Elephant Man 'terrorises' cameraman

By Melville Cooke, Freelance Writer

Elephant Man

WESTERN BUREAU:

A TURBO-CHARGED Elephant Man had a cameraman holding on to his equipment for dear life last Thursday at Reggae Sumfest's Dancehall Night.

After storming on stage with a tribute to Jamaica, the 'Energy God' had scaled a sound box which three men had to hold steady while he proclaimed 'we no like gay.'

He then started Replacement Killer, paused and looked around for a target. He saw one - a camera set up on a rig to the left of the stage, the platform accessible by crossing a two feet wide gap. He eyed it speculatively and the crowd, knowing what was coming, started to roar.

The camera operator, part of the team providing images for the large screen at the rear of the stage, seemed to know as well. He held on to his equipment, which was some task as the camera was mounted at the end of a large boom, with a counterweight at the operator's end to steady it. The boom was on a swivel, so the slightest movement would send it moving - and vigorous movement would certainly make it swing wildly.

"White man you don't run, I ain't gonna bite you. When you see me coming just move!" Elephant Man commanded as the crowd roared.

"I don't care for you and you f----g crew!" Elephant Man deejayed as he charged for the rig. He jumped on, faced the crowd and roared his lyrics, jumping up and down in a frenzy while the camera operator held on to his equipment with both hands desperately, shaking like a leaf in the storm of Elephant Man's energy.

The crowd roared.

Elephant Man left, but he was not yet finished. Later in his performance, after he had rammed Cecile and run to and fro on the stage with her bouncing on his groin, he said: "A whe de white man whe a run? Yu waan suppen fi run bout?" He then climbed some 20 feet up the stage-rigging directly above the camera set-up and deejayed up there. He eyed the distance, the camera man tensed, the crowd held its collective breath - and he came down.

He wasn't quite finished, though. Later in his performance, Elephant Man called to the camera operator:

"Come here. A you do Third World Cop. We a go do Log On," he demanded. The operator went on stage and said something to the pumped-up entertainer. "Oh you cyaan dance," Elephant Man said, and proceeded to do his thing.

A member of TOK also used the camera rig during the group's performance on Sunday night, but he was careful to ask permission before he went across.

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