Sting Miami 2003

Sting Beat the Odds to Rule Miami

Sting Miami 2003 came and went, bringing with it as much controversy as its Jamaican counterpart. Chief among them, the conflict between arch rivals Merciless and Bounty Killer. In the end, neither artiste turned up for the show.

And, according to a spokesperson from the promotions team, despite all the rumours being circulated, they were both in fact slapped with the same predicament - neither was able to secure the necessary work permit required by the US government to work in the country.

Although following the dispute with Bounty, Merciless was removed from the line-up, it was learned that he was denied a work permit one week before the show. Bounty, on the other hand, who was in fact booked for the show, learned that he would not be able to get his work permit only days before. In Bounty's case, the promoters said they were not informed of his inability to work in the USA until the 11th hour.

According to the spokesperson, Bounty would have been at the show with the necessary documentation from his booking agent, Solid Agency, with all the travel and hotel arrangements made for his entourage to fly up a day before the show, and arrangements made for him to arrive the morning of the show.

As the spokesperson stated, "if we had known Bounty wasn't going to be here, why would we have wasted all that expense to purchase all those airline tickets for himself and his entourage and book hotel accommodations? It was at a point when we couldn't do anything about it that. Sharon Burke [Bounty's booking agent] gave us some story about Bounty not coming because he was scared of the war in Iraq. We got in touch with him and tried to convince him to come, but to no avail."

The promoter went on to say that it was on the morning of the show that they learned of the real reason behind Bounty's absence. "We were informed that the waiver that he had been using to work in the USA had expired in February and he had gone to the US Embassy on Thursday [March 20] to have it renewed. He was told to return in five days, which would have been days after the show. Little did we know that there was no way he could have worked on the show, so all these reasons and rumours about his absence that are being thrown about are all foolishness and have nothing to do with him not turning up for the show," the spokesperson informed.

As for female DJ Spice who was also a no-show, the promoter said the same case applied - she was unable to obtain a work permit to perform in the US.

THE WEATHER TOO…

Attracting a gathering of approximately 8,000 in its second consecutive year at the AT&T Amphitheatre in downtown Miami, a thunderstorm close to the show's scheduled 5:00 pm start time on Sunday, March 23 put a damper on things, forcing showtime to get underway three and half hours later than expected. In fact, with the hype that surrounded the staging of the event, all concerned felt that had it not been for the terrible weather, the turnout would have been twice that much.

Once the ball got rolling, however, the proceedings flowed relatively smoothly, with some of the younger acts dropped, while the headliners had to cut their stint short. At the end of the day, despite the setbacks, the show came off successfully.

Taking over from Triple X sound system who were masterful in hyping the crowd and keeping the patrons entertained until showtime, Ruff Kutt band got the show on the road, doing a very good job in backing most of the acts.

In the early segment, sharing the spotlight were acts the likes of Dugsy Ranks, Young Rich Crew, Mad Squad, Hot Shot Crew, Richie Spice, Michelle, Bugsy Malone, Power Man, among others.

Then there were those who came to really make a difference. Chief among them was the New York-based Caucasian DJ Baddaflex. Trust mi, him rip up the place…without a doubt. In his Sting Miami debut, Baddaflex was so well received by the gathering, that despite the time constraint, the crowd demanded an encore…which earned the DJ an even bigger forward.

Connecticut-based Puerto Rican DJ, Capital D, followed. With his "Caliente! Caliente!" intro, the bilingual DJ delivered his set in both English and Spanish.

Comedian DJ, Pickney, brought the house down from the moment he hit the stage. Pushed on stage in an oversized baby stroller, the audience couldn't contain their laughter as the comedian eased himself out of the stroller, dressed like a real pickney with bib, baby bonnet and all. His humorous lyrics only served to incite the audience even more. He indeed earned a lot of love in his Miami debut.

Determine gave of his best, earning a forward from the crowd when he delivered the popular "Kette Drum."

