Digicel's 'Next Generation' joins greatest show on Earth

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

WHEN THE SportsMax Zone went dark, and a very futuristic-looking Donovon White was projected on to a giant wall and on all the screens inside the World Cup football hotspot, the crowd went silent. What was Digicel up to?

White, who is Digicel's head of marketing, through a Matrix-like video presentation, was announcing and reaffirming the telecommunications company's 10-year partnership with the greatest reggae show on earth at the Reggae Sumfest launch.

Introduced by D'Angel, the video presentation spelled out what the relationship between Digicel and Reggae Sumfest meant to the company.

The audience was captivated and excited when White announced the 2010 Digicel Reggae Sumfest theme, 'The Next Generation', its spokespersons Agent Sasco and I-Octane, and a partnership with mobile phone manufacturers Motorola.

Cue smoke, and enter unconventionally dressed dancers and then performances by the two faces of 'The Next Generation' campaign and with that, the initiative was successfully launched.

On the music side, the rebranded and versatile dancehall act Agent Sasco and budding reggae star I-Octane stand tall.

With technology, the company is quietly testing 4G for an August launch and will very soon become the first in the region to offer the Motorola Milestone smartphone.

Jeffery Campbell is not your run-of-the-mill dancehall act.

Always reinventing himself, he officially became Agent Sasco in May 2009 after an illustrious run in the business as 'Assassin'. Lyrically lethal, Agent Sasco's music burns with a fire needed for dancehall music to strive in a challenging musical environment. His string of hits go way back from Nah Nuh Gyal, Eediat Ting Dat and Gully Sit'n to the more recent Same Ting Again, Hand To Mout and Hand Inna Di Air, and in an environment currently under the unforgiving eye of a critical Jamaican audience, Agent Sasco is yet to fail at bowling us over and is positioned to continue taking dancehall music to higher heights.

I-Octane is a breath of fresh air in our music. With a powerful voice and a creative spirit, the young man - who hails from Clarendon - enchants ears and attracts fans all over the world. Born Byiome Muir, he has been climbing steadily up the musical ladder, scoring chart-topping hits and performing all over the world. His catalogue of popular tunes start out with Stab Vampire and now include Different Page, Mama You Alone, Missing You and Lose A Friend.

I-Octane gives every indication that the future of reggae music is bright, as he continues to rack up studio hours, not to mention the 18-city European tour he has lined up.

This is a follow-up to his 2009 European debut where he performed to a crowd of 35,000 persons in Holland - and yes, the crowd sang each song, lyric for lyric.