The year 2019 was filled with tribulation and strife for many. Incidents that have happened within our country like an escalated crime rate, wage freezes and the general lack of opportunities etched a permanent scowl unto the faces of many young Jamaicans. It was not until the announcement of Popcaan’s Unruly Festival that a flood of happiness washed away the marks of despair from many a face. It should have been noted however that when a flood appears, an ark must be near.
The journey to this year staging of Popcaan’s Unruly Fest held in the “forgotten” parish of St.Thomas was a quite treacherous one. Scores of Jamaicans made their commute to the Goodyear factory only to be reminded one thing, Jamaicans are lunatics on the road. Tyre marks marked the pothole laden roadway as Jamaican formula one drivers turned the stretch into the St. Thomas Grand Prix.
After the final lap on that winding St., Thomas road and arrival at the venue was imminent, there was one thing that caught my attention and my attention caught the purse of a vendor. A thief made off with a bag laden with cash but it wasn’t going to be his time to shine as he was quickly apprehended and suffered the effects of three kick, two ‘bax’ and a size 13 Clark’s boot to the face. That incident should have been premonition to what lay in store for me as I was indeed given a hard ‘bax’ before the night ended.
Walking into the venue you were caught quickly by knee-deep mud puddles and a beautiful stage set up done by Main Event and Phase 3 productions, so while you were sinking to a certain demise you could at least say “dem lights ya nice eee”. After escaping that quicksand themed entrance area, I made my way to the spot where boredom, awe and “ a weh drake deh?” would become quick-hitting emotions all routinely visiting throughout the night.
The second indication that this night wasn’t going to be pleasant was the MC ‘Beetle Bailey’ to be frank he wasn’t funny and I think comic should be funny and entertaining in the least, somewhere Ms. Kitty was lalalalalaling in displeasure in a radio studio somewhere. This not funny MC called up some pretty great acts starting with Sanchez who is the original karaoke as he is able to sing songs from so many different genres, he soothed the souls of the weary travellers like sirens in the old days luring sailors to their impending doom. The next act of note was Agent Sasco who is a veteran performer who rocked the crowd with hits from an impressive catalogue culminating with lyrics of motivation that we need for this new year “ forget yuh trouble and carry on, just carry on”. Standout acts were Quada, Masicka, Chronic Law, Protoje feat Lila Ike and Popcaan made sure the festival didn’t get drowned in boredom.
The highlight of the night was Popcaan descending unto the stage from a crane that displayed his ability to entertain and for the unusual, however, this stunt couldn’t save a night filled with Bounty Killer rants, Beetle Bailey’s ability to bore and no performances of expected international guests.
In an audience filled with a majority of 20 somethings, Bounty Killer rants concerning the looks and the different elements concerning masculinity are outdated just like his cane rows, his relevance is no longer visible within a modern dancehall space. The mediocrity of performances outshined the quality that was present. The question that ended the night was “weh drake deh”, this being seconded with “ suh not even one artiste from Farrin ?” and the answer to that was a rapper by the name of Casanova who not a ladies man he was just from Brooklyn.
Unruly Festival has been an oasis of musical refreshment in a desert of musical mediocrity. Past generations have had been quite blessed in terms of legendary stage shows, Sunsplash and the infamous Sting where we saw dancehall heroes of the time save many with their musical heroics. We however are left with the s**t end of the stick as we scramble to access any event that will connect us to a musical culture that we so cherish.
Unruly Fest does deserve a next chance but for right now many are still left with broken hearts.
Selah
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