Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

On a night marred by the arrest of his mentor, Bounty Killer, deejay sensation Mavado emerged as the real McCoy on 'Dancehall Night' of Reggae Sumfest '08, in Montego Bay on Thursday night.

While it could be argued that the self-proclaimed King of the Dancehall, Beenie Man, was also in his element, using his charisma, stage antics and powerful lyrics to whip up a sustained frenzy among his fans, by churning out the hits, Mavado was brilliant.

Hitting centre stage at 3:27 a.m., the dapper Mavado, clad in all white, went straight into his bag of hits such as Rise Crime, Sniper, Amazing Grace and Real McKoy against a backdrop of flaming torches and blasting firecrackers.

Mavado, who is known for his gangster-type violent lyrics, took time out to launch a broadside against the 'shottas' who have been murdering innocent women and children. He then ignited further excitement with Press Trigger, Gangster Life and Don't Cry, which elicited raucous cheers.

Musical frenzy

To close his set, the dynamic Mavado was joined on staged by a mixed choir, also clad in white. In a moving performance, they belted out On the Rock and We Shall Overcome.

You name it and the doctor, Beenie Man, did it. In closing the show, he took his fans into a state of musical frenzy while dancing up a storm. He made his mark with songs such as King of the Dancehall, Memories, Old Dawg and a list of other favourites from his awesome catalogue, which left no doubts that he remains dancehall premier crowd-pleaser.

Bounty Killer was seemingly on his way to delivering his best-ever Reggae Sumfest performance when he snapped and used expletives after he was booed by a section of the crowd, which objected to derogatory statements he made about Beenie Man.

He was arrested immediately after his performance and charged with using expletives and disorderly conduct.

Prior to the Mavado, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man set, an impressive D'Angel disregarded a few boos and delivered a fine set. Busy Signal matched his spectacular entry through the centre of the stage with a blazing set while Macka Diamond distributed fake US$100 with her face on them to patrons at the front of the stage.

Anthony B, who was quite potent, and Ninjaman, who was at his spontaneous best, were all quite entertaining.

Anthony B's performance earned three encores but it could be argued that they were not all justified as on each occasion he sang only two songs and left the stage, leaving the MC with no choice but to invite him back.

Overshadowed

Seasoned acts Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man - whose only bright spark came with Gully Creeper and Nuh Linger - were somewhat tame and were surprisingly overshadowed by Erup, Voicemail, Assassin, Demarco and Serani, who all justified their places among the dancehall elites with decent performances.

While he was weak in some segments, Munga Honourable also showed that he has what it takes to hold his own on the big occasion. His expert delivery of Bad From Me Born and Harder drew a lot of screams.

If there was a surprise performance of the night, it had to go to Montego Bay-based deejay Madd Dawg, who, in combination with four female dancers, brought the house down with his hit song, Tek The Dance Floor. The artiste also drew applause for Wine It and In Deh.

Among the early acts were Nature, a mature-sounding Shane-O, Little Hero and Konshens, Harry Toddler and Spice, who all gave decent sets.