( L - R ) Beres Hammond and Buju Banton

Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

If most patrons who went to Pulse's 'Rock the World' on Sunday night only remember two names - Buju Banton and Beres Hammond - forgive them; they have good reason.

Singer, Tessanne Chin got the performance segment started with When I'm With You, but the crowd was only partially receptive. She moved into another song, asking the crowd to "sing along with (her)", to the not yet popular song. It yielded an obvious response. Her final song, Hide Away, was a hit for the audience - then she was gone.

After a 20-minute band change, one of the MCs, Francois St. Juste, introduced one of the main acts for the night, the romance bringer, sweet song singer, Beres Hammond.

Hammond gave a 45 minute set full of hits. There was barely a quiet moment when he sang songs including, Can't Stop A Man, Step Aside, She Loves Me Now, Come Back Home, Double Trouble, Rock Away and many more.

Band change

Pulse Model Nadine Willis is striking on stage at Pulse Investment Limited's 'Rock The World' concert and fashion show, held at C&W Golf Academy car park, Park Boulevard, New Kingston, on Sunday March 8. - photos by Winston Sill/ Freelance Photographer

After his set, there was yet another break for a band change to the Til Shiloh Band. New Kidz opened the segment and people were receptive for at least five minutes; they simply couldn't wait to hear Buju's raspy rhymes.

Then the lights flickered and Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got beat paved the way for the Gargamel.

He gave a solid hour and a half performance, leaping, dancing, flashing his locks and occasionally wining to more than 21 songs. The crowd couldn't stop jumping and singing, and the usually stoic VIP section came alive to songs including Me and Uno, Waistline, 'Til It Bend, Destiny, Not An Easy Road and a few others. However, when he left the stage, the crowd simply would not have it and he was called back for an encore.

Banton returned

When he returned to the stage, the crowd wouldn't, or couldn't stay quiet. The frenzy increased when he returned with a crowd favourite - Mr. Beres Hammond. Together they did, Who Say (Big Man Nuh Cry), and Pull It Up and Beres made his second exit shortly after.

Buju continued his set with, Better Days Coming, Girl You Know, Wanna Be Loved and of course, his hit Driver, at the end of which he added the line, 'Elephant mek one but fi him own nuh sell off/ Gargamel mek one and it drive off.'

"People enough time nuh gone? " he said, sweat dripping from his face and right foot laced on top of a speaker.

'Nooo!' screamed the crowd.

And so he carried on for a few with Champion, Too Bad, Love Sponge and closed with Murderer. The energy-packed performance left people wanting more and most forgot, it seems, that Tanya Stephens who was slated to perform didn't, for unclear reasons.