Beenie performs on eve of the Crop Over season

SOCA MET DANCEHALL at the BTI Car Park on May 28, when Jamaican sensation Beenie Man and local artiste Biggie Irie met on stage to perform Biggie’s mega hit Nah Going Home.

It was the much anticipated live concert of the veteran performer whose last performance here was Reggae On the Hill a few years ago.

The song was fortuitous for Beenie because the close to four thousand fans did not want him to go home despite his many ‘pleadings’.

However, a seemingly tired Beenie had the audience singing along with him as he kept the hits coming – these included Old Dog, Healing (featuring Lady Saw) from 1995, Dancehall Queen, Who Am I (Sim Simma), Tell Me from 1998, Girls Dem Suga from 2000, Dude and King of the Dancehall from 2004, Pickney Nah Hold Yah Down and Gimme Gimme from 2008 and one of his most recent releases The Visa Song which indicated that he was not beaten by the USA government’s revocation of his visa and further stated he was determined to get it back.

During his performance he asked fans to keep his fellow brothers and sisters in their prayers, saying his country is in a war zone, he put the number of deaths at hundreds though figures coming out of the land of Wood and Water are lower.

He cautioned the audience to be wary of what he called ‘politrickcians’ suggesting that the Bruce Golding government may not be doing enough to quell the current unrest. He also remembered fallen dancehall artist O’Neil Edwards of Voicemail who succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained after a botched robbery outside his home a few weeks ago.

Showing the many moods of Moses Davis, the King of the Dancehall was sometimes, jovial, playful and somber – these issues seemingly weighing heavy on his mind.

Meanwhile, kudos to the all female team of Allure Entertainment which hosted a well executed event, though there was speculation the show would have been threatened in what is now a mostly soca environment, this show sets a positive note for their next event – Soca Sunsplash on July 04, details coming soon.