Busy Signal illuminates Harare
By Dakarai Mashava
HARARE – Jamaican multi-genre artiste Busy Signal’s maiden concert held at the Glamis Arena on Saturday night was worth the wait!
Despite being one of the most celebrated Jamaican artistes on the international stage for close time now, Busy Signal had not performed in Zimbabwe until this weekend, when he rocked thousands of adoring fans.
Even at the Glamis Arena fans had to patiently wait until 1.45am for the Reggae Music Again singer to finally appear on stage after performances by several local artistes who included Killer T, Soul Jah Love, Jah Prayzah, Dadza D and Freeman.
Busy Signal, who showcased his versatility on the night by performing both reggae and dancehall songs, never disappointed. The fiery performer started on a dancehall tip, dropping hits like Unknown Number, Protect My Life Oh Jah and Hold Me.
Although some revellers clearly did not relate to his newer dancehall songs, his energetic presentation won the crowd over.
The first part of his presentation, however, proved to be a lull before the delirium that engulfed Glamis when he performed his more familiar hits like Dreams of a Brighter Days, which Busy Signal said he wrote while in jail in the United States of America, One More Night, Night Shift, Comfort Zone and Reggae Music Again on which he featured talented fellow Jamaican reggae singer Esco Levi.
The thousands that thronged the giant venue sang along with gusto prompting the Jamaican star to applaud them.
“I have performed in several African countries but you are the best. I came here from Kingston to entertain you,’ he said amid applause from the animated crowd.
With the music fans eating out of his palm, Busy Signal shifted gears once more and delivered several renditions of other musicians’ songs. The Come Over singer really made these songs ‘his’ by infusing his own personal touch.
The crowd particularly warmed up to Busy Signal’s presentation of P Square’s Professionally, Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t worry be happy and Shabba Ranks’ Bedroom Bully.
The only downside of Busy Signal’s memorable performance was probably the fact that he did not perform fully the favourite of many in the crowd-Missing You. He only sang a few lines of the hit as he was making his way off the stage but after the spectacular performance he had delivered most fans readily forgave him.
Regrettably, what had been a wonderful concert degenerated into chaos at the end when some fans threw missiles on stage after Winky D , who was scheduled to close down event, did not turn up.
Efforts to establish why the Ninja President did not perform proved fruitless yesterday though there were unconfirmed reports that the artiste’s manager Jonathan Banda was manhandled by police details. Daily News
