right juncture. They took the audience through their sundry moves before being joined by a "dancehall chorus line" for even more demonstrations.
But the night unmistakably belonged to Sizzla Kalonji, who strode onto the stage to the strains of Rise To The Occasion. Undoubtedly buoyed by the announcement, delivered by no less than hip-hop record mogul Damon Dash, that he (Sizzla) would be joining the Roc-A-Fella Records roster, the deejay was truly devastating. No other artiste on the night achieved his level of unforced intensity. Indeed, judging from the near slavish response of the Catherine Hall audience, one suspects that even if he had opted for songs from the soundtrack of Mary Poppins, they would have stayed with him.
Turbulence (left) and Sasha scored well in combination.
Of course, he had his own repertoire, and, by turns caustic and compassionate, he loosed arrow after arrow from his quiver full of hits. Regrettably, his act included the deplorable violent references to homosexuals, but if the sponsors were irked, there was hardly anything that could have been done at that stage to contain him as many in the audience had already decided he could do no wrong.
Among the other strong performers left in Sizzla's wake were the aforementioned I-Wayne, who in his zeal to attack unrighteousness, relied once too often on lines that would render his hits unfit for airplay. Assassin, recognising that the success of his forthcoming debut album was possibly riding on this occasion, delivered an impressive set that bore the hallmarks of extensive preparation. The "poor people Defenda" Chuck Fenda, suffered no apparent fall-out from his publicised falling-out with Fifth Element, taking the stage amid a pyrotechnic fusillade (fireworks, torches, lighters and the like) and closing in fine style with a tribute to his mother.
Turbulence also scored well, both in his hit combination with Sasha as well as with his breakout single Notorious.
Two female members of the audience show their appreciation for the performances at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest Dancehall Night Thursday. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)
The Energy God Elephant Man appeared a little slow out of the gate on the night, taking some time to get to the point where he was in command of the venue. He delivered some of the dance numbers for which he has become popular, but marred his presentation with crude sexual references before nearly redeeming himself with an unexpected foray into singing, closing with his take on We Are The World.
Lady Saw also closed in song. Having gone through some of her more salacious material, the "Striptease" did an about-face, declaring "not because I am Lady Saw, don't think I don't believe in God". She then rendered a gospel number declaring her devotion to the Lord. She also became her own cheerleader, with the song I'm Fine expressing her gratitude for her achievements despite "not being the prettiest".
On the other hand, Macka Diamond, in a silver [or make that "diamond"] halter, micro-mini and hair to match, was all about the money. Having debuted in 2004 with the now ubiquitous "Money-O!!" the DJ now declared that her new name was "Tief!" (a reference to her ability to con men out of money), adding she was proud of the moniker. She also saved some time for the kind of raunchy activities that helped put her in the spotlight in the first place.
The night's closer, Capleton, backed by his Prophecy band (the band Venom ably backed the majority of the other artistes) made a game attempt to justify his closing spot, but the audience had already decided who reigned supreme that night.
There were scattered skirmishes both on the grounds and backstage, and a number of the artistes also disparaged the sponsors in their desire to appeal to the audience (given the absence of dancehall headliners Beenie Man and Bounty Killer). But overall, Dancehall Night offered enough action and surprises to satisfy audience and promoters alike.
Taken From The Jamaica Observer
www.Jamaicaobserver.com