Chuck Fenda, the poor people defender, hit the stage with his hard lyrics in defense of his people. Performing tracks like "Ruff Out Deh" and "Better Days," the DJ gave of his best in his Sting Miami debut, before calling on stage his Fifth Element label mate, singer Anthony Cruz. Cruz, a favourite in Miami, earned a warm welcome in his delivery of the covers "You Got It Bad" and "The Closer I Get To You."

Intermission saw Dancehall Queen Junko showing why she earned the title. The Japanese native had the audience in awe at her agility.

Miami gave Wayne Marshall a warm welcome, as the rising star worked the crowd in his delivery of his popular hits "Feeling It," "Bling Bling" and "Overcome."

Seasoned entertainer Mad Cobra was mad and venomous with his lyrics, earning a strong forward from the crowd. Unleashing old and new tunes, including the mega hit 'Flex', Cobra also teased Miami with his version of Eminem's "Sorry Mama"…and done di place! One thing can be said of the snake, he always knows how to captivate his audience.

At approximately 11:20 pm, MC Papa Keith announced that DJ Bounty Killer would not be performing. A sigh of disappointment was expressed by a section of the audience, until Papa Keith informed them that Bounty had decided that due to the ongoing war in Iraq, he was afraid to travel. At that point, a patron screamed, "Bounty Killer is chicken sh#t!"

Papa Keith asked, "What did you say? Bounty Killer is chicken sh*t?" And the approximately 8,000 strong echoed in unison that, "Bounty Killer is chicken sh#t!"

The show continued without even giving a second thought to the Killer, with upcoming act Vybez Cartel.

With some biting lyrics, Vybez Cartel earned Miami's approval during his stint on stage, later joined by Wayne Marshall as the two performed "Karl Kani," to the delight of the audience.

Consummate performer Barrington Levy got a whole lot of love from Miami, as he delivered favourites like "Nuh Put It Deh" and "Too Experienced."

The excitement reached fever pitch, however, when Barrington drew for "Unda Mi Sensi" and the oh-so-familiar voice of the doctor Beenie Man rang out over the mike, as he aided Levy in performing the track. Then later Barrington wrecked the place with "Murderer," but the crowd couldn't contain themselves when the doctor again drew for a line from the hit tune. With Beenie backstage on the mike and Barrington on stage, the two had Miami weak…everyone anticipating that at any moment the doctor would hit the stage. But he chose to remain a mystery until it was his time to have the gathering all to himself.

Levy closed off his set with a piece of "Dangerously."

With little time left and the last two headliners to go, 12:20 am brought on Buju Banton to a screaming crowd. Sting Miami welcomed him with all the love they had, and Buju did not disappoint. Delivering old and new favourites, the Gargamel had Miami under his spell, and when he drew for a line from "Boom Bye Bye," the place erupted…come to think of it, no matter what he came with, the crowd went wild.

At 12:45 am, Buju cut his performance short, not getting to spend as much time as he wanted with his fans…and they themselves were just as disappointed as it was quite evident that they wanted much more of the Gargamel.

Cutting it real close to cut off time, final act Beenie Man entered on stage at 12:50 am and got a huge teddy bear hug from his ever-loving Miami fans. Dressed in full white, the Doctor had the perfect medicine for his thousands of Miami fans…and they were more than eager to accept it. At one point, unsheathing his Ninja sword, he showed who the real bad man was and Miami was inclined to agree. With each delivery, Beenie had the crowd entranced and when it was time for him to say goodbye at approximately 1:15 am, they were disappointed to see him go.

But that was the end of it, and although it was a good show with a good package and a night of great performances, the audience seemed as if they could have spent the rest of the morning enjoying more of what the tropical island had brought to their sunshine state.

Hats off to promoters Supreme Promotions, Global Ventures and Supreme Entertainment for a job well done and for proving their true professionalism and worth as promoters. With year two of the annual event now behind them, Miami is already looking forward to year three, God willing.