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Title:
Sting 2001
Concept: Annual Bashment Stage show
Cost: J$1000
Venue: Jamworld,
St. Catherine
Date: Boxing Day
by
Mic Chik
Most
of us younguns grew up with Sting as the foundation of all stage
shows. I'll never forget my first Sting in 1991. I was 14 years
old and mesmerized to no end at what occurred on stage and in
the crowd. My breddrin was explaining to me that sometimes there
are stampedes in the crowd. I brushed it off as a one in a million
type occurrence then next thing you know, somebody shouted out
"STAAMPEEDE!!!" There you had it - my first time experiencing
hundreds of people running towards me like a herd of mad buffalo.
I can only look back and snicker at my naivety.
Sting has been an integral part of my life ever since that time.
Oddly enough, despite the stampedes, gunshots and bottle throwing,
I immediately fell in love with "the" Dancehall and its bizarre,
fascinating culture.
We
have all watched many artists grow up on Sting. Buju Banton
performed for the very first time on Sting '91 even before he
released his freshman album, Mr Mention. I believe it was 1994
that Frisco Kid attempted to battle Mad Cobra on stage at the
very beginning of his career (with tunes like "Hotta" & "Wackie
News") while Cobra was at his peak. Frisco came off quicker
than he could tie his shoeslace! Nowadays, Frisco is always
one of the headlining acts.
When the
Notorious B.I.G. performed at Sting '96, the standard practice
of bottle throwing became international news. At a time when
Dancehall was still pure Dancehall, ie. Dancehall sans Hip-Hop,
Biggie took it upon himself, as an MC from Brooklyn, to address
the patrons as "Niggas & Bitches". The equally notorious Sting
audience was nowhere near ready for that and in disgust, unleashed
their ammunition of bottles on stage.
Just ONE
YEAR LATER, at the same venue (National Stadium) and on the
same stage, female rapper Foxy Brown gave the audience a full
set riddled with talk of "pu**y eatin' niggas", "back stabbin'
bitches" and hearty thanks to the promoters for her three million
dollar pay check. Although the audience was stunned, there was
no immediate backlash. In fact, most of the female patrons loved
every second of it and I even caught a few guys saluting Foxy
with a gun finger or two. It was official. Hip-Hop had infiltrated
Jamaica…but that is definitely another story.
1996 and '97
were not the first instances of foreign acts - specifically Hip-Hop
acts - being brought to Sting's stage. Kriss Kross and The Fat
Boys had performed in previous years. Drag-On and DMX of Ruff
Ryders performed in '99 and 2000 respectively. Unfortunate in
the eyes of die-hard Dancehall fans, what had started out as a
marketing ploy had become a necessity at Sting, especially in
the wake of a tremendous boom of "crossover" dancehall lyrics
and riddims due extensively in part to cable TV. If a big rapper
wasn't going to be there - it wasn't going to be a wicked stage
show.
However, what
was dubbed the "Clash of the Warriors" between Ninjaman and Merciless,
turned 4-way with the addition of Bounty Killer and Beenie Man
in 2000 seemed to change the ideals of what had become Sting.
One of the first things I asked Laing after final discussion of
Whaddat.com being an Official Site of Sting 2001 was "Who are
you bringing from the States?" "Nobody!" he said, "It's a local
show." I was glad. It's high time, especially with the rapidly
declining state of Dancehall, to bring back the old Sting - The
Jamaican Sting.
Sting 2001
- The Greatest Show on Earth
My original
plan was to make it a triple-header on Boxing Day night. I figured
I would head out to Jana Bent & Farenheit's show at Carlos' Café,
pop in at Limelight and eventually make it out to Sting by about
3am. Things didn't exactly go that way, since my sparring P -
Tech Master Ramon - was leaving at 10:30pm. My GAWD! Who in dem
right mind reach Sting so early? HA! We reached at the perfect
time. Traffic hadn't reached any treacherous proportions yet.
We were at the VIP parking lot gate in under an hour. Every single
passenger in every vehicle was frisked and searched thoroughly
along with their belongings, and car interiors were searched for
weapons and other contraband. Bottles were taken out of cars and
hands and we were whisked inside.
I love Jamworld.
