Mas Camp, Kingston

I sat down thinking what angle to take for this introduction, so much happened in the space of one week. Getting to the concert was such an emotional roller coaster for me, thanks to procrastination. I had been waiting on my friend to secure a ticket for me and that fell through, I found out that it didn’t work out the day before then concert. When all the pre-sold VIP tickets had already been sold out. By the time I started searching social media I’d learnt that the general admission tickets were sold out as well. By the grace of  God and good spirits, my best friend, Gabby, got a ticket for me.

We planned to be early to get a good spot in the crowd, I have no clue why but Jamaican time pulled through and made me late. (Spoiler: That didn’t mar the good time I had.) There was so much traffic to get to the venue I had to hop out my cab from Mountain View Avenue and walk to the entrance. On my way down the road, I could hear the voice of the opening act in the air. By the time I braved the line and entered, Eesah had finished performing.

I heard I’d missed a great performance but I’m sure I’ll get to see Eesah perform sometime soon. So, we entered right at the band change, where Zj Sparks entertained the audience. People used the time wisely to secure food and drinks at the bars provided; my friends and I used the time to secure a spot to stand.

I’d never seen Mas Camp this packed in my life; the crowd was thick like a nice bowl of oatmeal porridge. You couldn’t walk or even stand too comfortably without someone grazing you as they passed. Soon enough, it was time for Protoje and the Indiggnation to shell the place.

Protoje came out with a blast of energy, backed by the Indiggnation. He went through songs from all of the projects he’s released; starting from “The 8 Year Affair” with “Kingston Be Wise”, he jumped to “Ancient Future” with “Criminal” then to “The Seven Year Itch” with “Roll”, “Come My Way” and “Rasta Love”. The audience was getting their fill of songs we hadn’t heard live in a while.

He sang “Stylin’” and remixed it too, then gave the mic to an upcoming act under his record label, Lila Ike. We got to croon along to “Protection” with Mortimer followed by his newest single, “Truths & Rights”. We also got a piece of the songbird, Sevana in “Sudden Flight”, are you sad you missed the concert yet? It gets even better. He ended his set by giving thanks with “Hail Rastafari”, and finally, “Blood Money”.

The Zincfence Redemption started with a soulful Binghi intro which turned into “Alpha and Omega” then “Roots and Chalice”. The Zincfence Redemption was so smooth and cohesive, with Chronixx’s voice in the lead, it was chilling. I must give praise to whoever controlled the sound system because the music was turnt up perfectly, the system was well balanced.  “This is amazing” and those were my thoughts at the second song.

Chronixx gave us a mix of songs from his initiation on the music scene to his latest project; “Ain’t No Giving In”, “They Don’t Know”, “Majesty”, “Black is Beautiful”, “I Can”, “Skankin’ Sweet”, “Smile Jamaica”, “Capture Land”, “Ghetto Paradise”, “Spanish Town Rockin’” and “Who Knows” with Protoje.

“This show is yours…”

He sang “Somewhere” and the song took me to a memory, right in the concert. It took me back to my first Chronixx CD, my boyfriend at the time had gifted it to me. A CD burnt and sold on the road side, that I had rinsed! (played on repeat). This made me wonder how many original Chronixx fans were in the house as I was covered in nostalgia.

Chronixx was out to make up for the long period of time since he’d performed in Jamaica, to continuing the list of songs, he sang “Loneliness”, “Warrior”, “Nah Follow Nobody” – the first ever Chronixx song I heard. “Spirulina”, “Sell My Gun”, “Behind Curtain”, “Likes” with the Ravaz doing the Fling! “Blaze Up The Fire”, and “Legend”. He ended the show with “Like a Whistle”, leaving us with happy spirits and hoping hearts .

The show was amazing. Anyone who knows me, knows I love Protoje, he and the Indiggnation did so well. But this was definitely a Chronixx concert, he and the band took the awe, the wow, my voice, my edges, everything. I didn’t expect to hear songs he’d released so long ago, and that made me happy. From this concert I could see and feel the growth of Chronixx, and I’m proud that he’s representing Jamaica on the world stage. Y’all know I’ll be at the next Chronixx concert that comes to town.

Photos from Warren McKane, @EmceeKane on Instagram.