A taste of authentic reggae

Curtis Campbell, Gleaner Writer

The Rootz Underground concert held at Hope Gardens last Saturday gave patrons a vivid display of authentic reggae music.

Patrons were greeted with free Red Stripe on entry as well as inclusive food, however, the ultimate feast came from the music.

Reggae artiste Droop Lion was one of the earlier acts on stage, and he sang a soulful song dedicated to his late mother.

"Show hands everybody who has lost somebody," he said, as he sang My Mama.

Next in line was reggae artiste Prophecy, and he too connected with the audience with his powerful voice, as he sang No Body Bags and Shanti Town, which according to him, was dedicated to inner-city communities.

Following Prophecy's performance, patrons had to wait on a lengthy band change before roots band Dubtonic Kru made their entrance to the stage.

At 11 p.m. the night's host, radio personality ISIS, called Dubtonic Kru to centrestage. Chanting, "Evolution, yeah", the band obliged.

They sang Sunshine Girl for which they got good response.

"It's Black History Month so we have to represent for the beautiful sunshine ladies," the lead singer said.

Celebration

During their performance, a huge flat screen in the background displayed images of Africa and created an ambience that spoke to the celebration of black history.

Next to perform was the host band Rootz Underground, and they, too, took a long time to start their performance due to another exhausting band change which lasted more than 30 minutes.

At 12:30 a.m. they finally made their way onto the stage, singing Roots Haffi Grow they then moved on to popular singles like Jah Love Is The Solution and Power To The People.

The band was later joined by veteran Grammy Award-winning reggae-ska artiste Toots Hibbert, who gave a classic performance of his hit 54-46, he later teamed up with Rootz Underground to bring the curtains down on the event, singing an exclusive single called Kingston Town.

"Thank you all for coming and listening to Rootz, myself and every performer who was here tonight," Toots said.

At this point, patrons still stood facing the stage begging for one more single from Rootz Underground and Toots Hibbert. It wasn't to be. Maybe on another occasion.