On Saturday July 16, 2011 Grammy winning, diamond-selling Reggae superstar Orville “Shaggy” Burrell hosted a free block party on Knutsford Boulevard in Kingston to celebrate the launch of his album “Summer in Kingston” and the premiere of the video for his new single “Sugarcane”.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
Patrons were treated to performances by Agent Sasco, Chino, Di Genius, Stone Love, Renaissance and Ity and Fancy Cat among others. The boulevard was packed with people who showed up in droves to see the spectacle which included race car displays, surprise performances by elite members of Jamaica’s music fraternity and a VIP area set up with a Sugarcane and “Jelly” theme. Popular Jamaican comedians and the night’s masters of ceremony Ity and Fancy Cat were the first to entertain the ever-expanding crowd who thoroughly enjoyed their particular brand of humour.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
After animated acts by Dancehall artistes QQ, Khago, Chino and Di Genius, Agent Sasco (formerly known as “Assassin”) took the energy level up a notch with his entrance. The audience showed their support with loud cheers and blaring horns throughout his performance, but they really went wild when Dancehall veteran Bounty Killer made his surprise entrance during Agent Sasco’s performance.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
The premiere of the highly anticipated video for Shaggy’s spanking new single “Sugarcane” soon followed. The smooth reggae-pop feel of the song combined with the beautiful island imagery of the video had members of the audience swaying to the beat. To the audience’s pleasure the visually stimulating video continued to play in the background as Shaggy performed on stage soon after.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
The man of the evening entered singing his mammoth hit “Church Heathen” to resounding cheers from a crowd who had been patiently waiting for his arrival. “Bonafide Girl”, a hit particularly with the ladies was up next, followed by the song that made Shaggy a household name “Bombastic”, this performance was accompanied by Shaggy’s signature “slow wine” dance which made the ladies in the audience scream a little louder than before.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
Singer Rayvon joined him on stage to perform their single “Angel” as well as “Strength of a Woman”. Then it was time to debut a couple of songs from his brand new album “Feeling Alive” featuring Agent Sasco who then returned to the stage to perform with Shaggy was up first, followed by “The Only One”. Though the crowd immediately wanted more songs from the new album Shaggy decided to delay the pleasure a bit by performing his hits “It Wasn’t Me” and “Bad Man Don’t Cry”, “What’s Love Gotta do with It?” and “Hey Sexy Lady”.
( Photo by Varun Baker )
“Sugarcane”, with it’s catchy melody was well received when performed live and it promises to be one of this summer’s hit songs. After a night full of surprises the audience had yet one more waiting for them. “Energy God” Elephant Man took the stage to the thrill of the crowd. Known for his particularly animated antics on stage this performance was no different. Impromptu dance competitions had the audience in a frenzy. It only got better when Bounty Killer returned to the stage to join him in performing the crowd favourite “How We Do It”. The night was a big success for Shaggy and left those in attendance looking forward to seeing what he has in store next.
Tags: agent sasco, album, album launch, assassin, bounty killer, caribbean, Chino, dancehall, Di Genius, events, Jamaica, jamaican, khago, music, music video, QQ, reggae, shaggy, sugarcane, summer in kingston, travel
