Busy's return to a Jamaican stage, Popcaan pushing Rhyno off stage, Spice and her donkey... The Sting delivered its share of striking images in this 2012 edition, even if it doesn't always convince artistically.
As usual, the "biggest reggae show on Earth" was preceded by the traditional provocations: this year there were the noisy declarations of Ninjaman, Spice and Macka Diamond, and the announced defections of Bounty Killer and I-Octane.
For his first concert in Jamaica since his arrest, Busy Signal left the best impression, after an hour-long show (to be seen in two parts, here and there). Romain Virgo and Konshens boosted their popularity with convincing performances. We also saw Tommy Lee in a long leather coat, his face made up Kiss-style, a little lonely on that big stage.
In the small hours, things turned nasty, notably when Popcaan pushed Black Rhyno off stage . After a very wound-up Sizzla ran through his classics (and kept up his beef with Khago), it was time for the clash: Spice came on stage with a donkey , an allusion to her song recorded a few days earlier, Let Out the Donkey. Much ado about nothing: Macka Diamond (forty this year) was nowhere to be found...
But the real star of the morning was Kiprich. Teamed up with Ninjaman in a "tag team" format against Merciless and Tony Matterhorn, he didn't really need his partner to dispose of his opponents. In the ring set up on stage (with a referee), he made short work of Merciless (perhaps still numbed by his defeat last year against Kiprich) and Tony Matterhorn. Kiprich gave them no respite and Matterhorn ended up being booed for talking too much (Kiprich mocked him: "Tony Chatterhorn"). Kippo was so fired up that you felt he might almost clash Ninjaman. Which eventually happened!