REGGAE SUMFEST 2011 REVIEW

Whether your musical preference runs more to Bunny Wailer, Mavado or Nicki Minaj — the 19th annual staging of the Greatest Reggae Show on Earth had a little bit of something for everybody.
Over the past 19 years, Reggae Sumfest has grown to become the “Greatest Reggae Show on Earth” and has played host to big stars from overseas as well. Three years ago, hip hop stars Lil Wayne and Birdman ripped the stage. Last year it was Chris Brown and Usher. And this year the headliners were supposed to be R. Kelly and Nicki Minaj. But Kells’ last-minute cancellation due to health issues left Nicki as the only overseas artist on the bill in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
As usual, the festivities kicked off on Thursday with Dancehall Night at Sumfest 2011 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, all the hottest artists on the streets of Kingston were in attendance, from rising stars like Chan Dizzy, Tifa, and Konshens to established hitmakers like Spice, Assassin, and I-Octane, whose fans showed their appreciation with blazing torches and fireworks before building a raging bonfire in the middle of the outdoor arena that threatened to upstage the artists’s fiery performance.

Khago—who got his first big “bust” on last year’s Sumfest with his smash hit “Nah Sell Out”—was even greater than last year. He tried his best to dispel any rumors of a rivalry between him and Octane, a welcome gesture of peace in these tempestuous times. A number of artists who performed have all been locked in epic conflicts for so many years that you need a timeline to keep track. But Movado, Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, Gyptian and more all hit the stage to get the people up on their feet, with no conflcts whatsoever.