The Jamaican Wanderer: Buju comes to TT

OF the many responses I have heard from people who attended, the most said about the show, particularly Buju's performance, was spiritually enlightening.

Buju Banton has been a part of Jamaica's musical architecture as much as Bob Marley and is a voice I can recall hearing for as long as I have been hearing reggae music.

Last week Sunday was my first time seeing him perform live, but I have heard albums of his played by my father so many times while driving throughout Jamaica on country treks, I lost count. Hearing, "Our father, who art in Zion..." brought me right back to when I was probably four when my father had the album on Til' Shiloh on replay.

Due to high airfares for travel within the region, the option of jumping over to Jamaica for his Long Walk to Freedom concert was not a possibility. So I was happy to be there to witness a true showman inspire a crowd when Mark "Buju Banton" Myrie, aka the Gargamel, returned to TT for the first time last week Sunday.

However, thanks to the performances given by the Isasha, Kes the Band, Lust, Wayne Wonder, Luciano, and Koffee, I found great consolation for missing his first performance in Jamaica.

The youngest artiste to perform, Koffee, was impressive and based on the response from the crowd and chatter after her performance, she is poised to make an even greater impact with time. The audience sang loudly, almost word for word, as she performed Raggamuffin, Blazin, Burning, Rapture and her hit Toast. Like the Gargamel, 19-year-old Koffee clearly captured the heart of TT as much as she did the heart of Jamaica.

The group Lust was vocally sound but got a mixed response from the audience during what they called the "church segment." This happens in many Jamaican concerts and parties, where, in the midst of secular music, gospel music is played or sung. It was interesting to see some people respond exactly as Jamaicans would, by singing and dancing as if they were in church. However, most attendees seemed a bit confused – but Luciano got the crowd excited during his performance which included a backflip.

Witnessing the crowd's response to each performance, as they sang along and danced to reggae, made me feel like I was at any stage show in Jamaica.

Hearing a crowd made up of people from all over TT and the region, with pockets of the diaspora and tourists, singing these same songs, was a proud moment. I am Legend was yet another display of Caribbean talent and unity.

A well-arranged T-shaped stage, clean sound production, and vibrant lighting were complemented by banners and flags reading I am Legend. The audience was made up of people of all races. Styling was as wide in range as the people. Red, green and gold, African prints, khaki suits, denim on denim – everybody skanking to the same beat and singing the same songs in unison.

Amidst the beauty of unison, however, there was the ever-present stratification of people – general, VIP, VVIP and what seemed to be an Ultra VVIP experience, closer to the stage and elevated above all the other patrons. It communicated the same element of separation as ropes in Carnival.

At one point during Buju's performance, I got to go onstage. Feeling the vibration while standing between the percussionist, keyboard player and the drummer was energising. Seeing them skilfully execute their craft was something I had never experienced in that way.

But nothing beat seeing Buju perform within 12 feet of where I was standing. Like Bob Marley, he seemed entranced, jumped, skipping and dancing while singing – and seeing the whole audience and how they responded from that vantage point was powerful. I was inspired to witness another great talent from Jamaica, like Marcus Garvey and Marley, use his art to unify and inspire people on a global scale. It gave me goosebumps.

While Buju performed songs promoting love, unity, and empowerment, heavily armed police walked in line through the crowd with powerful automatic guns. The juxtaposition of chanted lyrics promoting peace with a heavy police presence made me feel at any moment a concert could have become a war zone.

Fortunately, the show was incident-free, and the powerful performances by the engaging artistes outweighed the discomfort.

Peace and unity being a message of the concert were further emphasised by Buju inviting Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith on stage. The previous night, Buju had posted on Instagram to say the police had searched his hotel room but found nothing illegal. After the post, Griffith said it had been a mistake.

Inviting Griffith on stage, Buju said, "Tell the people of TT that all is well," to which Griffth responded, "I want to say thanks to the citizens of TT here and abroad, and the many visitors we have...Welcome to our great country, hope to see you soon...TT and Jamaica, pals forever." The two then shook hands, in an echo of the opposing leaders of the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, shaking hands to symbolise unity during political civil war at Marley's 1978 One Love concert in Kingston.

Apart from that image, it was interesting seeing a Rastaman and babylon – the Jamaican term for the police – shaking hands. In Jamaica, the police are said to have been in the lead of many forms of oppression and abuse toward the Rastafarian community, such as the Coral Gardens massacre in 1963, when many Rastafarians were killed.

Performing hits including Murderer, Untold Stories, Champion, Destiny, Not an Easy Road, and Hills and Valleys, Buju gave a show that made the crowd erupt in excitement, then become calm to a point where some seemed moved to tears.

I look forward to more powerful music from the Gargamel as he continues to inspire positive change, empower the disenfranchised, and help strengthen the ties between the most magical collection of people in the world.