March Madness 2002 in Nassau, Bahamas

Elephant Man, Degree, Delly Ranks, Wayne Marshall and Nadine Sutherland Shined

By Kevin Jackson

Dancehall music fans, who flocked the grounds of the Sports Centre in Nassau, Bahamas on March 16, 2002, were treated to quality entertainment and got value for their money. Street Sweeper Promotions, promoters of March Madness, arranged an impressive lineup of acts, which included Elephant Man, Wayne Marshall, Wayne Wonder, Delly Ranks, General Degree, Nadine Sutherland, Christopher, and local act Killish.

At the end of the night (or morning rather), patrons filed out of the venue with a look of satisfaction.

The Blaze Band demonstrated stamina by backing for all the performers on the lineup. Led by guitarist Worm, the outfit executed its functions with ease and kept a solid pace throughout the four-hour show.

Deejay Killish who was making his debut performance outside of Jamaica, opened the show. His performance was a bit lukewarm and he was off key most of the time. He committed a brutal act by yelling, "Mek mi see the hands of the Jamaicans in the crowd, cause you done know, we are the real thing bout ya." The predominantly Bahamian crowd didn't take lightly to this and showed their displeasure with rounds of boos.

Local act Blessed, a singjay with lots of promise, easily held his own during his stint. The Buju Banton sound-alike reeled off a song titled "Jah Love is All We Need," which provoked some thoughtful messages. Blessed is blessed with good stage command, and he interacted well with the crowd. Backstage after his performance, he commented, "I felt good about the response the crowd gave me. Its an honour."

Bronx-based singer Christopher turned up the heat with his 20-minute set. The singer came with the goods and delivered a professional performance, which had many singing along to his covers. Songs like "That Way," "All I Have," and his rendition of Usher's "U Got it Bad" were appreciated by the lovers in the crowd. The icing on the cake came when he belted the current #2 hit on the New York Reggae chart, "Who's Holding Donna Now."

The lone female on the lineup, Nadine Sutherland, shone brightly throughout her performance. The Bahamanian crowd identified most of her offerings, and aptly assisted her in a sing-along showdown. Nadine's performance will have you moving from the word go. She danced and pranced across the stage and bumped and grinded like a woman in ecstasy. "I'm in Love," signaled the start of what was in store. "Wicked and Wild," "Action," (which saw her deejaying the part of Terror Fabulous), "Baby face," "No No No," and "Wicked Fi Please Me" brought back memories of the days when Sutherland rode high in the dancehalls. She came back for a deserving encore and delivered Marley's "Redemption Song."

Wayne Marshall and Delly Ranks were two of the biggest surprises of the night. They easily won a new legion of fans based on their lyrical content, their stage antics, their choice of songs and interaction with the crowd. They were both well received and they capitalized on this advantage.

It was clear that they both did their research and it worked it to their favour.

Marshall shot on stage and had the crowd jumping from the start, with "Feeling It," "Bling Bling," a reggae offering of "Always on Time," and "The World's Greatest." He rose to fever pitch and continued the positive vibes with "Legalize the Weed" and "When the Smoke Clears."

A small fracas in the crow interrupted his performance briefly, "You have some man inna di crowd a come yah wid dem eediat ting. No badda mash up the people dem show man. If you want fight just go outside go do that and mek the people weh pay dem money, enjoy themselves," Marshall declared. The police quickly got the situation under control. And the show went on.

Ranks, whose biggest song in The Bahamas is "What a Gal Can Wine," proved to be more than a "wine" for the ladies. With Christopher in tow, they worked a sweat with "Them Vex Now," "What a Gal Can Wine" (substituting for Rik Rok), "Work Round Dem," "Watch TV," and "Headache."

When Delly went down memory lane to update the crowd with favourites such as Dennis Brown's "Should I," Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell," Beres Hammond's "Step Aside Now," and Barrington Levy's "Too Experienced," it was near pandemonium.

Degree got the kind of respect from the crowd that is normally reserved for international superstars. The deejay, who is easily one of the best in the business, ran through his vast repertoire of songs, leaving no stone unturned in his path. The girls screamed, the rude boys "bussed blanks" and the band played on! "When I Hold You Tonight," "Traffic Blocking," "Boom Boom," "Oh Yeah," "Yeah Man," "My Girls," "Summer Flow," and "Granny" firmly placed Degree as one of the hot shots for the night.

Wayne Wonder was very laid back, but on a chilly night in the Bahamas, just the mention of one of his hit songs, was enough to send temperatures rising. His performance was quite professional. His newer materials offer more of an international feel, and it is evident that the singer is on to another dimension in his career.

As the hits flowed, the singer got more into the groove. Having smashed the place with "Dedicated" and "Joy Ride," the wonder boy reached out to the "Bashment Girls;" and after that time, he made sure to tell them how to live and learn. He showcased his versatility on the keyboards that had some of the entertainers backstage standing up to take notes.

Of course, by the time the energized bunny, I mean Elephant Man, took the stage, he certainly came on with a ton load of energized hype. From the opening lines of "Watchie Pumps," the cameramen, and press persons at the side of the stage knew they had to find a different location.

Elephant Man climbed all over the stage. The rising poles, to stage props, and even the poor sound box felt the wrath of the empowering deejay.

He exploded like a time bomb and invited a short female member of the crowd to come and "test him." The fan was more than willing for the experience and she kept the pace with him. The look on the faces of many persons gave the feeling that Ellie was about to "give it to her" the hard way.

Alas! "Shortie" as Elephant called her, championed the deejay in his every move.

Elephant was good. So good that the fans clamored for me. Like a modern day Zorro, Elephant Man slashed his way across the stage, and rose to unexpected heights. His sword was the microphone. And it served as his aid in raising few rungs, as the hits flowed. "You a Di Wife," "Living Hell" and "Winning Queen," "Bombing," and of course, the chart topper "Log On" (in which he invited all the entertainers on stage to assist him in doing the Log On dance), kept the crowd on its feet during his 45-minute performance.

Prior to show time, the Atlanta/Jamaica sound system Changez Disco, worked up a nice selection of tunes that kept the crowd in a dancing mood. With Jason and DC in full flight, the sound kept the Jamaican vibes flowing.

The Bahamian sound, Alpha Sound, which specializes in hip-hop, R&B, disco and reggae treats, created a good vibe with its choice of music.

Hats off to Street Sweeper Promotions for an enjoyable event. We await next year's staging, which the promoters promise will be even bigger and better.

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Kevin Jackson is an entertainment writer and publicist from Kingston, Jamaica. He is a freelance writer for the Jamaica Observer and Excess publications.