Marley magic at Smile Jamaica
Monday, February 25th, 2008It was as if Julian, Ziggy, Damion, Stephen and Ky-Mani were channelling various personas of their father Bob, who the world hails as one of its greatest performers, inside the Smile Jamaica Africa Unite concert, held last Saturday on James Bond Beach in Oracabessa, St Mary.
The performing brothers joined their eldest brother Ziggy – who had just completed his solo set (Let Jah Will Be Done; Melody Maker anthems Tomorrow People and Look Who’s Dancing; Love Is My Religion) – on stage at about 4:30 am yesterday morning. And it was as if Bob himself were reincarnated before the seemingly still-not-daunted audience – most of whom, were on their feet since 8:00 pm Saturday night.
The colours of Rastafari emblazoned on flags, soared above heads, while screams of approval solidified the welcome which audience members showed for Stephen Marley’s rendition of Rat Race, followed by Ky-Mani on Road Block and Damion ‘Junior Gong’ Marley on his delivery of War.
 |
| American R&B singer John Legend dancing with a woman he plucked from the VIP section of the audience. |
A couple more tracks from their late father’s repertoire followed before young Gong brought the crowd to new heights with his version of Exodus, complete with fire rapid rhyming and compelling beat. He continued to hold the audience’s attentions with Welcome to Jamrock from his Grammy-winning album of the same name, as well as Mission.
The indomitable Bunny Wailer, the only surviving member of The Wailers, also shared inflections of the man whom he called friend. Wailer, clad in white satin with red, green and gold detailing, paid tribute to Marley by performing several of his songs including No Woman No Cry as well as post-Wailer material.
All the while, the banners continued to fly.
“Sometime we categorise artistes. This man yah transcend all categories. We want to give you the man dat seh Ordinary People,” said formidable MC Mutabaruka in his introduction of American R&B artiste John Legend. The introductory chords of Get Lifted from his 2005 debut album of the same name elicited screams among the audience, even as the stellar performer stood front of stage to greet his fans.
“What’s Up Jamaica?” Legend asked before singing Save Room and Slow Dance, from his sophomore album Once Again. On the latter track, Legend invited an all-too eager ‘empress’ to the stage to accompany him in dance.
“Sometimes we don’t mind doing it in public. We doing it in the park tonight, y’all ready?” he posed as an apt transition into PDA (We Just Don’t Care), its rhythm remixed into a fast-pace, jerky shuffle with pounding bass.
 |
| Bunny Wailer on his rendition of No Woman No Cry. |
Settling at his on-stage Yamaha piano even as the ladies continued to scream, Legend performed his biggest hit yet Ordinary People before Stay With You.
“A know a whole heap a people a seh, ‘How him a sing Tarrus Riley song?’, said Muta of Stay With You, “A nuh Tarrus song, a fe him (Legend) song.”
Legend, whose performance was eclipsed by the then virtually unknown Life Jennings at the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues festival two years ago, gave an impressive showing and beautifully interpreted what the Jamaican audience would have liked. Still, it would have made his set more formidable had he covered a Bob Marley song . not entirely out of character for him, since on his first coming he covered Dennis Brown Revolution and it’s even rumoured that he sometimes now performs Stay With You with reggae influence.
Dancehall royalty Stone Love, more specifically selector G-Fuss, kept patrons entertained in-between the all-too long (and too many) band changes.
The American brand of R&B continued with the sounds of pop sensation and Bajan star Rihanna. She entered the stage in a gold burlesque-inspired bodice with green rhinestone detailing and tassels paired with ‘Dorothy-in-the-Wizard-of-Oz-type’ sparkling ruby shoes and of course, the trademark coiffed hair.
The image aside, the now 20-year-old singer outdid her 2006 Sumfest performance but was still not stellar, since the synchronisation between her voice and the pre-recorded tracks proved somewhat untidy; except for her opener, a cover of Marley’s Is This Love.
Notwithstanding, Rihanna’s bubble-gum-sing-along-type music, namely Hate That I Love You (featuring Neo on her latest album Good Girl Gone Bad), Shut Up And Drive and her biggest hit to date Umbrella, remixed with a rocksteady outro, found its mark.
Though the pop princess’ set was somewhat entertaining it seemed to dwindle after she mistakenly branded the St Mary locale as Kingston.
The Smile Jamaica Africa Unite concert included a host of other noteworthy performances namely Tarrus Riley; Queen Ifrica and Elephant Man whose set featured a cameo appearance by American teen prince of pop Chris Brown, among others.
The night’s bill, however, seemed daunting as the band changes were far too long and it was anyone’s guess as to which artistes were making themselves available to speak with the media.
Still, organisers must take credit for showcasing the now-internationally acclaimed brand of music that calls Jamaica its home and Marley its scion.
New York, NY (Ms. Raine Inc.): Under The ‘Continued Pursuit of Success’ motto, The NetLinkz Group, Inc., celebrates African-American History Month with the third installment of the Young, Gifted & Black (YGB) Entrepreneurial Awards, honoring outstanding, and often pioneering, African-American businesses and business owners on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at LOLA Is Soul in New York City.
We made it as a tribute to women, because African women are defined by the shape of their bottoms 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – February 18, 2008 – Elite Entertainment Productions announced today it has officially kicked-off, the Miss Florida Caribbean “Are you the One†campaign inviting eligible young Caribbean ladies between the ages of 9 – 25 years old, single, never married, nor given birth to a child; must be of Caribbean origin; and who reside in the state of Florida for a lest 6 months as of the date of 2008 Pageant.
Dancehall King, Elephant Man, will release his latest studio CD, Let’s Get Physical, on April 8, 2008. Along time in the making, the star-studded project is the first release from a new venture which joins Sean “Diddy†Combs’ Bad Boy Records with the largest independent Jamaican music label, VP Records. Let’s Get Physical features the hit lead single “Five O,†on which Wyclef appears. The remix for “Five-O†is blazing a trail with rising digital sales and has caught attention at radio with an all star line up from Swizz Beats, Assassin, Yung Joc and Diddy. “Jump,†the hard-hitting, high energy second single, also features Swizz Beats. Barbados-born Rihanna appears on the steamy dance track “Throw Your Hands Up†and Elephant Man-fan Chris Brown lends his vocals to the bouncy “Feel the Steam.†Also check out “Body Talk†featuring Dominican R&B singer Kat Deluna and female rapper Jha Jha, and the hot remix for “The Way We Roll†with Busta and Shaggy. The set is executive produced by Sean “Diddy†Combs, Chris Chin, Harve Pierre and Willie Daniels. 
International Reggae Icon, Luciano is returning to the US for a series of concerts in the West, Midwest, and Northwest Northwest region of the US beginning March 27, 2008 and concluding May 4, 2008. Mikey General and Jahmessenjah Band will also join Luciano on this tour. Fans can expect new material from his latest album, Jah Is My Navigator, in stores today, as well as classic Luciano songs.