The set up is great. The VIP area comprised of a bar and foreign
media cameras running around catching the artists on tape. You
couldn't see the stage because it's a room behind and under the
stage so it's not like a Loaded event or any other stage show
rammed up with "VI" people and artists' entourages. There was
a big screen TV showing the performances and just chill. One thing
I looked for when I got there was Reggaesting.com's room. They
were broadcasting Sting 2001 LIVE over the Internet and I was
really curious to see how they were pulling it off. They had a
little room full of computers and other technical equipment surrounded
by several toiling techies. Very cool. Casanova - yuh large! Over
400,000 people logged on to watch Sting 2001 Live (and that's
only the beginning). I also bucked up on the Jamtalk boys promoting
and launching their new calling cards. (can we say plug? *wink*)
Thanks for the card guys!!
No time wasting,
I headed for the gate that lead to the stage. I wasn't allowed
back there because it was too crammed up. I guess maybe they thought
The Mic Chik couldn't hold her own amid a slew of rowdy dancehall
fans trying to force their way on stage. Whatever the case, I
chilled for a minute while the masses dispersed then ran side
stage just as Sean Paul stepped up. Known for his non-dramatic
performances, Sean seemed to put in an extra special effort in
this performance. The crowd received him well especially when
he dropped "Don't Really Care" - his contribution to Tony
Kelly's Buy Out Riddim. His fifteen minutes was up when he decided
to drop one more tune. By that time, the crowd was bored and ready
for someone else.
That somebody
was Risto Benji. He was set to mash up the crowd. Unfortunately,
during his first song, he cussed a "bad" word and his mic and
the lights were turned off immediately. I wasn't quite sure what
was going on and I'm not too sure he did either. He remained on
stage shouting at whoever was present side stage until his mic
was turned on briefly, only to resonate a series of angry cuss
words. That was it. The mic was turned off, Risto Benji threw
it on the ground, kicked it a couple times then stormed off stage.
BOOM! Danny
English hath returneth! He started his set with "Yuh Neva Bow"
and everybody who wasn't a Danny English fan before must have
been instantly hooked! The man is the da shizzy sha hizzy nit.
He brought on two young artists. Eggnog did well although I could've
sworn I heard couple boo.
Everybody's
favourite young artist, Wayne "The Marshall", graced Sting solo
for the first time. In fact, this was his first major stage show
going up by himself. From the very second he stepped up, the crowd
was going mad. Then oops! Wayne go slip up and cuss one 'claat.
Instantaneous lock off mic. This was not the place to f*ck up,
so he stayed on stage looking very bewildered. I quote Wayne post-Sting
- "I knew they wasn't going to turn on the mic unless something
supernatural happened. It was all up to God from then - and my
people." His people saved him all right. When they started
throwing full plastic bottles at the stage in protest. We love
Wayne! We love Wayne! He was saved and finished his set in all
his wicked glory. Some say Sting was Wayne's show! Definitely
his most crucial so far. He brought up Vybez kartel after the
brief bottle fest and they both brought the house down. Look out
for Vybez Kartel in 2002…he's coming - hard!
Twingy Twang!
Former In The Streetz artist, Hawkeye burst onto stage with an
enormous vibe, which simmered pretty quickly until he brought
up Kiva - the new in-girl Dancehall Princess. What a way him hangle
di gyal! The two a dem mussi sore afta dat.
Kip Rich cooled
off the stage appearing in a full blue superhero-esque get up.
The crowd was cool too until he dropped "Leggo di Bwoy" -
his claim to fame. Laing got a little antsy when Kip Rich overstayed
his welcome, but the seasoned young artist exited before any drastic
measures were taken.
After an emotional
display by Paul Elliot, Warrior King came up. Definitely one of
the most anticipated acts for the night, he worked a perfect set.
Not too long, not too short and his chart toppers "Never go
Where the Pagans Go" and "Virtuous Woman" were ideally placed.
At one point, he acted like he was going to come off stage as
if to encourage an encore but was quickly discouraged by side
stage industry persons. He's too young of an artist, and that
would have been a boasty move.
Captain Barkey
& Wickerman came on stage and dealt with their performance like
the veterans they are. Both dressed in full white Nike track suits
and afro wigs, they delivered a comedic hardcore set that got
me railing like a mad woman. "Bun fi Bun" and "Girls Gungo Walk"
were brilliant.
Click
here for Sting 2001 part 2 : Morgans Heritage, Sizzla,
Elephant Man, Frisco & The Finale |
