Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter
Left: Kevin Downswell belts out 'I Am Not Forgotten', at 'Operation Consecration', at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church, in Portmore, St. Catherine, last Saturday night. Right: Minister Blessed and Garfield Reid mix it up when they invite three dancers to join them onstage. - photos by Anthony Minott
Nothing, but a night of pure and exhilarating fun can be expected when some of Jamaica's top gospel artistes converge under one roof.
Operation Consecration took place at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Portmore, St Catherine, and the night belonged to Ryan Mark and the brief, but powerful surprise appearances by D.J. Nicholas and Radikal Prodigal.
Portmore got a full dose on Saturday night when big names such as Ryan Mark, Minister Blessed, Moses, Goddy Goddy and a plethora of other artistes blessed and brought the house down.
Ryan Mark was saved for last when most of the youthful audience would have tired after jumping and railing all night. However, the audience reached deep into the energy tank when the much-anticipated finale came. Mark sang God Have Mi Back and I Love You Lord, but the song that had the most impact was the show stopper, Sin No More.
Prodigal, who was not on the line-up, appeared with Jason Mighty much to the awe and delight of the audience. Nicholas was also not on the line-up, but there is always room for him at these events.
Things got off a late start, but once the first artiste hit the stage, the night just kept getting better with each performance. The gospel songbirds, Teledo, set the pace with There is a Sweet Anointing that flowed through the entire night.
Blazing performances
Craig C and Garfield Reid also held their ground with blazing performances, but Son of the Prophet came out with real words for those in attendance. The rap group encouraged the audience to put aside differences since the night was all about God.
New face, Omari, seemed to have found his way with his audience as his first two songs rocked the house, but it got better as he pulled on his help.
Shepherd blazed on the stage and brought the entire church hall to its feet. The charismatic entertainer sang What A Day and other songs that had flags waving high in the air.
One young woman appeared to be having a panic attack when break-away artiste, Jai, was announced. It turns out she was overwhelmed by the artiste and he did not disappoint. Mix a well-liked artiste with some powerful word and a few dancers and the place is bound to erupt into a Jesus party. This was the case when one of the event's organisers, Minister Blessed, performed in front of his home crowd. He told of the problems he had with planning the concert in one of his songs, Wi Naah Give Up.
The audience is always in for a treat whenever Goddy Goddy takes the stage. The secular-turned- gospel artiste ministered with personal life experiences and few comical puns. His candid approach told the story of his medical woes that doctors said he would not make it through. He said he, however, recovered when he remembered his "sweet and sexy wife".
Everyone was having a good time, but as it got later, it meant that some of the main acts had to reduce their time onstage. Moses was one of those artistes who felt the brunt, but he still managed. Other artistes on the line-up included Kevin Downswell and Tin-I-Cool.
