Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Left: LUST   Right: Richie Stephens (left) and Cocoa Tea.- File photos

As Richie Stephens was coming to the close of his performance at Champions in Action in the early hours of yesterday morning, the singer noted what kind of concert it was.

"We deh a Jam World an' dem gwaan like sey people from garrison no know good tune. Even though this is a hardcore show, we know sey big tune whe we mek we haffi touch it mek people know sey yu know good tune," he said to the huge audience at the Portmore, St. Catherine, entertainment centre.

With that Stephens sang the line "love me forever", the screams of the women indicating that it hit the spot.

It was one of the few true R&B numbers on a truly hardcore but trouble free night on which strong language flowed freely and which peaked and ended with first Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, Sizzla and Wayne Marshall performing in combination and then Beenie Man, Capleton and Ninja Man doing the same for an audience that stood up in the rain before breaking for the gates as the showers truly got heavy at 6:30 a.m.

The soft spot

However, Stephens and Cocoa Tea, who performed in combination, and the harmonious quartet LUST, as well as Turbulence in sections, brought a soft spot to the night, mostly in lover's rock style.

LUST started off with Let It Be, lighters going up in numbers over a darkened Jam World. Lukie D, Thriller U, Singing Melody and Tony Curtis delivered Missing You Like Crazy, reggae style and took turns at the Real Rock rhythm, Love Should Have Brought You Home Last Night were among the relationship numbers that rocked the audience. And Singing Melody went very high to lead Broken Hearted Melodies, the other three group members providing superb harmonies as it was delivered a cappella style.

Structured in segments

With 'Champions In Action' structured in segments of similarity to ensure a smooth flow, Stephens was next with his brand of lover's rock, opening with Trying To Get To You to good response and then having the audience fill in enthusiastically for Garnet Silk on the refrain "get on up, stand up, fight back, don't give in" before calling on Cocoa Tea.

The man from Clarendon stepped out with She Loves Me Now and the audience exploded into cheers, Stephens coming back with Pot of Gold to strong response. Cocoa Tea fit a pair of R&B songs onto the reggae rhythm, to very good results, Stephens going back to his early days with Spanish Harlem. Cocoa Tea's Love Me Truly came before Stephens did Tek Whe Yu Gal, sparking a sing-off between the two, Cocoa Tea's Good Life bringing a roar from the audience before he left the stage and Stephens ended with his home-grown R&B one-liner.

Richie Spice sang to the Ghetto Girl and, as 'Champions In Action' headed towards the morning. Turbulence crooned a Sasha-less Natty Pon Har Frontline and requested "your name and number and where you reside" to good effect, among his hard-hitting lyrics, before ending with Notorious.

The Ruff Kut band did support duties for much of the night, the selecting duo Razz and Biggy holding the audience with hip hop during a early morning band change.