To mark the release of Richie Spice's and Chuck Fender's respective albums on the British market, Fifth Element Productions wanted to offer a show worthy of the event, aiming to present the three main members of the crew, the two just mentioned along with Anthony Cruz. Add to that Bushman and Warrior King, who came through in the wake of their European tour, and also Ras Shiloh, invited for the occasion, and you get one of the finest reggae line-ups of 2004 and the means to enter 2005 under the best auspices.
> Read the interview with Chuck Fender
> Read the interview with Richie Spice
Renamed Winter Splash for the occasion, the event took place at the Stratford Rex, a venue in the London suburbs able to hold more than 4,000 people. And that was not too many, given the turnout that night. The whole yardie community of London seemed to have passed the word, and the room was quite simply packed.
From 8 to 10 o'clock, while people arrived, the room was warmed up by a sound system and a few local artists, not frankly convincing, but still an opportunity to hear some good tunes.
Then the serious business began, and it was Warrior King who was charged with opening hostilities. After several weeks of touring, the harmony with Bushman's Grass Root band is impeccable and the concert runs by itself. Even if one might regret that Warrior King's show that night was a carbon copy of the one he gave in Paris, we will say nothing, so good and flawless was it. Entry on Breath of fresh air, then, followed by Never go where pagans go. Warrior King strings together his best tunes (Jah is always there, Powers to chant, Love Jah and live, Rough road, Africa shall be free) and the atmosphere goes up a notch. Then he announces the upcoming release of his new album by singing a new title, Can't get me down, and finally he sends it sky-high with Education is the key and his famous medley Empress so divine / Virtuous woman.
It is then Bushman's turn to take the stage. Once again, as in Paris, he bursts in on Rasta party, then Nyah man chant, but the welcome is immediately warmer than in the French capital and the rest of the show takes a different turn. Indeed, the English audience seems very fond of Bushman, and the singer seems to know it and to know what they particularly like. So, no ganja tunes quarter of an hour in this show; Bushman instead bets on laid-back songs that allow his voice to be fully appreciated, songs with a more lover than militant tone. And when you see the forward he gets on a tune such as Arms of a woman, you know he was not wrong and that the crowd is delighted. Even his exit and his encore on Fire bun a weak heart do not receive such support.
A brief pause, long enough for the Fifth Element band to get into position, and we carry straight on with Ras Shiloh. Thunderous entry on Mt. Zion, the crowd is on fire. Shiloh looks truly delighted to be there and the people return the feeling. The show was a little short, but still allowed us to hear a magnificent Long live the King and a few well-judged covers of Garnett Silk (Kingly character, Nothing can divide us, Mama Africa). Ras Shiloh has a voice, and when it comes to honouring the memory of the late Garnett Silk, nobody does it better. The high point of the show is reached during the encore on the Lala bella riddim with a sublime Are you satisfied. The crowd seems mesmerised by the singer's energy and positivity, and Shiloh seems at times to go into a trance.
At last comes the turn of the Fifth Element crew, and it is Anthony Cruz who opens the ball. Superb entry on Mama's blessing, his title on the riddim of the moment, I swear. Mr. Cruz does a show entirely dedicated to women and is very well received. Thus his title Mari-wanna, though so good, is perhaps less well supported by the crowd than his famous Usher cover, U got it bad, or Treat dem girls right or Girls thing. Before finishing his show, Anthony Cruz invites a woman from the audience to join him on stage, to explain to her his way of treating girls and to sing her a little love song. However much tact and respect he put into it, Anthony Cruz still stood out from the rest of the rasta artists of the night with his romantic themes and his dedications to the ladies.
It is Chuck Fender who follows Anthony Cruz, and with him it is total fire. From the start he pulls up his tunes several times, and the crowd reacts as positively as can be to this stagecraft. All the singles that made him known to the greatest number, and which also make up his album, are played: Ruff out deh, Jah is worthy, There for my people. His big tune Better days has the effect of a bomb and the forward on a song such as Poor people cry is almost frightening. It must be said that Fender is impressive in pitch and rhythm; he sings his titles to perfection, but with a renewed energy that is frankly appreciable. The greatest moment of the night comes at the end of his show, when he launches into his song I swear on the riddim of the same name, which receives a huge welcome, and invites Richie Spice to join him. That is how the passing of the mic takes place, live, in front of the crowd and without interruption. Fender does not leave the stage, but simply steps back a little to let Richie Spice do the show in his turn.
Taking advantage of the riddim still running, Richie Spice comes in with his big tune Marijuana and the crowd is euphoric from start to finish. We hear all the singer's greatest titles, from Black like tar to Trouble deh a broad and That ghetto girl; none is forgotten. Richie Spice also reproduces his songs to perfection, and his performance on a title like Folly living, on the Blaze riddim, is completely breathtaking. At one point, the band makes the crowd explode by sounding the Sweet river rock riddim, well aware that Earth a run red, especially in England, was eagerly awaited, but Richie Spice makes the pleasure last by singing two or three more songs before coming back to a masterful Earth a run red, pure bliss. That is the moment Richie Spice chooses to invite Chuck Fender up again for a very good duet on Fake smile, then Anthony Cruz and Ras Shiloh, to pass the mics around on all the best new roots riddims of the moment. If the Fifth Element band perhaps does not reach the excellence of a Grass Root band, it gets by seriously well. And it was also a chance to hear live riddims such as the modernised versions of the Real rock or the Israelites, but also the Stress, the High praise and the Music man.
