Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Senegalese artiste, Akon. - FILE
ON A night when the hurricane-induced power outage preparedness of Jamaicans was tested by the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. Lady Saw's birthday concert, 'Celebrity Walkout', survived to end near daybreak at the Alpart Sports Club in Nain, St. Elizabeth.
And Akon, one of two overseas guests, survived a brief power outage while he was on stage in the night's most extended performance.
In fact, after getting many a squeal, but far less than his desired response when he started his performance, coming on after rapper, Remy Ma ("This is the closest I have ever seen Jamaica. What happened? Had too much to drink?" he asked), the substantial audience giving him the stand and stare as he sang, "You better move or you will get hurt", Akon referred to the powercut.
"It must be the rain or something. That's why everyone is so down. Is it the power outage? We got the power back," the man from Senegal said.
PERFECT SONG
"I have the perfect song for this mood, especially after coming from Japan to say hello to Jamaica," he said, going slower to sing, "How can we work it out?"
There was a better response and Akon said, "Now that I have gotten that off my chest I want to talk to my ladies now," getting his chain off his chest.
And there was mass cheering when he asked the people in the VIP section in front of the stage "What makes you better than the people behind the gate?"
And they went wild when Akon sang his migrant's story with "Com too America to make suppen".
Then the sound and stage lights went and there was a collective groan.
They were back very quickly and Akon went back into the song, saying it was a "convict song".
Soul Survivor followed and the audience really got going.
He asked for and got a few upraised arms crossed into Xs on Locked Up, then the shirt came off to show a chiseled physique and the ladies went wild.
Akon said there was a time when he had "locks down to my ass", singing about the discrimination he faced with "only thing stopping me from making legitimate money was my hair."
CAUGHT IN CROWD
He then leapt off the stage into the VIP area, a huge bodyguard following suit, sitting on the fence between the two sections then on shoulders at the front of the main audience, calling the people forward.
The women came very willingly. Came too hard, apparently, as Akon sang Lonely bobbing up and down in a forest of upraised arms and clutching hands.
"If you pull my pants off and pull them down, I will be on TV. And you definitely will be on TV. And if you take away the mic, I won't be able to sing," he said.
And as he got dangerously close to the fence Akon said "Baby, there are spikes on this fence. If you pull me, I will get hurt."
He started singing again, but stopped to say, "There you go again, pulling my pants down ... I aint scared. I will do you right here in the park," he said.
Finally getting back on stage, his pants well down to show an expanse of white underwear, Akon said, "God!"
GET IT BIGGER
That was the end of his show and his DJ Benny D played a new Akon song as he left.
Lady Saw also referred to the powercut as she said goodbye at the end of the show.
"If the light wasn't rrrrrr, we get it bigger," she said.
