BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT was a night of oneness as the life and birth anniversaries of two gifted Jamaican reggae artistes were celebrated at Ma Pau on Friday, February 24.
In the presence of the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian and Minister of Youth Empowerment Glen Phillip, the Jamaican/Kittitian (JamKit) Association joined with Island Xpressions to celebrate the birthdays of the king and prince of reggae Bob Marley and Dennis Brown, respectively, two deceased who were both born in February.
The night was also in celebration of Island Xpressions’ third anniversary.
The performers, who paid tribute by singing the songs of the legendary artistes, included Sankofa Lion, Jade Orchid and friends, King Socrates, Crucial Bankie and Zemenfes Kidus.
Carol Phillip, President of the JamKit Association, said they had held a tribute last year and this year they were a bit late with organising another and decided to collaborate with Island Xpressions.
“A lot of his performers performed on our show last year and the tribute is to instill on the psyche of Kittitian people the importance of Bob and Dennis. It’s the month of reggae and it’s called reggae month in Jamaica,” she said.
Phillip said that there is a month long celebration for the artistes in Jamaica and although they were unable to do that in St. Kitts they still wanted to have a night to celebrate.
She said the performances were good.
“I think they were very good. I was pleased especially with the performance of Jade Orchid and Friends. They did a medley of songs, one from Dennis and two from Bob, and gave them a jazzy sound. It was very nice, and King Socrates singing reggae was great as well,” she added.
Phillip said that the event was sponsored by Digicel and that the association has been in existence for over 30 years but it was recently revived, adding that its members try to celebrate important events held in Jamaica as much as possible.
Those events include Jamaica’s Independence and National Heroes Day. She said they also celebrate St. Kitts and Nevis Independence and National Heroes Day.
Samal Duggins, organiser of Island Xpressions, said he was pleased to have the association collaborate with them and is of the view that they had created a magical night.
“When you look at the motive of the show, it was to celebrate the life and legacy of two cultural and entertainment icons of the Caribbean. They have been instrumental in what we do here which is now a global product.
“Without them we wouldn’t be where we are as a people. These artistes paved the way and the least we can do is acknowledge their presence and hard work,” he said.
Also in celebration of their third anniversary, Duggins presented awards to Jihan Williams, Ervin Welsh, Sheldon Hendrickson and P. Clayton Huggins who have been instrumental in the continuation of Island Xpressions.
“We took poetry out the closet and almost everywhere you turn poetry is being performed. Everyone is using poetry as a demanded art form and that never used to happen before. It used to be taboo.
“When I look at the development of artistes memorising their work and body language onstage, I feel proud as IX has contributed to that overtime. We have exposed a lot of new talent down here and we want to continue exposing them and keeping them alive,” Duggins said.
Island Xpressions is held on the last Thursday of each month.
