Sashi's stars shine SASHI 2001 was billed as "The Experience," and for the patrons at the James Bond Beach in Oracabessa on Sunday afternoon that slogan turned out to be true. From the extraordinary Shabba Ranks, who graced a Jamaican stage for the first time in four years, to the upcoming Voisemail, Sashi was truly the entertainment experience for 2001. Starting at 4 p.m. under sunny skies, upcoming act Zumjay and his crew got the ball rolling before Voisemail touched the stage. Voisemail's short performance was well received by the audience. In-form T.O.K. followed. They immediately wormed their way into the hearts of the audience with songs such as Eagle's Cry and Shake Your Bam Bam which had the crowd rocking. The quartet, who were clad in hockey jerseys and carried chairs in the form of back packs, performed In The Still Of The Night and Chi Chi Man before exiting. They were called up for a second stint during which they performed Jehovah Jireh before making way for Lady Saw. The dancehall diva Lady Saw was greeted with screams when she took the stage. Saw wasted no time in getting down to business. She called on two dancers as she performed Back Shot. She joked about her shoes being uncomfortable before lambasting Reggae Sumfest about how they treated her. She was risque and delivered suggestive lyrics and had the audience behind her. She used no profanity and explained that she wasn't permitted to. Lady Saw advised the women with outside lovers to perform oral sex and reeled off the lyrics to her cover of One In A Million, the lyrics of which reinforced her advice. She left after performing A Woman Mi Name. She was called for a second stint which was touching. She performed one of her hits before doing a new song, This Is My Dream, a touching tune about her experiences and struggles. Steven Seagal followed her after a set change. His performance failed to move the crowd except when he was joined by Beenie Man and Rita Marley. Next up was Jimmy Cozier who did a short set. Kevon Edmonds had the ladies screaming. In-between screams and women crying out "Kevon", Edmonds - the brother of ace producer Babyface, treated Sashi's patrons to good entertainment. Following Kevon, Case continued to entertain the ladies. He performed his new hit Missing You. At about 9:37 pm, clad in black and emerging from backstage with dim lights, Shabba took the stage. A roar went up and Shabba got down to business immediately, giving the crowd no time to rest. He immediately went down memory lane, performing Love Punany Bad and other hits. He called up Italee and together they did Champion Lover which saw the two gyrating, much to the delight of the audience. They again teamed up for Twice My Age before leaving. But the patrons were still hungry for Shabba and he was called up again. He could do no wrong, performing hits such as Caan Done and Ting-A-Ling. Shabba had the audience eating out of his hands. He was called up again after his second exit and he ensured that the audience had their money's worth by doing Trailer Load before finally leaving. Tyrese followed. He paid tribute to Aaliyah like all the other artistes before him. In-between singing women were grabbing at his feet. P. Diddy followed Tyrese. He called up several members of the Bad Boy family including G. Depp, Black Robb and Carl Thomas, all of whom managed to thrill the crowd. He also called up Bounty Killer, Shaggy and Beenie Man, all of whom set the crowd alight. He finished off by paying tribute to Aaliyah, Tupac and Notorious B.I.G with his cover of the Police's Every Breath You Take' 'I'll Be Missing You." Aside from the performances the laser lights were brilliant and the show went well. See more pictures and reports in today's STAR.
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