Tired of mediocre, one marched out to recruit soldiers for Selassie I’s army.
Another lulled lovers into a tight embrace, while the one who followed kept the Unconditional Love flowing.
As they each celebrated some kind of milestone, it seemed like Chronixx, Beres Hammond and Jah Cure had their own screaming sections in the 15 000-plus crowd grooving at Digicel Reggae On The Hill on Sunday. Their conscious vibes wafted through every square inch of Farley Hill National Park, and despite the fact that the pace may have been too slow for some, the tunes resonated with die-hard rootsy reggae lovers.
In Jamaican reggae circles, Chronixx is synonymous with the future of the genre, and the 21-year-old certainly lived up to the hype during his Hill debut. Far from being Dread And Terrible, Chronixx left the talking to the emcees and solidly delivered some of his best to date in one outstanding hour: Ain’t No Giving In with a quick homage to Tarrus Riley’s One Drop (both on the Tropical Escape Riddim), Behind Curtain, Access Granted (Don’t Take My Love for Granted), They Don’t Know and of course, Odd Ras and the biggest of them all, Here Comes Trouble.
With an engaging stage aura, he carried no traces of the bravado which could follow even the most “rooted” of reggae artistes from time to time. Even those who “just come for Beres” would have to admit that Chronixx had serious staying power on the contemporary reggae scene.
But for those who did, Beres put up no resistance to celebrating his first appearance on the Hill in a while with a greatest hits compilation. His age was no hindrance to the energy he brought to an adoring throng, who screamed and sang along throughout his act.
No Goodbye kicked off Uncle Beres’ one-hour set, which started around 8 p.m. He kept the reggae soundtrack to the ’90s rolling with songs like Can’t Stop A Man, Standing In My Way, Falling In Love All Over Again and She Loves Me Now. After he took a break to show off the talent within the band, perennial favourites Can You Play Some More, Feel Good, No Disturb Sign and Rockaway closed out the performance.
At 8:50 p.m., it was time for the Cure.
And the ladies certainly enjoyed the remedy. He concocted a set of tunes old and new, ranging from songs recorded earlier in his decade-long career, including Sticky, Divide And Rule, Sunny Days and pensive jail theme True Reflection, as well as the newer That Girl and Stronger.
But then there was the song thousands of patrons came to hear: All Of Me. His take on the John Legend hit sent the lovers into further swing and even a few stolen kisses were spotted.
Jah Cure’s potency lies within his ability to produce great music. His fatal flaw, however, has often been in the live delivery of those songs. There have been improvements: to his credit, there was more of his voice and less reliance of pointing the mic to the audience. Still, deep down, there must be a stronger live Cure at the core.
Overall, the three final acts served up a triple treat to cap a solid tenth edition of Digicel Reggae On The Hill. Local acts had people to sing to, other than vendors, technical crew and media; the show ran to schedule and for the most part, patrons were pleased with artistes’ offerings.
