Peace and unity at reggae Xplosion

REGGAE and dancehall music fans enjoyed a thoroughly entertaining concert event last weekend as Magnum Tonic Wine hosted the second annual Magnum Xplosion Inferno concert at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain.

Jamaican dancehall stars, Rodney Price (aka Bounty Killer) and Sheldon "Aidonia" Lawrence even gave advice and demonstrated unity to the audience, during their respective performances in front of several thousand fans at the Savannah.

The Magnum Inferno attracted patrons from all age groups and walks of life. Addressing the gathering during his performance of the classic Bug Riddim single Look (Into My Eyes), Price said: "Listen me, one way to get out the struggle is to come together. They call me the Poor People's Governor, and I've been governing this for the last 25 years and I still can't come up with a better solution... The most solution I can give you: each one, teach one to reach one. So let us and black folks, Indian folks, Chinese folks, yellow folks, blue folks, one people. Despite your colour, your race or your creed, be one and we will be over with everything!"

Price was energised as he took the stage just after 1 am and received a resounding reception. A light rain began to drizzle on the gathering, as Price came onstage and continued to build the wave that was ignited by the performer before him, Montego Bay representative Timoy "Teejay" Jones.

Jones had re-awakened the assembly and elicited tremendous fanfare with his strong stage presence, clear vocal performance and hit singles such as crowd favourites, Grimy and Up Top Boss. Early contributions came from a few home-grown acts not previously advertised, as well as reggae legends Calvin "Cocoa Tea" Scott and Lewin "Louie Culture" and were celebrated with tremendous crowd participation and interaction. This was before home-grown acts LLano "Jahllano" Grant and Taryll "Prince Swanny" Swan kicked off the dancehall segment around midnight.

Closing off the event as he took the stage just after 2 am, S Lawrence also demonstrated unity as he shared his stage time with several members of his JOP Crew of up-and-coming acts, including: "Jayds," "Tanso" and local supporter "Lawless." Much to the crowd's surprise and delight, Lawrence also brought out his long-time friend and mentor Wallace "Red Rat" Wilson for a quick medley of his long favoured hits.

Lawrence further shocked the assembly when he dove into the crowd to "jump up with his fans" while performing his smash hit Yeah Yeah and also successfully navigated the fence between the general and VIP sections to spend time on the ground with both sections.

Throughout the night several female promotional models fulfilled double duties by promoting, selling and delivering Magnum products to patrons (via bucket beer men) and appearing onstage to dance with performers Teejay and Bounty Killer on request.

Event organisers expressed great satisfaction with the event and Magnum marketing manager for the region, Kamal Powell said: “Trinidad has always been one of the best stops for Magnum Xplosion. This year, with an extended line-up to include reggae veterans Cocoa Tea and Louie Culture, we were able to offer consumers an even more electrifying experience. Bounty Killer certainly did not disappoint and gave one of the most memorable performances. Overall the show was a success and a great way to close the curtains on Magnum Xplosion 2019.”

The event ended around 3 am.