Mavado, Jamaican acts rock Rhythm and Blues Festival

• Beenie Man honoured
• 
  

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

The near-empty Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, during the early afternoon was not a reflection of the show the performers put on to end the Reggae Rhythm and Blues Festival on Sunday.

Leroy Sibbles gave the show a lukewarm start, but he was able to draw patrons from all ends of the large venue to the stage area.

After his performance ended, patrons were given inflated balloons to welcome the energetic Machel Montano. Before even showing his face he sang the R&B hit Now That We've Found Love. "Now it's soca time," he said, running on to the stage. In no time he had people dancing to songs like Gyal Bend Over and One More Wine. His performance was laced with sexual innuendo and his flexible waistline was moving non-stop.

When he got to Go Dung, his dancers joined him onstage to excite the crowd that was still building. He was later joined by Patrice Roberts who did Wukking Up. The music somehow stopped while she sang but that did not stop the energy coming from the stage, as a drummer took over and Machel and his dancers continued dancing.

Luckily, the music returned and Farmer Nappy got a piece of the pie, singing Chippin.

When Montano took back centre stage, confetti filled the air. He ended a very energetic performance with It's Carnival.

He was followed by R&B artiste Monica, who performed with tracks and not a band. The artiste sounded low for most of her set and she was certainly a contrast to the energetic performance from Montano. There was some rocking from the audience but the energy level had diminished with some members becoming unresponsive. However, there were screams when she did Everything To Me.

With band members dressed like special agents from the Men In Black movie, while he wore a full white suit, Babyface got off to a good start.

Everytime I Close My Eyes was one of the first songs to excite the audience, which held on to every note, long and short.

There were 'forwards', Caribbean flags waving and 'gun salutes', as he did Never Keeping Secrets.

Even at 53 years old, Babyface was still able to dance up a storm, while the band played a very uptempo beat. When he finished dancing, still panting heavily, he said: "The name is Babyface, ain't no baby body no more."

The artiste drank some water and went on to sing several of the songs he has written and produced for himself and others. He got the audience into a further frenzy when he walked through the aisle that was created through the middle of the venue. He left an extremely appreciative audience that couldn't seem to stop clapping.

Upon his entrance, I-Octane got patrons out of their seats. Claiming to have only five minutes, he immediately went into his set but only did small pieces of songs like Badda Than Dem and Lose A Friend. In that five minutes, he brought fellow artiste Laden onstage but his microphone wasn't working. I-Octane then continued with lines from songs like Badmind Fi Di Year and Mama You Alone.

"Mi vex seh mi caan sing out mi song dem," he said, before doing Study Yuh Fren Dem. He left a disappointed audience behind, which was just getting into his performance.

Although the audience could not see Beenie Man perform because he had no work permit, they sang along to clips that were shown before he was honoured by the organisers of the event.

"You are the woman dem sugar man and we welcome you back to USA," said United States Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.

"Let me say on behalf of Reggae Rhythm And Blues and the Irie Jam family, welcome back, we honour you. You have been an outstanding performer and you have made Jamaicans proud."

A beaming Beenie Man was grateful for the award. "I just want to give thanks to the entire organisation. I cannot sing a song but mi have a surprise fi unuh," he said before calling Khago onstage. He pleased the audience with songs like Nah Sell Out Mi Fren Dem and Blood A Boil, while Beenie Man danced.

Respect was also shown to VP Records' Joel Chin, who was killed recently, in the form of an audio clip. This was followed by a powerful entrance by Tarrus Riley, who started his set with Lion Paw.

As he sang Love's Contagious, some doves coincidentally flew over the venue, creating a magical moment. Not forgetting Buju Banton, he sang Untold Stories. She's Royal was certainly well received - every word echoed by an appreciative audience.

Moving on to one of the most anticipated acts for the night, Mavado was welcomed with raised flags and hands. People who were already in the VIP area moved even closer to the stage. He started with So Special and went on to do a medley with Real Mckoy, Full Clip and Dreaming. The energy in the crowd was almost tangible.

"Look how long unuh nuh see me. Mi nuh still look black and ugly same way?," he said, before doing Money Changer.

With rumour of a split between his 'Gully' and 'Alliance' still in the air and his cousin Chase Cross trading dis songs with Bounty Killer, he said: "A Gullyside Alliance same way."

He later did conscious songs like Hope And Pray and On The Rock, before paying homage to Bounty Killer. "Unuh know seh mi still haffi big up Bounty Killer 'cause him a di general," Mavado said.

He also did a string of 'gangster' songs but the audience seemed flat. However, that changed when he unleashed Pepper. The police were present to close the show after that. Patrons sang along with Mavado as he did Delilah and they made their exits.