Kartel and Mavado give full course meal at A Taste of Sumfest

Notwithstanding a change of venue  from its usual home in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, to Plantation Cove in St Ann, and the festival being scaled down to one night only, A Taste of Sumfest, the crowd support for the annual showpiece event did not falter. By the time headliners Worl’Boss Vybz Kartel and Gully Gad Mavado were ready to grace the stage, the venue was spilling over with patrons eager for what many had waited years to witness.
At approximately 2:07 a.m. on Sunday, Vybz Kartel emerged dressed in army fatigues while Mavado stepped onstage in an all-black leather outfit. At the end of the first full stage walk, both stood hand in hand in a symbolic display of unity, a fitting start to what decades ago looked impossible.
Still, the chemistry between the two extended far beyond the opening moments, for approximately two hours, Kartel and Mavado entertained patrons with a string of old-school dancehall favourites, including 3 o’clock in the Morning (3am), Amazing Grace, Start Well and Messiah. Notably, during the performance, the bond between the former rivals was evident as each sang along to each other’s songs, at times playfully deciding who would begin a track before referring to each other simply as “mi bredda”.
While the pair seemingly fulfilled the audience’s expectations from their hardcore dancehall catalogue, they shifted gear to cater to the ladies with Kartel’s delivery of Virginity and Mavado’s Come Into My Room. For that part, the tracks featured artiste Stacious, and Gaza Indu joined them onstage, adding another layer of energy to the already electric performance.
Earlier in the night, recording artistes Shauna Controlla, Marcy Chin and Queen Ifrica proudly represented for the ladies, each bringing her own style through outfits, stage presence and selected song choice.
But with the festival just offering ‘A Taste of Sumfest’ this year, the performances with fewer artistes surely aimed to offer more than a spoonful. Coming back on the second year, dancehall artiste Jamal returned and kept patrons engaged with hits including Ballandor and Millions, while repeatedly paying homage to his hometown of Montego Bay.
Also, on his second Sumfest appearance, YoungWildApache commanded the stage during the early hours, along with Ayetian, who brought high energy during his set. Gaza empire’s Shawn Storm also hit the stage. 
Significantly, there was also a moment of silence on Saturday night for Rastafarian reggae singer, Fantan Mojah, who passed away days before the event. The usual high-energy atmosphere gave way to quiet reflection as the dimmed venue lights and hundreds of glowing phone torches honoured the late reggae artiste. 
“Joe [Bogdanovich] buss him. People a DownSound Records send this youth to the world and now wi a mourn, and this [a] one a DownSound favourite song,” said Harry Toddler on stage at Plantation Cove in St Ann, before performing one of his own songs: Memories.
“Nuff a talk bout Fantan is the best, but me remember when me use to deejay and him use to beat the desk ... 20 years ah friendship and wi never vex. Him never ever disrespect, set me up on my first girlfriend, godfather to me two kids them. Him help me write some a mi music dem,” sang Toddler. “So if you miss someone, let me hear you say: even when you gone, you memories live on. Mi never know me would lose my friend.”
Speaking with The Gleaner after his performance, Toddler explained that though the song, written years ago with Black Pearls, wasn’t written for Fantan Mojah, it now captured the depth of a friendship that stretched across more than three decades.
“It’s 30 years of friendship. Mi have a twin, Shevlin and Chevaughn ... they are from Casssia Park [and] more time Fantan give them lunch money, give them things, grow them.
“We salute we brethren them, and wi a guh [forever] miss Fantan and salute him because mi last Fantan on I birthday, the 14th of July, so mi will forever ‘memba Fantan.”
In reflection, he spoke of the days before he met Fantan Mojah. “A DownSound buss him. Andrew Pendergast, the engineer who buss him, so we know Fantan from him name Mad Killer ... him come from St Elizabeth, came to Cashew Park. That’s a place that I roam, so Fantan came along, and his name was Mad Killer, a DownSound change him name.”
Born Owen Moncrieffe on August 5, 1976, in St Elizabeth, Fantan Mojah passed last Tuesday. He was 49.
Few in the Reggae Sumfest crowd could have imagined that his appearance on the Sumfest stage last year, wearing the backpack that had become part of his signature image, would be his last.
A woman who identified herself only as Telesa struggled to process the reality of his passing. “Wait, wasn’t he at Sumfest last year a bun fire? He was there last year,” she answered herself quietly during the show.
Still, the love for Mojah was returned on Sunday, shortly after 1:30 a.m., the festival paused once more, led by Ricky Platinum, with the venue lights dimmed, and phone torches out. Patrons were pointed to a montage of Fantan Mojah’s previous Sumfest performances that filled the giant screens as the crowd erupted in applause; many sang along while others simply stood in silence.
MC Nuffy, who spoke to The Gleaner after the show, said his death was simply hard to process. “It means a lot because Fantan a family and is a good youth, and to see Fantan pass away just like that at a young age ... wow.”
Although every artiste had their moment, it was clear the audience had come for one thing. For some, it was Mavado’s long-awaited return to the local stage; others were eager to see Kartel perform again. But for many, simply witnessing Gaza and Gully sharing one stage again was reason enough to be at Plantation Cove.
First-timer, Jerome, who travelled from Moneague, St Ann, told The Gleaner a little after the show ended sometime after 3 a.m. that his motive for attending was two-fold. Not only was the event now being staged in his parish, but this year also marked a historic reunion. “I was just here for Gaza and Gully; I know about it but just wanted to see them perform even if it’s as friends because the catalogue is crazy,” he stressed.

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