Usher performing on-stage at Sashi recently with a young lady. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer USHER AND Busta Rhymes both gave phenomenal performances at Sashi 2K2, held at James Bond Beach. The concert took place on Sunday, bringing the five days of events to a close.
Busta Rhymes and Usher brought the show to an end. Both their performances were filled with wonderful energy and had certainly been worth the wait. The venue had by that time become a sea of people and they certainly seemed to enjoy these two performances.
Busta Rhymes was the penultimate artiste to perform. He burst onto the stage with a very wild "Woo Hah" and there was no stopping him from that point on. The rapper, who displays a mind-bending speed in his rapping, is known as one of the most flamboyant rappers. Although he used no gimmicks to enhance to his performance, he did not deviate from this image.
He kept the audience cheering and bopping for his entire performance, with what can only be described as the crazy energy that he exudes. His flip-side deejay had been warming up the stage for him with a lyrical conversation using all of the most popular songs at present. By the time he had been finished playing hit songs, the audience was well primed.
After performing Woo Hah! Got You All In Check Busta helped to further win over the audience by asking 'Wha' gwaan Jamaica?" Even though his accent had a slight Miss Cleo lilt to it, the question had the desired effect on the audience.
Busta mesmerised the audience with his attitude, antics and speed of light lyrics. He thrilled with hits such as Pass the Courvoisier, Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, Dangerous, Gimme Some More, and Break Ya Neck. He and his deejay were in perfect tandem and did not seem to miss a single beat.
When Usher took the stage the venue became a mass of screaming women. The young R&B artiste would go on to give a closing performance that was certainly one of the highlights of the show.
With only a yell of his own, Usher, surrounded by his dancers, put down the first bout of dancing, which would continue throughout the performance. From beginning to end the performance was a celebration of energy, tight choreography and well-rehearsed lines. He was also the only R&B artiste to perform with a band rather than with tracks.
If his initial dance had failed to win over the women in the audience, his first words certainly accomplished the job. Posing at the front of the stage he yelled, "Big up all dem good body girl from Jamaica."
However, talk was not what he was there for. What he was truly good at is dancing and singing and that is what he did. His performance was certainly the most energetic of the night. He began with I Came to Party. Usher's dancing went to several levels and at one point, when only he and his female dancers were on the stage, it seemed to be imitating an orgy.
Fortunately, there was no simulation that the audience found intolerable.
Though he certainly danced up a storm, he kept from looking a complete sweaty mess by changing at least three times in a performance that lasted just over an hour. Each time he came to the stage, the audience went wild. At the end of each segment of the performance he disrobed (top half only) on the stage.
The degree to which he thrilled the audience was clearly shown toward the end of the first half of his stint on-stage. After a very energetic bout of dancing which left him shirtless (an state which had several recurrences) he stood, Michael Jackson fashion with one hand upraised and his body oozing intense, expended energy. This pose was greeted by several screams. Though he was quiet for several minutes, and simply prowled around the stage looking spent but willing to give more, the screams simply kept coming.
During the second half of his performance, Usher continued to increase the temperature at the venue by asking two women to come to the stage while he sang I Need A Girl. He then proceeded to do the 'On-line' with these two women, with one in front and the other behind him. After another bout of dancing he gave one of the women a very long hug literally lifting her off her feet before sending her on her very merry way.
The other woman still had more to do. She, he would serenade. During his performance, he again removed his shirt before ending by giving the woman a back-bending kiss that made many of the women in the audience very jealous. Of course, the fact that he had earlier in an interview with reporters he admitted to having a relationship with TLC's Chilli suggested they would have been disappointed anyway.
Once again he disappeared and was brought back wearing jeans and a Bob Marley T-shirt. This time he performed U Got It Bad, complete with the intense dance sequence. The end of the song seemed like the finale of his performance, especially as he had once again disappeared from the stage. Soon his voice was heard asking, from off-stage, "Do you want more!" to which exultant yeses came from the crowd.
This time when he re-emerged with his full entourage of dancers he performed U Don't Have to Go.
As though that were not enough, he then brought Elephant Man, the local artiste he had earlier stated he would most like to work with, to the stage. For his very short stint on the stage, Elephant Man performed Bombin' before going into a higher level of the On-line with Usher.
The show was then brought to a fabulous end with You Remind Me.
The concert had also featured Eve, Missy Elliot, Darnel Jones, Sharissa, Super Cat, TOK and several other artistes.
(See The Star for a report on Super Cat's performance).
