What a night! Dubbed Hennessy Artistry – The Global Art of Mixing, Saturday night, spread into Sunday morning, saw thousands of reggae fans converge mainly on the grounds of the National Stadium to hear three of the superstars of Jamaican music, as well as two rising stars, one with Caribbean roots out of Britain.
It was also an occasion when a number of Barbadian artistes, especially the very promising Buggy Nhakente and Daniel, again showed that reggae music is alive and well in Barbados, even if palpably under-recorded.
They would also be advised to drop the contrived accents lest local promoters be wrongfully accused of putting together an all-Jamaican cast.
The night also showed that, despite the economic cries, Barbadians are seemingly coping quite well, if the massive patronage of the expensive Hennessy Brandy promotion was to be used as a gauge, or the expensive female outfits – short, sheer and filled to excess – that dominated the expansive field.
Britain’s Gappy Ranks made a creditable debut on the big stage in Barbados. Born to a Jamaican father and Dominican mother, and as comfortable with hip hop as he is with reggae, he got his greatest acclaim from the huge crowd when he performed arguably his biggest hit to date: Thanks And Praise.
Among his other quality selections was the sweet romantic number Heaven In Her Eyes.
Hezron, another newcomer to the Barbadian stage, also showcased the vocal ability that in a short time has made some reggae purists sit up, take notice and dare to rank him up there with the likes of George Nooks and the man with whom he was sharing the stage, Beres Hammond. Doubters would have been convinced after hearing the balladeer on selections such as So In Love, We Shall Find A Way and Forever And Always. His is a name to look out for in the future.
Cocoa Tea was the first of the big triumvirate on stage. The sweet-voiced, jockey-sized artiste excited the crowd with numbers such as his classy Israel’s King from the album of the same name. He also got the crowd going with selections such as Good Life, Love Me Truly and Rikers Island, among others.
Hammond’s appearance on stage in Barbados always throws fans into a frenzy and the soulful lovers rock champion was at it again on Sunday morning. Usually the closing act but not this time around, he thrilled patrons with songs such as Step Aside, Putting Up Resistance, What One Dance Can Do and Rock Away.
Anthony B’s appearance on stage can be best described as incendiary. And he moved seamlessly from originally not being on the night’s programme to the headline act following Gyptian’s eleventh hour absence. Anthony B did not disappoint.
As effective with his lyrics as he is with his energy on stage, he brought proceedings to a pulsating finale, if somewhat rushed, because of the stipulation that the show could not go past 3 a.m.
Anthony B started his set with Peter Tosh’s Equal Rights and then had fans waving flags, hands, rags, empty plastic bottles, and singing along to some of his notable numbers such as Damage, I Understand, Good Life and his ever popular Raid The Barn, among many others, all the while backed by the Gumption Band out of Jamaica.
