Thousands of persons waited patiently for the arrival of Vybz Kartel a.k.a Addi the Teacha on the Magnum Follow Di Arrow stage, and they were not disappointed on Sunday morning at James Bond Beach.Buffetted by the high-profile exits of artistes in recent weeks and withering critiques by his detractors in the media and entertainment circles, the Gaza Don proved why he has been Jamaica's top deejay two consecutive years with a great performance peppered with not only hits but the future promise of a new vanguard of artistes.
From the moment, he declared 'de pon di Gaza' from backstage, the crowd began to hum with a nervous kind of excitement. Then the crowd erupted with a huge roar as he hit the stage singing 'Mind Pon Mi Money'.
"Mek mi tell yu why mi say Gaza," Kartel crooned before doing Nah on the Street Team riddim. The crowd roared and fire torches belched orange in the cool morning air.
Getting comfortable on the stage, he asked: 'how oonu love me so?". The girls screamed. Then the band struck up the riddim for Love Dem, and the girls sang 'set me free, set me free'.
"Mi nah pay no man no mind cause gal ah run mi down..." he said, then launched into Love Dem. He then invited on Sheba to do their combination top ten hit, 'Gal Wah Mi Do', however Sheba needs to learn how to project her voice more so that the crowd can hear her properly. After that song, Kartel segued neatly into Nah Let Go, then invited on Jahvinci who did 'Touch the Road Today' sans Blak Ryno of course.
Popcaan got a forward for Nuh Ordinary Girl before taking a moment to big up Vybz Kartel.
"Yu see Vybz Kartel, all when him do good, people say a bad, but mi no business who waan lef, Gaza forever!" he said, as the Gaza fans roared.
Then he deejayed a song called 'Dem Sell We Out' which appeared to diss Blak Ryno.
He deejayed: "Wah dem do it fah?/A coulda chicken or pizza/Tell me why mi yu do that Peter/Yu never tough like Lisa/(Chorus)Dem sell we out (yeah) Use mi father fi get visa/the little fool never real to the ting/deep inna him hear him bad mind the king/a watch the man rose gold chain and ring/anno dat gi him power, ah de song weh him sing/yu know say yu bad mind from yu born/yu no rate Jahvinci, yu no rate Shawn Storm/vex through the general sign Popcaan/caan believe the good wheat tun inna thorn/CHORUS dem sell we out.
The crowd was a bit perplexed but sections of the crowd gave him a forward.
Vybz Kartel then did two more hits, Virginity and Mr. Officer on the Triple Bounce, the latter getting a huge forward from the crowd. He then segued into Bicycle and Slow Motion.
"Vybz Kartel get the most fight inna the business, but ah work mi come fi work," he said. "Mi anno *****man and mi is not no bowcat." Then he did 'Mi No Bore My Tongue' and the crowd gave him another big forward.
One of the highlights of Kartel's performance was his introduction of Gaza Slim who sang a new song, Dedicated. It was here that one could see the genius that makes Kartel such a beast in the local industry. First, he directed the band on how to play her, and sang harmony as she crooned her song, and then on her next song, Mean Man which she did a cappella, he gave her encouragement and then began to hit the microphone rhythmically as she delivered her song. That is the essence of what makes Kartel great, his willingness to take chances with young acts and to bankroll their development to the next stage of their careers. He also introduced a new act called Tommy Lee who wowed the audience with a vibesy song. Shawn Storm also got a good response for Mama Bawl.