The 4th Annual Sashi Concert

Another Memorable Affair

By Anastasia

Sashi 2002 came and went, bringing with it all the hype, bashment and excitement that have been synonymous with this hip-hop flavoured affair ever since it hit the Jamaican shores three years ago. Of the week-long activities that the event has graduated into, its annual Sashi concert remains the most looked forward to and well supported event each year. And this year was no different. At $2,500J per person, the James Bond Beach venue in Oracabessa, St. Mary was crammed to capacity with approximately 20,000 patrons, as music lovers turned out on Sunday, August 25 in their bashiest outfits to enjoy the performances of some of their favourite local and overseas acts.

Gracing the Sashi stage this year were Usher, Busta Rhymes, Eve, Tweet, Donnell Jones, Super Cat, Junior Demus, Bling Dawg, TOK, Sharissa, the John Shop family and Dawn Penn, with cameo appearances from Missy Elliot, Elephant Man, Mr. Lex, Zumjay, among others. Adding to the excitement and fun were selector Geefus and the Stone Love crew, and the vibes master MC Jerry D. Both now a staple at Sashi. Geefus represented Stone Love well, bussin' the place with his hype. Without a doubt, he is truly a master at his craft, knowing all the right moves and selections to excite the crowd. Jerry D is really a maestro in his field, earning a distinct love and respect from the fans. Jerry D's usual staple at these events is to show off the vast expanse of his wardrobe, and at Sashi 2K2 during his approximate 10 hours on stage, he changed 10 different outfits!

KICKIN' IT OFF

By mid-Sunday afternoon in the brilliant sunlight, patrons started to casually stroll into the venue, enjoying a swim at the beach as they lazed around with Stone Love entertaining in the background. Just after 4:00 pm, one of Stone Love's top selectors, Geefus, hit the stage with his hype and antics, showing off the latest dance moves. Minutes later the vibes master Jerry D joined him to heighten the hype.

At 4:45 pm, the John Shop family out of New York kicked off the performances, getting a good response from the crowd. Comprising artistes like Future Troubles and Angel Doolas, the talented crew sang, deejayed and rapped as they hyped up the growing Sashi crowd for what was to come.

Performing on tracks, Mega Banton and Delly Ranks joined the crew, who delivered "Headache" and "Pon Di Corner," before closing off their set minutes after 5:00 pm.

Jamaican rapper GQ Stone Cold came next, followed by veteran singer Dawn Penn, who gave a short performance, going through tracks like her popular "No No No." Stone Love exited the stage at 5:30 pm, making way for Super Cat's band to take the stand. At 5:40 pm, Junior Demus hit the stage to a resounding welcome from the audience. Doing it old-school, Junior Demus style, the veteran entertainer delivered "Suzie Wong," "Boy Yuh a Boy," among others, delighting the gathering with each selection.

By 6:00 pm, the crowd was swelling up as Sharissa, the first overseas act out of New York, USA, hit centre stage. Looking sexy in a short, white outfit with matching boots, the sweet sounding singer performed tracks from her "No Half Steppin" album, including "I'm Waiting," her popular track "Any Other Night" and a tribute to singer/actress Aaliyah who died a year ago. Sharissa had the crowd in a sing-along, as she worked the stage in a good performance. A 45-minute intermission with Stone Love taking charge of things, led to Jamaica_s very own Bling Dawg taking centre stage just after 7:00 pm. As Jerry D (now in his third outfit) introduced the DJ, the crowd screamed and cheered for the LOY artiste. Full of energy and working the length and breadth of the stage, the DJ performed "Floss Like We Do," "Kiss My Baby Good Morning," "Come On," among others. He also unleashed a new track with some biting lyrics, as he addressed the hypocrites, backbiters and bad-minded people of the world.

When the Dawg invited Zumjay on stage, the crowd screamed as the two worked up a sweat. But it was even more screams and shouts for Mr. Lex as Bling Dawg also invited him on stage for a cameo performance. With the Ruff Kutt band on the stand, the three artistes took turns nicing up the place with nuff energy and vibes. But the excitement had only just begun.

The Jamaican based internationally renowned quartet _ TOK _ pranced on stage looking quite bashy to fit the occasion. Donning the latest name-brand outfits, they gave a true TOK performance in fine style. Going through their popular tracks like "Galong Gal," "Fire Fi Burn," "Money To Burn," "Pengeleng" and "Man A Bad Man," the LOY artistes demonstrated excellent stagemanship and choreography, keeping the crowd excited throughout their stint. When they touched on their first number one track, "Eagles Cry," singer Flex went a climbing. Jumping off the stage unto the railing, the singer climbed up the stage rail to give himself a better vantage point to demonstrate the eagle's cry. With a good vocal range, voice control and harmony, the crowd couldn_t help but get caught up in the cry of the eagle. An encore brought the group back in new Karate style uniformed outfits as they delivered "Chi Chi Man," closing off their wonderful half-hour performance.

