Rayon Dyer, Black River
The Monster Empire did not leave the 'feud' out of their performance, claiming that Beenie is bigger than Bounty. - Nathaniel Stewart Photos
Patrons to the show Hype 2K8, held on Saturday night at the Independence Park Complex in Black River, St Elizabeth, had to wait three hours longer than scheduled for the start of the show. But the performances of Vybz Kartel and Monster Empire made the wait a worth while one.
Entering the stage at 5 a.m., Vybz Kartel immediately lifted the vibes of the show with his tune Send On, and from there he ignited the crowd with every tune he sang.
Some life and energy
The Monster Empire was no less impressive as they brought some life and energy to the show when they graced the stage at 4:10 a.m. To maintain the energy, the Monster Empire delivered a host of deejay-hype tunes before their set was cut short by Ninja Man, who invaded the stage.
The Ninja, however, used the short time to lyrically attack Rodney Price, aka Bounty Killer. It seemed that Ninja Man wanted a clash, none was forthcoming however.
Other artistes who showed the crowd that they had a reason for being at Hype 2K8 were Queen Paula, Delishus, Jah Mason, John Holt and Gyptian.
Moneymaking year
Just when it seemed as if the patrons had no more money to buy up the drinks and food on sale, the new kid on the block Konshens reminded them that this was a moneymaking year.
He chose tunes such as Rasta, Winner and a few other singles which gave the crowd more than one reason to favour his performance.
George Knooks was never dull as he added a spiritual flavour to the hype with hits such as How Great Thou Art, God is Standing By and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The performances of Bounty Killer and Macka Diamond were so distasteful that they got little or no response from the crowd.
Macka's slack lyrics just did not catch on to the hype and the Killer's harsh words for homosexuals added nothing to his performance on this occasion.
Vybz Kartel at Beenie Sizzle held at Jamalco Sports Club, Clarendon, on August 6.
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