- Nathaniel Stewart/Freelance Photographer
Radikal Prodigal and Wayne Marshall perform together at Recharge 5, held at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on August 19.

Teino Evans, Staff Reporter

It is not unusual to see gospel artistes shrugging aside the conservative ways of the church and stepping on to the secular stage. Lately, though, there are secular artistes who have been wandering down the holy path.

According to some gospel promoters and artistes, patrons generally have mixed reactions when such a blend is presented. When gospel artistes perform on secular shows they are usually welcomed with open arms, while traditionalists in the church might not be as open-minded or welcome the change.

Calvin Whilby, aka Prodigal Son, Radikal Prodigal or simply Bless, recently invited dancehall artistes Wayne Marshall and Red Rat to perform at his annual gospel event, 'Recharge'. Prodigal has also performed on a number of secular shows and says the reception is very different.

"From a gospel perspective, having secular people on the show, most of the traditional folks would not like it, but people who want to evangelise and want to show love to that side of the music would really like it. Some traditional folks might embrace it a little bit, but many would not. But from the secular perspective, those people appreciate gospel artistes being on their show. On Sting last year I entered the stage right before Beenie Man and everybody from that time until now will seh Prodigal tek Sting and I never compromised my faith," he said.

No screwface

"Mi perform a one show a James Bond Beach wid Vybz Kartel last year an nobody nuh show mi nuh screwface an mi jus do Festival For Life in Chicago and that host like 120,000 people every year and it had like Destiny Child, Baby Cham, Beenie Man, Jackson Five and I was like the smallest name there and for me, the love was there, we go and minister and the people appreciate it," he said.

Cheryl Crooks, events manager at Xprest Concepts, responsible for staging the Unprecedented Music Festival, says they will be presenting a mix of gospel, reggae and dancehall, all on the same stage, but this merging will be for a worthy cause, so patrons should be more accepting of it.

"So far we have gotten rave responses and most people are no longer just religious, people are now becoming more open-minded. The religious people would say 'no, that cannot work', but this is for a worthy cause and we need to unite more. The concert is free, but we are expecting a good mix in terms of persons who turn out. This is not for the religious folk, but for people who are open for change, to see transformation in Jamaica," Crooks said.

Overcomers World Ministries (OWM) launched 'Transformation Jamaica' last week. The three-day music festival will bring together gospel, reggae and dancehall artistes on the same stage, united for one cause, the eradication of crime and violence.

Scheduled for the National Stadium from October 25-27, 2006, 'Transformation Jamaica' will aim to have artistes like Stitchie, Prodigal Son, Moses and the Big Yard crew, including Robert Livingston and Christopher Martin, use their influence to speak to their fans, supporters and the general public to take a stand against crime and violence in society.

Popular dancehall artiste Wayne Marshall, who recently performed at 'Recharge', says even though persons there were surprised, the response was overwhelming.

Testing the waters

"I'm not a man fi segregate, suh mi basically jus open up mi self to a different side a di market weh nuh really si wi every day. Suh, beside the fact that we were invited by Prodigal, an is a man weh mi respec cause him show wi mutual respect an mi love him sound, we jus guh deh fi test di waters. The people dem did surprise, but the response was still overwhelming," Marshall said.

He also added that even if there were any 'screwfaces' in the audience "that wasn't visible and if the opportunity arise, is something I'd do again."

When The Sunday Gleaner spoke with some patrons of both gospel and secular shows, the responses were mixed.

According to Posha, a patron of secular events, "It depends on the artiste, because some artiste like Prodigal weh do similar type of music (dancehall gospel/gospel deejay) would a come wid vibes jus like the other artistes, but yuh have others weh boring, mi wouldn't want to see those. And why wouldn't I want a gospel artiste on the show, afta mi nuh ungodly?"

Ricardo, a Christian, says if he saw Wayne Marshall on stage at a gospel concert "my initial reaction would be, what him doing here? While him nuh really do slack songs the fact is that he's not a gospel artiste either, so I would raise the eyebrow, but at the say time, hear him out and hear what songs he performs."

And one man said "Yuh know, the secular patrons would accept the gospel artistes more an di whole a dem a heathen, so they would welcome the change more."