4 months ago
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Physically fit and exhibiting an agility that would put younger artistes to shame, dancehall icon Yellowman made his exciting début at ‘Jam in France, A Reggae Night’ last Thursday at the French Embassy in St Andrew.
Yellowman was the headliner at the third staging of the Reggae Month event, featuring French reggae artiste David Cairol and Friends, and it was a night on which all the artistes made a lasting impact. At 11:12 p.m. Yellowman, in a full Nike outfit, took to the stage declaring that it’s “One general inna di yard … one Yellowman inna di world,” perhaps a veiled reference to the King of Dancehall conversation now swirling.
He delved into his box of songs and pulled out hits including Come Back Darling, Blueberry Hill, Fly Away Home, and even made sly sexual suggestions and moves. He played with the crowd, asking the question, “What’s my name?” Of course, the answer was “King Yellowman!”
But the veteran deejay, whose face is scarred from surgery, said calmly, “My name is Tony Montana,” a reference to the character in the 1983 film Scarface. The title of the movie is based on the nickname given to notorious gangster Al Capone, who had a prominent facial scar. The crowd laughed with him poking fun at himself.
Yellowman, in a post-performance interview with The Gleaner, emphasised the importance of reggae music to the world.
“Reggae is the music that mek the world know about Jamaica … reggae, ska, rocksteady, dancehall … about eight genre of music Jamaica have and they all make Jamaica popular. I want to tell Jamaica that reggae is worth more than gold, more than silver, more than diamonds, more than money. This is the music that freed Africa and the world. All over the world, the people sing the songs and they don’t even speak English,” Yellowman said.
PERFORMERS
The Reggae Month concert started minutes after 8 o’clock with students from St Jago High School singing an original song, Born Survivors, along with David Cairol. The singer has been working with students in Jamaica and France on song projects for the past few years. In 2023, he linked up with St George’s College and the Stella Maris Middle School in France for Keepers of the Flame, which the Jamaican students performed primarily in French and the French students performed mainly in English. A visually engaging video of the project was shown and applauded.
Up-and-coming singer Ojay the Great made good use of his time, and so, too, did Bijean, who, on a pre-Valentine’s night, got his set going with the love song, Don’t Throw it All Away, which the women loved. Cognisant of the time constraints, he followed it up with Too Experienced and Police and Thieves, in which he showed off his falsetto.
A confident Lymie Murray was a Soul Rebel with a cause, assisting his talented daughter, Sobah, to carve out her space in the music business. He called her up on stage for a duet, after which the up-and-coming singer gave the audience a taste of her scrumptious 10 Fry Dumplin. They loved it, and wanted more.
The illustrious Bongo Herman, wearing a cap marked ‘Bob’, sang and drummed his way into the hearts of fans, new and old, while regaling them with tales of him and his friend Bob Marley.
“I always do this event and refresh it back every year. It nice. Is not what yuh do, is how yuh do it. And is not who is right, it what is right. Being a foundation performer ... come from out of Miss Lou school ... whenever time I hit the stage I know what to do – entertain,” Bongo shared with The Gleaner.
Singer Marlon Brown, who will be releasing his Something Special album on Tuesday, made a good impression at the Dennis Brown Tribute concert on February 1 at the Edna Manley College’s auditorium, and he took it up a notch with his Jam in France performance with the songs She’s Got it and Love at First Sight. He got a second stint on stage when he was called on by David Cairol, with whom he has a collaboration titled Dread. Cairol, the man of the moment, showed his strength with a selection of songs from his growing reggae catalogue.
French artiste, Twan Tee, was entertaining and so too were Mo’kalamity and Micah Shemaiah.
Surprise performances came from veteran singer Ken Boothe – for whom Jam in France was his second live performance in four years – and Yohan Marley, the grandson of the King of Reggae, Bob Marley.
French Ambassador Olivier Guyonvarch was delighted with how the concert played out.
“Tonight, we have seen the spirit to share joy, to share music, to share reggae with everyone who loves it. We have two artistes who were not supposed to be here and they came on stage, and that’s the spirit of this concert. This event has been growing. It is the third time, and it’s the best time ... and so, we’ll see next year,” Guyonvarch said.
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