By Sandra “Dutchess” Edwards-Smith
The 4th Annual Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise is now history. The always highly anticipated reggae cruise departed from Fort Lauderdale on November 13 and made two stops in Jamaica; Ocho Rios and Montego Bay offering cruisers six days and five nights of non-stop reggae before returning to Florida.
As a second term Jamrocker, I can truly say I enjoyed 2017 even more than the cruise in 2016. The acts were stellar and everyone brought their A game in terms of preparedness, performance, musicianship. The back up singers, dancers, and the sets were exceptional. And, you cannot forget the infamous jamming on the Promenade!
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You have to pace yourself because the activities and partying are non stop. Although I caught almost every act, I missed most of Big Youth and only caught one song due to being on the line for two hours waiting to book WTJRC 2018!
Due to inclement weather, the first night’s concert was held inside . Tarrus Riley and Cocoa Tea gave great performances. I made the mistake of going to rest after the concert, I lay down for a few minutes and that was all she wrote. I missed Damian “Junior Gong” Marley and some other performers jamming with the DJs on the Promenade deck. Stephen Marley, Bounty Killer, Busy Signal, Jah Cure, Cham and Tarrus Riley are all returnee performers.
As a “reggaehead” as my fearless leader calls me it was really fantastic to be immersed in reggae all day and all night. We heard reggae in the hall ways and from the radio station that streamed into our cabins. When we watched TV we would turn to channels that had reggae stars foundation acts such as Bunny Wailer and Beenie Man as well newer acts such as Popcaan being interviewed. On the last morning as we docked in Florida, Red Carpet Shelley and I laughed when we heard non-reggae music in the Windjammer restaurant at breakfast.
There were so many memorable moments, but a couple that stand out indelibly in my mind are Cocoa T’s performance, Cham’s all girl band, Popcaan calling out Luciano . He said as an elder in the business Luciano should have called him to speak with him personally if he did not like something in his act. instead Popcaan was watching TV and heard Father Lucci of badding him up on stage. The ironic thing was that after he said that he started with his degrading lyrics about women and their panties etc. I was not impressed with him however Red Carpet Shelley thinks I’m unfair because I had no problem with Spice‘s very sexual performance and lyrics.
On all white night Ibr Mahr performed and Kabaka Pyramid made a surprise appearance during Pressure’s set, Freddie McGregor and the Big ship family including his sons Daniel “
On the same night Pressure represented for the Virgin Islands crew, who came out in large numbers. I always claim Pressure as Jamaican, but as Red Carpet Shelley always corrects me “he a a born Virgin Islander”. Bounty Killer was excellent as usual and Jah Cure had the ladies weak. Busy Signal’s performance was really good. He started with Nah Go Jail Again and ended with Watch for This and all his hits in between. Busy Signal made a statement that the best thing about the concert on the cruise was that the police could not lock it down. This was not lost on the many New Yorkers and others who were in attendance during Busy’s ill-fated Groovin’ in the Park performance at Roy Wilkins Park this past summer during which the artist got approximately 15 minutes to perform to make way for R Kelly. Busy Signal brought his mother Miss Velma on stage to wish her a happy birthday which was November 9, the same as my mother. He thanked her and told her he loved her. That brought tears to everyone’s eyes.
Spice, the only female performer spiced up the whole ship. To that point, this is my only real disappointment with the Jamrock Reggae cruise…more female acts need to be booked. It is disappointing state of affairs for women in reggae to be so minimally represented at a reggae festival of this caliber. There’s a few female reggae artists I can think of that would work well Etana, Queen Ifrica, Jah Nine and Kelissa to name a few.
The DJ lineup did not disappoint. My good friend DJ Gringo from Stateside Revolution made his debut. Other DJs included Geefus, Stone Love, Yaadcore, ZJ Liquid, Foota Hype, DJ Norie, DJ Madout, Delano and Jazzy T from Renaissance Sound, Bambino, Shinehead and Max Glazer. , U.K. reps included Seani B and Ras Kwame, Mighty Crown, David Rodigan, Tony Matterhorn and World Clash winners King Turbo went head to head at the third-annual Sound Clash at Sea, with the “Far East Rulaz” emerging victorious once more. I have seen Rodigan perform UK in clashes but I don’t know what happened that night!
On the last day of the cruise Tanto Metro and Devonte made everyone fall in love and gave a solid performance of some of our favorite dancehall songs later that night was time for the Marley boys. I cannot end my review without mention of Stephen “Ragga” Marley and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley set. The brothers appeared together on stage along with other Jamrock artists including Sizzla, Cham and Busy Signal…it was magical. Unexpectedly during Jr. Gong’s set, the lights and sound went down for 15 minutes, but the energy and vibes were so high that the drummer started to beat his drum and the audience joined in. That moment was simply Jamrock reggae cruise magic!
I have now been on several reggae cruises, but this is the best. Red Carpet Shelley and I will see you again next year by God’s grace!
RCS Sidebar: Almost forgot another magical moment! Damian Marley in his all white suit appeared at the DJ stand during the jam session to announce to all those partying that we were about to be part of his video for his newly released song. Lookout for your girl in Jr. Gong’s video.
