Elephant Man, Nigy Boy excite at Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival

Despite heavy rains, Caribbean nationals and those with a mature palate enjoyed the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival on Sunday at Miramar Regional Park in South Florida. By night’s end, attendees were glad they had braved the weather, standing under umbrellas to dance to hits from Elephant Man and sing along with Nigy Boy and Digicel Rising Stars 2009 winner, Shuga, at this annual signature Caribbean event.

All three Jamaican entertainers left patrons wanting more from a well-loved entertainment package that seamlessly blended food, music, and family fun.

Shuga opened the show with a rendition of Marcia Griffiths’ Dreamland and Fire Burning, followed by another rendition of Tony Rebel’s Sweet Jamaica.

Although visually impaired, Nigy Boy was able to have command over the patrons with John Legends’ You & I, Beres Hammond’s Tempted to Touch and Dexta Dap’s Breaking News.

In the end, it was Jamaican dancehall musician, Elephant Man, whose career in music started with the Scare Dem Crew prior to his solo career, who climaxed the event, but first entered with his hit single Ova Di Wall, which served to energise the patrons from the get-go.

He then performed hits from his catalogue like Signal De Plane, Wave Your Flags, Bun Bad Mind, and Haters Wanna War.

To rally the Caribbean nationals in attendance, Grammy-nominated star Elephant Man paused during a song and called on everyone, especially “All a di Jamaican dem,” to raise their hands, flags, or rags in the air. He then led a flashlight segment, asking for the stadium lights to be dimmed as patrons used their phones’ flashlights to softly illuminate the area.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com