BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THURSDAY (Mar. 7) was a night embellished with an atmosphere of ‘one love’ at Ma Pau on Port Zante, where Island Xpressions (IX) in collaboration with the Jamaican/Kittitian (JamKit) Association held an event dubbed ‘I Love Reggae’.
The event was held in honour of the late Jamaican Reggae icons, Bob Marley and Dennis Brown, whose birth anniversaries are celebrated in February.
Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 and died on May 11, 1981, while Dennis Brown was born on February 1, 1957 and died on July 1, 1999. These two Jamaicans were internationally-acclaimed as the 'King of Reggae' and 'The Crown Prince of Reggae’ respectively.
Thursday night’s event had seen a collective blend of feel good Reggae vibrations. And despite the low turnout, the performances delivered were top-notch and all presentations were well received by a very appreciative audience.
Well-known national Rastafarian Reggae artiste Sankofah Lion remembered Bob Marley through spoken words and music.
During his passionate appeal for the decriminalisation of marijuana, he linked Bob Marley’s affiliation with the herb and sang the King of Reggae’s hit tune ‘Jah Live’.
An obviously pregnant artiste, Mz. Kitten, was well-received by the audience in her renditions of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ and ‘Natural Mystic’. She was accompanied by uprising national Rastafarian Reggae artiste DC, who provided back-up vocals.
DC also entertained the audience with his popular ‘Love My Locs’ song.
The Limitless Band LP played a variety of Reggae songs, including ‘One Love’ by Bob Marley, ‘Superman’ by Tarrus Riley and ‘Just Don’t Wanna Be Lonely’ which was made popular by Freddie Mac Gregor but originally sang by a group called Main Ingredient in 1974.
The evening was also spiced with the recital of poems by Elsie, Mario, Devon and Dr. natta.
The President of IX, Samal Duggins, hosted the show and remarked that it was being held to “celebrate the talent of two music legends of the Caribbean region”.
“We may be small in numbers, but we're going to keep the vibes good,” he told the audience during his opening remarks.
President of JAMKIT, Carol Phillips, highlighted that the event, which was scheduled for an earlier date, had to be pushed back due to circumstances beyond the organisers’ control.
In observance of the small crowd, she opined that the change of date had “somewhat” affected the turnout.
Phillips said the event was being held to "celebrate the work and contributions of these two gentlemen".
She shared that in Jamaica, although there are Reggae concerts throughout the year, during the month the February, Reggae concerts featuring top artistes are held every week.
First time patrons were presented with prize pouches compliments Digicel, which contained items such as headphones and top-up cards.
The top prize of the night was a Samsung Galaxy mobile handset which was won by new patron Camech Smithen. Her name was pulled from a raffle bag in which all patrons were asked to place their names on strips of paper for a chance to win the valuable prize.