Spice in full flight. - Adrian Frater

Western Bureau:

Dancehall music ruled supreme at the spacious Lux Ultra Lounge in Orlando, Florida, on Friday night as a jam-packed crowd rocked and grooved to a fantastic event, which saw female deejay sensation Spice stealing the show with a dazzling set laced with hardcore lyrics.

In what was a memorable show, even House of Leeds recording artistes Iyahblazze, the only roots/rock/reggae act in the line-up, was able to hold his own in a line-up which featured established stars such as Wayne Wonder, Serani, Tonto Metro and Devonte and special guest artiste Munga Honourable.

charismatic Spice

However, at the end of the night, the vast majority of the accolades fell at the feet of the charismatic Spice, who was both expressive and demonstrative as she added the most colour to the show, staged as a birthday celebration for popular Orlando promoter CC, the Reggae Ambassador.

Hitting centre stage minutes before 2 a.m. and cognisant that the show started late and had to end at 3 a.m., Spice hit the ground running as there was near pandemonium as her voice echoed, "me is gall weh nuh fight over man".

It was all excitement as both Spice's sparkling black-and-silver outfit and her lyrics in songs such as Virgin Story,Dagga, Slim versus Fluffy and the controversial Rampin' Shop connected with the audience. The appreciative screams got louder as she added her seductive gyrating to the mix.

During Spice's musical onslaught, several female members of the audience joined her on stage, showing off their dancing skills. One lady created quite a stir, dancing on her head - go-go dance style, which elicited piercing screams as various parts of her anatomy got exposed under the glare of the stage lights.

The show, which started 20 minutes late, was opened by the dapper Iyahblazze, who caught immediate attention in his white outfit and matching turban, which was trimmed with red, green and gold. While he initially struggled, he soon settled down, making his US debut a pleasing one with songs such as No Heart Fe the Poor, Rasta fe Clean and Woman I.

After the rootsy-flavoured lyrics of Iyahblazze, rich dancehall music took over with singer Pressure bang on target. After opening with his popular hit, Love and Affection, he proceeded to stamp his class, generating much excitement with Never Give Up and Bless My Soul.

screams of delight

The dancehall duo of Tonto Metro and Devonte went full blast. The venue was soon rocking with screams of delight as they connected with, Fall in Love and Gal Se Whoa. Midway through their second song, singer Wayne Wonder joined them on the stage. He immediately sent the girls into a screaming frenzy as he reeled off a brilliant rendition of Searching, which he immediately followed up with Rainbow.

With the trio exciting the crowd, deejay Silver Cat joined the fray. He made an instant impact, rolling back the clock with his once popular song Two Fowl a me Yard. His energetic gyrating had the girls grabbing and pulling him.

Serani, who appeared as the penultimate act, was in a velvet-smooth mood and he not only sang beautifully but took time out to teach the crowd some of the latest dance moves from Jamaica. He was particularly sharp on songs such as Good Over Evil, Bad Mind, Skip to Maloo, Drive Out and his smash hit single No Game.

Serani made way for the final act, a fresh-sounding Munga Honourable. He could do no wrong as the crowd gave him much love. He was quite good, skilfully delivering songs like Bad from Me Born, Bust It and Faster. He closed the show in fine style with a thought-provoking rendition of Prayer.