BPT, a new five-member group out of Atlanta, came next. They performed a few unfamiliar tracks without getting much response from the audience, before calling on Jamaica's Hot Shot crew and the two groups spent a brief time trying to vibes the crowd.

MISSY TURNED UP THE HEAT

Now up to his fifth outfit, Jerry D took over the proceedings from Geefus, who had the crowd well hyped up, to introduce new sensation Tweet, live and direct from the USA. Looking sexy in red with gold boots, the southerner performed tracks from her new album "Southern Hummingbird." Of course, everyone was waiting for her big hit "Oops, Oh My" and when she jumped into that, the screams echoed throughout the venue and the crowd sang along word for word. Suddenly the smooth singing sensation stopped and said she wished Missy Elliot was here to do her part of the song. Of course, the screams got louder as most people knew Missy was backstage. And as the band changed the beat to "Get Ur Freak On," the screams got even more deafening.

Missy Elliot rushed on stage and, along with Tweet and the crowd doing back-up, she delivered a crowd-screaming performance of the freaky song. Missy had the vibes as she worked the stage, even performing some of Jamaica_s newest dance moves. She was overwhelmed by the love shown to her, and she returned the love. She apologized for her absence from the event last year, as she was one of the scheduled acts but the death of her friend Aaliyah while she was in Jamaica for Sashi 2001 had a serious effect on her, resulting in her absence from the line-up.

At Sashi 2002, the mega-star paid tribute to Aaliyah and Left Eye of TLC with a selection of songs from some top acts, which really moved the crowd and had them vibesing with her. At the end of it, appreciating the strong love she was getting from the audience, the world-renowned rapper jumped off the stage into the crowd with two of her bodyguards, and patrons scrambled to get a touch off her. She left the crowd on a high, getting their permission to use some of Jamaica's dance moves in her upcoming music videos.

Although the sun had long gone to bed, the tight crowd inside the venue coupled by the electrifying performances, which had the crowd excited, generated nuff heat inside the place. Bottled water at a $100 a pop couldn't sell fast enough and some men found the heat so unbearable, they took off their shirts as sweat flowed down their naked skin.

9:20 pm welcomed to the stage the soulful brother, Donnell Jones out of the USA. Accompanied by three back-up singers and his band attired in "Jamaica: No Problem" T-shirts, Donnell and his two sexy dancers started off with tracks unfamiliar to most in the audience. After exiting the stage and leaving his dancers and band to entertain, he returned to do a cover of "Knocks Me Off My Feet" among other of his more popular tracks. During band change, Dancehall Queen 2002, Junko Kudo from Japan, entertained. She's really "wicked" and certainly knows how to work that sexy body of hers. It was no surprise that she earned the coveted title. Jerry D decided to take her on, but she "murdered" him. He just couldn_t handle the ride.

At 10:30 pm, the beautiful and sexy female rapper, Eve, hit the stage. No stranger to our shores, Eve got a warm reception from the crowd who always seems delighted to see the rapper in action. Bouncing from one end of the stage to the next, Eve performed some of her popular tracks like "What You Want With Me," "Got A Man," "Let Me Blow Your Mind," "Who's That Girl?" and "Gansta Lovin'." Determined to try some of Jamaica's latest dance moves, she invited Jamaica's international dancer, Bogle, on stage to help her perform them. By now it was evident that these foreign acts were fascinated with the dance moves of our dancehall culture, as they each demonstrated their version of it during their act. Eve ended her half-an-hour performance to nuff cheers, making way for the parading of the 2002 Miss Jamaica World contestants.

DOWN WITH THE DON

The original Don Dadda, Super Cat, hit the stage to deafening screams at 11:20 pm. Greatly anticipated by the gathering who haven't seen the veteran DJ in a while, Cat couldn't have asked for a better reception. He was obviously in a defiant mood as he spent quite some time hurling lyrics at issues that he was peeved about, exciting the audience with each utterance.

Cat said, "mi hear sey bad word illegal inna Jamaica but when mi turn on mi r#*cl#*t cable TV, a pure bad word mi hear dem a cuss and a shoot afta people!" Performing some of his original tunes that endeared him to the hearts of the people and looking like a real don dadda in a full white suit with matching felt hat, Cat started off on a high note, delivering tunes like "Boops," "Sweets For My Sweets" and "Big And Ready." He then called on friend Junior Demus and the two delivered "Cabin Stabbin" and "Rally Back." Cat's performance soon started to disappoint, however, as he tried delivering some of his newer material without getting much response from the audience. He then drew back for the old tunes, but each time he started one and the crowd got excited and screamed for more, he cut it and started another, often not even finishing the first few lines of the song. Eventually patrons started to get bored. He then went on to express his grievance at various issues, including Bounty Killer, illustrating it quite graphically and with nuff expletives, inviting the authorities to charge him for indecent language because "fi mi bad word legal." Ending his performance on a few lines from "Don Dadda," Super Cat left his thousands of fans quite disappointed.

