Words can make any emotion come alive and this was evident last Saturday night during the eighth instalment of the spoken word open mic event Talk Hard.
Some of Barbados’ most outstanding wordsmiths had the audience eating out of their hands in the intimate atmosphere of Pablo Donte’s Restaurant and Bar, Maxwell, Christ Church.
Dubbed The Poetry Poolside Edition, the event drew lyricists of diverse talents – smooth acoustic grooves, freestyle rap, love poems, bold social commentaries – and everything in between.
Damian Marvay, the former lead singer of the band Red Alarm, was the featured artist of the night.
Feet tapped and bodies swayed as he added his unique style to Barrington Levy’s Be Strong and My Time, backed by guitarist Shane Free.
He then performed some of his original work, including Be Without It and Come Close, the 2003 ragga soca piece that made his voice and name known among Barbadians.
But it was his ability to improvise and ad lib that captivated the crowd, and they hung on to every syllable.
Among those who preceded him in the first half was Blake, whose My Beliefs raised the audience’s temperature.
“A truly independent lady never feels the needs to say it,” he quipped.
Sims was however able to score a point for the males as he won the ladies over with a soft and enchanting love poem.
Brothers Sergio and Nicolai Charles took the energy in Pablo Donte’s to a new level and dropped “sick” rap lyrics as they delivered two original pieces, Music and Find A Way.
It was immediately evident where their talent came from as their mother Denise Charles performed two poems, Silence and Of Flights and Fantasies, which dealt with child sexual abuse, violence against women and race relations.
According to co-organiser Adrian Green, there were also “inter-outer-national” acts, including Michelle Browne out of Boston and Zanzy from the Bahamas.
They brought an unfamiliar but no less engaging style to an attentive audience.
Popular writer Philip Nanton was one of the highlights of the second half.
Alternative band Nexcyx also graced the stage briefly with lead singer Mahalia Philips performing Jill Scott’s He Loves Me (Lyzel In E Flat).
Green and DJ Simmons, the other half of the Iron Sharpen Iron duo, collaborated in a “christening” of the new location.
Stefan Walcott and Richard “Bill” Evans of the jazz band C4 were on hand as usual to accompany artistes while Djs Mayhem Soundz filled the gaps with 100 per cent Barbadian music.
