Photos by Shabazz Photos/Neil B.

page 1 of 5

At the spacious Atrium nightclub on Memorial Drive, Don and the Island Jams Crew picked up where they left off in 2007, giving the Atlanta reggae lovers a night of strictly reggae vibes from two of Jamaica's biggest dancehall legends. Yes, legends..... in the likes of Super Cat, a.k.a. Don Dada, a.k.a. the Wild Apache, and the newly revived Junior Reid. As the space in the Atrium began to get tighter and tighter, there was the sense that the almost sold out show would be a big hit for Island Jams. This event may be the beginning of Island Jams' offering of concerted joy in this the year of big things to come.

With great weather in Atlanta, the night started out very mellow with a cool vibe floating through the air while the anxious crowd were treated to very good supporting acts. But before the supporting artistes could even touch the stage, DJ Trigga and the Love People Sound (Guyana) heated up the crowd wit nuff styles. The DJ's started the jams and man, them fellas know how to hype a crowd up. People swear de mic man (Trigga) was an artiste as he held on to de mic and start to sing every tune the DJ fling! Even the follow up deejay, de man from yard, DJ Dread of Anadoni Sounds big them up. But yuh know Anadoni Sounds come and just heat up the session much more.

Around 1:30 AM, the beautiful MC Empress, hyped up the crowd and introduced the fans to the opening acts which included Isheng Kush, Genie Slick and most notable, the BET featured brothers from Virgin Islands who call themselves by the name of their home town, ROCK CITY. They represented to the full 100, especially with there big hit "Losing It". Rock City, bless up ... allyuh handle allyuh business.

Rolling on, the sons of Junior Reid (Andrew and Wada Blood), all from the One Blood Family, did not allow the more than ready crowd to lose a beat. They performed very well to the delight of the real music lovers, blazin' de place up wit big chunes like "Hustle" and "Teck Life". As the sons exited the stage, MC Empress made the next announcement in style, "ATRIUM ...... ARE .... YOU ...... READY ..... for Junior, Junior, Junior ....... Reiddddddddddd." And as the crowd replied, YEAHHHHHHHH. Then came the prompt, "When I say Junior, you say Reid .... JUNIOR ... REID ....... JUNIOR ..... REID ..... JUNIOR .... REID ...... and on came the father to the enjoyment of the screaming crowd. As Junior Reid's time on stage brought the past forward with songs like "Shack Lack" and "Foreign Mind". The reggae legend also showed his versatility in singing both parts of "No One" (ft R&B singer Alicia Keys) and his one time #1 hit"One Blood", which was relived in the collaboration with rapper The Game and dancehall artist Baby Cham, remixes. On this night, Junior Reid performed this with his sons. The crowd was highly appreciative and showed it as Reid left the stage.

Afterwards, radio personality Ms. Vivian Fox, came on stage for one reason and one reason only .... to introduce the boss, the 'Don Dada' Mr. Super Cat .... the once upon a time 'Sting' favorite. No surprise to anyone, Super Cat was as clean and as sharp, as sharp can be, as he took the stage in a white linen suit with a top hat and a pair of black and white Bally Clarks on his feet .... typical Cat. Wasting no time, Super delivered massive hits to the Atlanta people that kept them singing and chanting for more. After being away from the stage for a few years, the Wild Apache did not lose a step as his renditions of "Base and Treble", "Boops", "Don Dada", "Dem No Worry We", "Mud Up", "Jah is Real", "Ready Back", "Too Greedy", "Sexy Go Check It", "Reggaematic" and much more ... all sounded like pure vinyl. Super Cat, now based in Long Island, NY came to Atlanta prepared to give the people more than they expected. As the time creeped up on 4:30 AM, Super left the stage with his chart topper "Ghetto Red Hot" to the satisfaction of the audience.

Island Jams Entertainment really put some thought into their investment as the two artistes complemented each other's style as was evident in their reunion backstage. In the company of Island Jams promoter, Don, Super Cat and Junior Reid embraced some of their biggest fans by signing autographs and entertaining them with stories of their past trials and successes as dancehall stars.

Don, big respect to you, Andre and the rest of the hard working Island Jams crew. And people, by the way, allyuh know dat Island Jams bringing Beenie Man and Demarco to Atlanta rhel soon!! Stay tuned for more information. Yuh dun know, Trini Jungle Juice everywhere!

JShab and Joyjuice for the TJJ Fam