Legends ready to rock TTFriday, May 22 2009
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Shabba Ranks...
WITH JUST one week to go before the show that will set the pace for all shows to follow in 2K9 and beyond, promoters of I Am Legend II, are rearing to go and eager to see the masses that will flock to the Queen’s Park Savannah next week Saturday.
Shabba Ranks touches down on Wednesday, for what is being dubbed his Caribbean comeback, while Buju and the Shiloh band, along with long time collaborative hit-maker Wayne Wonder, fly in on Thursday.
The show, which was first advertised in late March, took off and hasn’t slowed down since. According to the Home Grown Entertainment team, there has been a steady demand for tickets and an even greater urgency for information by music lovers who call asking some of the strangest questions: “Will Buju be singing the oldies like, Hush Baby Hush?”
Understanding of their patrons’ need for efficient customer service and a smooth flow on the night of this event, Home Grown Entertainment’s CEO, Glenroy Watson says: “People have been really vocal about their disappointments with other concerts, in recent months and my goal is to get past that. Together with my team, I’m setting things up so that when patrons come into their respective areas, whether General, VIP or VVIP, they are totally satisfied — from beginning to end.”
Watson says that as a promoter, room has to be left for hiccups, but so far, things have been going as planned and patrons can look forward to a true show in every sense of the word.
The event is carded to start at 9 pm on May 30 with a DJ lineup that leaves nothing to be desired. Last year’s, I Am Legend concert mesmerised an audience of some 7,000 strong, with sweet melodies invoked by the one and only, Beres Hammond along with Buju and his band, Shiloh.
This year, in a sequel to the original, the stage is set, performers are ready and patrons eagerly await the sound of musical energy. I am Legend II promises to be one of the biggest shows in Trinidad and Tobago in over a decade and information’s still available at facebook.com — keyword, I Am Legend II.
Buju Banton was one of the most popular dancehall reggae artistes of the ‘90s. Debuting with a series of popular “slack” singles, which drew criticism for their graphic sexuality and homophobia, Banton converted to Rastafarianism and revolutionised dancehall by employing the live instrumentation and social consciousness of classic roots reggae. He first adopted the approach on his 1995 classic “Til Shiloh”, which raised hopes among his fans that he would become dancehall’s great international ambassador, as Bob Marley had been for roots reggae. While that never quite materialised, Banton remained a high-profile star into the new millennium. Buju Banton was born Mark Anthony Myrie on July 15, 1973, in the Kingston slum of Salt Lane. Buju was his childhood nickname, a word for breadfruit that was often applied to chubby children; he would later adopt Banton in tribute to one of his earliest musical influences, Burro Banton.
It was the 1995 hit, “Til Shiloh”, that would rank as Banton’s masterpiece. A fusion of dancehall with live instrumentation and classic roots reggae, “Til Shiloh” consolidated Banton’s move into social awareness and adopted a more mature, reflective tone that signaled Banton’s arrival as an artiste able to make major creative statements.
Unhappy with the support he was given at the major labels, Banton started his own label, Gargamel Music, and released the single “Magic City” in 2004.
The much more traditional Rasta Got Soul finally appeared this year.
The sensual, honeyed vocals of Wayne Wonder have made him a consistent hit maker since the late ‘80s. In 2002, Wayne earned the first #1 hit of his career pledging a lifetime of devotion on the sweetly romantic hit “No Letting Go”.
Born Von Wayne Charles on July 26, 1972 in Buff Bay, Portland, Wayne’s initial singing inspiration came from attending Sunday school, where singing was compulsory, and from his mother who sang in church. It was at secondary school where Wayne’s thoughtfulness and philosophical nature led to the acquisition of the nickname “Wonder”.
Wayne’s sweet serenading on the chart topping radio hit “No Letting Go” is one of the featured producers on the album, along with heavy hitters Tony Kelly and Sly Dunbar.
Since the late 1980s Jamaican dancehall deejay Shabba Ranks has been instrumental in gaining prominence for reggae and reggae-influenced music, especially among African Americans. He led the craze of drum machine-driven, dancehall, reggae-styled rap in the 1980s and 1990s throughout Jamaica and the United States, and was the first reggae artiste to win a Grammy Award. As a young “toaster” in urban Jamaican clubs, Ranks rhymed his own lyrics over reggae records, thus helping to pave the way for American rap. Over the years he has collaborated with rappers, R&B musicians, and other reggae artistes, among them KRS-1, Queen Latifah, Eddie Murphy, and Maxi Priest.
Ranks was born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon on January 17, 1966, in Sturgetown in the country parish of St Ann, Jamaica. He was enamoured of the Kingston club scene and was inspired by the “toasting” of deejays such as Yellowman and Josey Wales. He honed his unique throaty rasp and became a leading “toaster” himself, while studying engineering to please his father. At first he called himself Co-pilot because he worked with a deejay named The Navigator, who spun records while Ranks “chatted” over them. In 1979, when he was 14 years old, Ranks recorded his first song as Co-pilot, “Heat under Sufferers Feet,” which was later released as a single on the Roots Melody label.
The young deejay eventually dubbed himself “Shabba” after an African king and “Ranks” to imply his high position and deft microphone skills in the world of reggae.
Ranks lives in New York and made a partial comeback in 2007, when he appeared on a song called “Clear The Air” by Busta Rhymes, which also featured Akon.
