The Head Cornerstone finds a following

Patrina Pink, Gleaner Writer

Many believe that the dub poet and the reggae artiste are one and the same, that the poetry that they both create follow the same pattern and speak deeply of the same experience. That when one strips the rhythms to the bone there is the sound of the drum, the one drop, a poet's best friend.

On Saturday, rising reggae-poet Yuri 'Ginegog' Stewart did what few could, he produced a successful Black History Month-themed reggae-poetry show dedicated to young acts and marketed primarily to young people.

His show had no cake-soap jokes, no skimpily clad 'promoters' or indecent language.

Dubbed 'The Head Cornerstone', the event is in its first year and featured several acts at different levels of musicial maturity.

Roots reggae band From the Deep started things off and were well received by audience members who seemed fond of their mellow sound. However, it was not until From the Deep invited Floyd West onstage for a combined effort that the rapidly swelling crowd came out of its shell.

West's witty lyrics and slightly eccentric onstage mannerisms were a warning that The Head Cornerstone was not a 'normal' event.

West sang of uptown and downtown people and a corrupt political system. He was followed by Triplicity, a trio who would shock an unsuspecting audience.

At the beginning of their performance, few audience members appeared interested or even confident that they would do a good job. However, that would change when the group jumped into songs like Don't Let Bad Vibes Hold You Dung and Helen, a song about a bright schoolgirl turned prostitute.

In a ring of fire-like melody, they sang "What are you selling? what are you selling now? Her name is Helen and the place she's dwelling in isn't heaven now." Lyrically mature and rich in melodies, Triplicity took the baton from Floyd West and From the Deep and ran with it.

There was a notable performance by Randy 'Kreativ Activis' McLaren.

McLaren asked audience members: "Who me fi vote fah?" and explored the implications of political corruption on young people. Students from Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts served up a dish of instrumentals with versions of classic reggae and dancehall. The steel pan featured prominently in their performance and they had a number of audience members pleasantly surprised and asking "the steel pan can do that?"

Blue Grass in the Sky, fresh off a performance at Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, was one of the stars of the night and received lots of love from the audience during an ode to Cannabis sativa.

They were followed by the one-man sound system, Mixing Lab, who treated audience members to an entertaining combination of beat boxed dancehall, reggae and hip hop. Mixing Lab invited members of his entourage onstage and for a short time The Head Cornerstone was reminiscent of amateur night at the Apollo.

Spider Web, a tall light-skinned gentleman dressed in full black whose hair was dyed red and designed like a web, hopped onstage and gave patrons gymnastics as well as Professor Nuts-like dancehall comedy. To the surprise of the host, members of the audience made demands that he return to which a shocked Spider Web responded "jah know me rate unno".

The audience of Head Cornerstone was in an indulgent mood and Ras Takura's yearning for some "rhatid Jamaican food" had some audience members rolling.

That would all end when Takura spoke of violence against women and girls and insisted that under his rule all rapists would face the firing squad. It was an appropriate return to an issues-based night and set the stage for Ginegog's performance. Charging onstage to Here I am, a track off his latest mixtape also called The Head Cornerstone, Ginegog did not disappoint.

The young man asked the engineer to "turn up the sound like a dancehall riddim" and went into a heavy and energetic performance. His song Perilous Days connected with audience members who shouted his name again and again.

Ginegog was followed by Asante Amen who crooned his way into the heart of the females present. Amen did justice to The Wailers with a rendition of Soul Rebel. He also performed tracks by Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Black Uhuru and Beres Hammond.

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