It is almost 3 o'clock in the morning when everything stops, and it does not take people long to empty the place, as everyone is on their last legs. Everything went off in the best atmosphere, people got their money's worth, and for us French it is just regrettable that we still have to go beyond our borders to attend a show of such magnitude. A lesson to be learned by more than one promoter.
> Read the interview with Richie Spice
Renamed Winter Splash for the occasion, the event took place at the Stratford Rex, a venue in the London suburbs able to hold more than 4,000 people. And that was not too many, given the turnout that night. The whole yardie community of London seemed to have passed the word, and the room was quite simply packed.
From 8 to 10 o'clock, while people arrived, the room was warmed up by a sound system and a few local artists, not frankly convincing, but still an opportunity to hear some good tunes.
Then the serious business began, and it was Warrior King who was charged with opening hostilities. After several weeks of touring, the harmony with Bushman's Grass Root band is impeccable and the concert runs by itself. Even if one might regret that Warrior King's show that night was a carbon copy of the one he gave in Paris, we will say nothing, so good and flawless was it. Entry on Breath of fresh air, then, followed by Never go where pagans go. Warrior King strings together his best tunes (Jah is always there, Powers to chant, Love Jah and live, Rough road, Africa shall be free) and the atmosphere goes up a notch. Then he announces the upcoming release of his new album by singing a new title, Can't get me down, and finally he sends it sky-high with Education is the key and his famous medley Empress so divine / Virtuous woman.It is then Bushman's turn to take the stage. Once again, as in Paris, he bursts in on Rasta party, then Nyah man chant, but the welcome is immediately warmer than in the French capital and the rest of the show takes a different turn. Indeed, the English audience seems very fond of Bushman, and the singer seems to know it and to know what they particularly like. So, no ganja tunes quarter of an hour in this show; Bushman instead bets on laid-back songs that allow his voice to be fully appreciated, songs with a more lover than militant tone. And when you see the forward he gets on a tune such as Arms of a woman, you know he was not wrong and that the crowd is delighted. Even his exit and his encore on Fire bun a weak heart do not receive such support.
A brief pause, long enough for the Fifth Element band to get into position, and we carry straight on with Ras Shiloh. Thunderous entry on Mt. Zion, the crowd is on fire. Shiloh looks truly delighted to be there and the people return the feeling. The show was a little short, but still allowed us to hear a magnificent Long live the King and a few well-judged covers of Garnett Silk (Kingly character, Nothing can divide us, Mama Africa). Ras Shiloh has a voice, and when it comes to honouring the memory of the late Garnett Silk, nobody does it better. The high point of the show is reached during the encore on the Lala bella riddim with a sublime Are you satisfied. The crowd seems mesmerised by the singer's energy and positivity, and Shiloh seems at times to go into a trance.At last comes the turn of the Fifth Element crew, and it is Anthony Cruz who opens the ball. Superb entry on Mama's blessing, his title on the riddim of the moment, I swear. Mr. Cruz does a show entirely dedicated to women and is very well received. Thus his title Mari-wanna, though so good, is perhaps less well supported by the crowd than his famous Usher cover, U got it bad, or Treat dem girls right or Girls thing. Before finishing his show, Anthony Cruz invites a woman from the audience to join him on stage, to explain to her his way of treating girls and to sing her a little love song. However much tact and respect he put into it, Anthony Cruz still stood out from the rest of the rasta artists of the night with his romantic themes and his dedications to the ladies.It is Chuck Fender who follows Anthony Cruz, and with him it is total fire. From the start he pulls up his tunes several times, and the crowd reacts as positively as can be to this stagecraft. All the singles that made him known to the greatest number, and which also make up his album, are played: Ruff out deh, Jah is worthy, There for my people. His big tune Better days has the effect of a bomb and the forward on a song such as Poor people cry is almost frightening. It must be said that Fender is impressive in pitch and rhythm; he sings his titles to perfection, but with a renewed energy that is frankly appreciable. The greatest moment of the night comes at the end of his show, when he launches into his song I swear on the riddim of the same name, which receives a huge welcome, and invites Richie Spice to join him. That is how the passing of the mic takes place, live, in front of the crowd and without interruption. Fender does not leave the stage, but simply steps back a little to let Richie Spice do the show in his turn.Taking advantage of the riddim still running, Richie Spice comes in with his big tune Marijuana and the crowd is euphoric from start to finish. We hear all the singer's greatest titles, from Black like tar to Trouble deh a broad and That ghetto girl; none is forgotten. Richie Spice also reproduces his songs to perfection, and his performance on a title like Folly living, on the Blaze riddim, is completely breathtaking. At one point, the band makes the crowd explode by sounding the Sweet river rock riddim, well aware that Earth a run red, especially in England, was eagerly awaited, but Richie Spice makes the pleasure last by singing two or three more songs before coming back to a masterful Earth a run red, pure bliss. That is the moment Richie Spice chooses to invite Chuck Fender up again for a very good duet on Fake smile, then Anthony Cruz and Ras Shiloh, to pass the mics around on all the best new roots riddims of the moment. If the Fifth Element band perhaps does not reach the excellence of a Grass Root band, it gets by seriously well. And it was also a chance to hear live riddims such as the modernised versions of the Real rock or the Israelites, but also the Stress, the High praise and the Music man.It is almost 3 o'clock in the morning when everything stops, and it does not take people long to empty the place, as everyone is on their last legs. Everything went off in the best atmosphere, people got their money's worth, and for us French it is just regrettable that we still have to go beyond our borders to attend a show of such magnitude. A lesson to be learned by more than one promoter.
Report written by Lexxx T.
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brother.p · · rating: 4 out of 5