It was now down to the final two acts, and at 12:20 Monday morning, DJ Scratch of the Flip Mode Squad took to the turntable. After doing his musical intro, which got the crowd excited, he shouted for Busta Rhymes and the international rapper with his sidekick Spliff stormed unto the stage full of energy, as the crowd screamed their lungs out. Full of energy and vibesing the stage, the Flip Mode Squad worked the mainly Jamaican crowd that was interspersed with a few Bahamians, North Americans, English, among natives from other countries. They got nuff love, especially when Busta Rhymes showed his Jamaican side by speaking to "his people" in the native patois. Busta Rhymes and the Flip Mode was off the hook, especially among the young people, with "Tear Da Roof Off," "Put Your Hands Up," "Dangerous," "Fired It Up," "What It Is At Now" and closing off with one of his tunes that's mashing up the scenes right now, "Pass The Courvoisier," exiting the stage at 1:00 am.

THE AWESOME USHER

At 1:25 am, Jerry D returned to centre stage in his 10th and final outfit. The best of the lot - a formal silver, trench coat suit with matching hat - the vibes master introduced the man of the hour, Usher--and the screams became deafening. It's a wonder the over 20,000 patrons still had their voices with all the screaming they were doing all night. But at 1:30 am when the lights went out, then the band on the stand struck up a beat, the lighting effects kicked in and the dancers hit the stage, James Bond Beach erupted in an uproar. Looking quite uniformed in full black and performing a well-choreographed routine, they prepared the way for "the man." And as he hit the stage, patrons couldn't contain their excitement, but no sooner had they begun screaming that they quieted down as the international sensation had them spellbound with his team's slick, matching attire, choreographed dance moves, energy and classy stage presentation during their fast-paced pop routine. No matter what the young pop/R&B star did on stage, the crowd loved him. If he just stood there and smiled, they screamed. If he just licked his lip, they screamed. If he just wiped the sweat off his face, they screamed. And if he just took off his shirt to reveal his sexy, sweat covered physique, they screamed and screamed and screamed. Usher was just "the man" and he reveled in the overwhelming outpouring of love he was getting from his adoring fans on this Caribbean paradise.

Exiting the stage and returning in full white with a matching felt hat to suit the mood he was about to create, he slowed down the pace. Full of moves and style that would make any girl weak in the knees, the singer performed "Nice & Slow." He then went into "I Need A Girl," calling on stage two Jamaican girls to be "his girl" and to show him the latest dance moves. Dancer Kieva and another girl joined him. After learning the moves, he kept back the other girl as he serenaded her with "How Do I Say." Taking off his platinum signature chain and placing it around her neck, then slowly removing his shirt, to deafening screams, Usher put down the mike, grabbed the girl and really showed what he meant by "one kiss from her has got him speechless." He gave her a looonngg, sexy, memorable kiss as he held her down on the ground. A kiss that sure as hell left her "speechless." The two exited the stage, leaving the audience "speechless."

The sexy 23-year-old singer then returned in a Bob Marley shirt and jeans to perform "U Got It Bad," making the girls swoon with desire at his slick, sexy, cool, smooth style. "U Don't Have To Call" brought back the cute, charismatic entertainer in a jeans-studded outfit, accompanied by his dancers. Usher then called on his special surprise guest for the night - Elephant Man.

The crowd went into an uproar as the Jamaican DJ joined the international singer on stage to the beat of Elephant Man's "Log On." The two top-notch entertainers along with international dancer Bogle then proceeded to do the Log On, Drive By and other Jamaican dance moves. After Elephant Man and crew left the stage, Usher returned for "U Remind Me." Truly intent on being the sex symbol that he was, the classy entertainer certainly showed how to work a stage. His stage routines reminded me so much of the king of pop, Michael Jackson, in action. His dance, his style, his moves, his presentation, his charisma--everything was so mesmerizing. Each time Usher exited the stage after each routine, he left the audience in suspense, not sure if he would return. And so they stood there hoping, wishing for more and he always returned. But at 2:30 am when Jerry D returned to the stage, and thanked everyone for a wonderful show and to announce, for the hundredth time, that the Sashi after-party was going to held right there at James Bond Beach, patrons realised that that was it. Usher wasn't coming back. And they still hadn't gotten enough. He could have stayed with them all night--they wouldn't have minded one bit. Usher came, mesmerised and left his fans yearning for more after a truly wonderful performance.

Geefus and the Stone Love crew then kicked in as they launched the Sashi 2K2 after-party, bringing a close to yet another memorable Sashi event. The show production was on par, with superb sound and lighting and a fascinating digital backdrop. Although it appeared they were playing it by air with the running order and all those sometimes lengthy band changes after almost every act, with Jerry D and Geefus and the Stone Love crew entertaining in between acts, patrons were kept entertained for the entire duration of the event.