Outstanding performances bring Reggae Sumfest to a close

BY CECELIA CAMPBELL-LIVINGSTON Observer staff reporter Livingstonc@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, July 25, 2011

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The 19th staging of Reggae Sumfest came to its climax Sunday morning at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay with some outstanding performances.

US-based rapper Nicki Minaj, on her first performance in Jamaica, managed to excite the crowd with her expletive laced songs.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had those same expletives come from the lips of our own Jamaican performers. Two nights before, singjay IOctane admitted on stage that he was warned by the police not to perform the ganja-loving Puff It. Yet Minaj enjoyed the privilege of one expletive after another without any form of warning or sanction.

Nonetheless, her many fans, who seemed totally carried away, didn't mind. Whatever she dished out they were more than willing to lap up. Among the winning numbers she performed were Dungeon Dragon, Bottoms Up, My Chick Bad, Your Love, Monster, Bedrock and Moments For Life. Minaj also scored with her attempts to talk Jamaican and she totally wooed the crowd with her stage dramatics and appealing presence. If there was one negative about her performance where the fans were concerned, it was the shortness of her stint, as some openly commented on how quickly she exited the stage.

Earlier in the evening, young reggae songbird Cherine Anderson delighted by showing her musical versatility. She played the guitar as she sang the lyrics to Good Love. With the guitar segment out of the way she danced her way into the media section where she gently pulled onstage an Italian male visitor. 

After Cherine's steamy performance Hezron was next. Always about the ladies, the artiste, backed by his harmonious back-up singers, easily wowed his way into the hearts of the thousands of females present with his sexy soul-filling love melodies. If churning the lyrics to songs, such as You Are Always On My Mind and Wait Until Tonight wasn't enough, he went the extra mile giving several ladies in the audience a rose much to their delight.

— Additional reporting by Simone Morgan

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Outstanding-performances-brings-Reggae-Sumfest-to-a-close#ixzz1T9W4QoEu