Irie Jamboree 2K8 And Love!

Love for the Caribbean and love for our Caribbean athletes who shone a brilliantly, blinding GOLD light at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this was what Irie Jamboree was about this year.  On Sunday August 31^st, 2008 Irie Jam Media brought to Queens, NY and the World, Irie Jamboree 2008. This was slated not only to be the usual festival with a star studded line up of artists, but a celebration for the  athletes, especially the Jamaican runners, on their accomplishments in China.  All over New York, Caribbean pride was ringing out loud, and close to 40,000 of those proud fans strutted into Irie Jamboree showing off the colors of the Caribbean, especially the Green, Gold and Black.   Never have we witnessed such pride; everyone laughing and showing elation that the world is in awe of our athletes.  Irie Jamboree had a special VIP/Media tent backstage which was dedicated to the athletes and early in the day there was a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Irie Jam Media's CEO Bobby Clarke. Representing our athletes were runners Aleen Bailey (Capelton's sister), Chelsea Hammond and Bert Cameron.  Throughout the festival there were presentations on stage, giveaways by the festival sponsors, and replays of the amazing record breaking wins at the Beijing Olympics.  The patrons loved it and Irie Jam media certainly made an impact with the crowd.  

As for the stage performances, West Indian Times arrived at the Park a little after 2pm and was greeted by the sounds of Ragga Locks.  Following Ragga in order were: Rising Stars, Fiyah Family, Tanya Mullings, Prestige, RDX, Konshens, Little Hero, Admiral Bailey, I-Octane, Serani, Bugle, Alison Hinds, No Ady, Lushy Banton, Empire Isis, Yellowman, Coco T, Sizzla, Dwayne Stephens, Tarrus Riley, Demarco, Sight & Sound, Mavado, Beenie Man and Elephant Man. 

Although everyone gave a splendid performance, respect goes out to the quote unquote new comers to the industry that left a memorable indentation in the minds of the people who showed up early to see them perform, with more exposure these artists will be a force to reckon with in the near future. Such artists are Tanya Mullings who resides in Canada, she had a very powerful voice, commanded the attention of her audience and was beautiful on stage. Prestige, I-Octane, Serani and Bugle performed well but it’s a pity they went on early and were missed by the late comers.  Konshens wowed the conscious loving crowd with tracks such as ‘Rasta Imposter’ and ‘Winner’ and upcoming artist Lushy Banton delighted the Barack fans with his hit ‘Obama’.   Always a favorite, artist Little Hero charmed the crowed with hits like ‘No Guns’ and ‘The Prayer’.  The best choreographed performance of the night was by the DVD sound system ‘Sight and Sound’.  Irie Jamboree knew what they were doing when they hired these guys. During an intermission after Demarco, a young Rasta from the Sight & Sound crew took the stage and narrated a moving tribute to life and the Jamaican Olympians which was shown on big screen and his lyrics matched the uplifting music that was played by the sound, hence their name; Sight & Sound.   

The first veteran artist was  Admiral (Big Belly Man) Bailey and he was on target with his hits and jokes. He had everyone rocking and laughing at the same time. Alison Hinds brought refreshing Soca to the patrons, we have to remember that this is a festival for all Caribbean people and you could tell that the audience loved the Soca vibes.  Alison is always energetic and very forceful in her stage performance and at Irie Jamboree she was a hit.  Yellowman’s performance was the only performance to get an encore for the night, he took people back in time to the days when King Yellow ruled the dancehall.  Although he has been plagued with illness, his stage performance was top notch and he has not lost his appeal with his fans.  Sizzla performed early but was not memorable, he was not bad, he just did not make his usual imprint. 

Then there was Coco T, undisputedly the best act for the night, he went through a slew of hits and each and every tune was a favorite with the crowd.  Coco T is little in stature but has a huge presence, if he had closed the show it would have been a perfect night.  

Now, there had been a huge build up regarding Mavado performing at Irie Jamboree, much was made of the fact that he could once again travel to the United States, that it had been a year since he had performed in the US, and the promoters were promising a huge stage performance from him.   Well, from what we, West Indian Times witnessed, Mavado gave as good a performance as he could, given his time restraint.  For the first 10 minutes of his set, Ruff Cutt band made some ridiculous mistakes and Mavado had to stop his set and basically reprimanded the band saying “Ruff Cutt, you are not amateurs, you are a professional band, play like it” and only then did they began to play correctly.   For the next 10 minutes Mavado was a hit with the crowd, they did not stop showing him love and they were begging him for more when he left the stage.  Mavado most definitely needs to concentrate on the crowd favorites and if given more time, he could have performed more of his hits.  All in all, Mavado delivered for his fans, the real Mavado, the Gully Gad from Jamaica’s Cassava Piece garrison, like Bounty Killa, Mavado was himself, you either take it or leave it, he is who he is. 

Beenie Man performed after Mavado and his performance as always was captivating.  He definitely is a favorite with the ladies and can charm them in a minute.  He has stage presence and has perfected his craft but for those who have seen him over and over at stage shows, he needs to come with something new.  The only thing new this time was when he asked the crowd who they came to see, Mavado or him?  We don’t believe he got the response he was looking for.  The most memorable thing about Beenie was his outfit, a beautiful white suit with a high neck black shirt made of what looked like long haired fur.  It was very, very, different and very much looking like a gorilla.  

After Beenie Man came Elephant Man to close the show.  He was his usual energetic self but again time restrictions would not allow him to do a full show.  Dressed in an elaborate suit, one half the US flag and one half the Jamaican flag, he brought on stage a little boy who did the Gully Creeper to the delight of the audience.  The patrons also went wild when at the end of his set Elephant Man was joined on stage by artists Assassin, Idonia and the athletes Aleen Bailey and Chelsea Hammond and everyone on stage did the Gully Creeper!

So ended the 6^th staging of Irie Jamboree, it was a huge success and they certainly celebrated our rich Caribbean culture in style.   VP of Irie Jam Media, Louie Grant told West Indian Times that he was extremely pleased with the outcome, he said that there were a few things that could have been orchestrated more effectively but always striving for perfection, the organization is already working on making next year’s staging bigger, better and even more memorable.