Shaggy, Ja Rule, And Blu Cantrell Perform At Reggae Sumfest

08/07/2001 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Anna Maria Gibson

(8/7/01, 3 p.m. ET) -- All went well when Shaggy, Ja Rule, and Blu Cantrell performed this weekend at Reggae Sumfest after the Jamaican music festival, billed as "The Greatest Reggae Show On Earth," was rocked by violence for the first time in the event's nine-year history. Despite the bottle- and rock-throwing incident that marred Sumfest on Thursday (August 2), there were no more disturbances during the festival and thousands enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere at Montego Bay, Jamaica's outdoor venue Catherine Hall when Shaggy, Ja Rule, and Cantrell performed late Sunday (August 5), the fest's final night.

Cantrell got a warm reception when she closed her short set with her hit single "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)," as did Ja Rule when he performed a medley of his hits and dedicated his performance of "I Cry" to the late rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., who was born in Jamaica.

Fireworks signaled Shaggy's entrance to the stage. Shaggy, who was born in Jamaica, opened the show with "Home," and he was later joined by his popular singing partners Rayvon and Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent in performance of the chart-topping hits "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel."

During his lengthy performance, Shaggy took time out to call for peace and unity in the reggae community as he addressed the violence that occurred earlier at Sumfest. The singer said he had "love" for all of reggae's dancehall music performers, an apparent reference to the feud between Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, and Merciless that appeared to fuel Thursday's violence.

Bounty Killer also downplayed the feuding between reggae artists that marred the festival when he made a surprise return to the stage Sunday night, jamming with reggae great Richie Stephens during his performance. Before Bounty Killer left the stage, he "apologized to all his fans" for refusing to continue his own earlier performance when Beenie Man walked on the stage just as Bounty Killer was criticizing him.

Many have compared rivalry between Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who used to be friends, to the war of words that broke out between Notorious B.I.G. and Shakur when they were still alive, and some questioned why Sumfest organizers had the two perform on the same night of a weeklong festival. At a press conference on Saturday (August 4), Sumfest executive director Johnny Gourzong explained that Bounty Killer and Beenie Man had temporarily ended their feud when they were signed to perform on the same night, and he noted violence had "never" occurred before at the festival. Gourzong also stressed that there were no violent incidents when Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Cocoa Tea, and others performed Friday night (August 3), the third night of the festival.

When asked whether Bounty Killer and Beenie Man would be welcome back at the festival, Gourzong expressed support for Bounty Killer and said he would call Beenie Man to ask him why he felt compelled to bum-rush the stage during Bounty Killer's performance. However, Gourzong added that Merciless, who was on stage saying things about other performers when the rocks and bottles started hitting him on Thursday, would be banned from future Sumfest events. Organizers also noted the violence that has recently plagued a small area of Kingston, Jamaica's capital, has never hit the tourist area of Montego Bay, and was unrelated to what occurred at the festival.

Sumfest ran July 31 through August 5. Others who appeared at festival this year included Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Damian Marley, Baby Cham, Barrington Levy, and Vegas. Grammy-winning recording artist Lauryn Hill, who was seen vacationing in Jamaica during the festival, was briefly slated to appeared at Sumfest, but sources told LAUNCH that her appearance was canceled because of a disagreement about which songs she would perform. The next Sumfest is scheduled for August 4-10, 2002.

-- Anna Maria Gibson, New York

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