By all accounts, the December 4th staging of The Seven Year Wish was a major success. Indeed, all the acts were dazzling – Blu Grass In The Sky, From The Deep, Jason Worton, No-Maddz, The Uprising Band and Sheldon Bernard. Then, as if to say the production was not already very entertaining, Dutty Bookman, master of ceremonies for the night, announced that it was time to “turn up the heat” with Janine ‘Jah9’ Cunningham and that was exactly what happened. By the time she closed her set, the crowd was in a frenzy and she delivered an encore with “Warning.” Such was the build-up to the man of the moment.

It was roughly 1:15am when headliner, Protoje stepped into view with an air of militancy. His ruggedness immediately caught some persons off guard, having imagined him as the clean-shaven singer from the “Arguments” video that hit television screens in April. Live music regulars knew very well what to expect though and Protoje did not fail to deliver the goods. After calling Keida on stage to sing “Jamaican Boy,” and appeasing the ladies with songs like “Arguments” and “On The Road,” he performed “Try” and had the crowd singing along enthusiastically.

Soon after, he announced that the Protoje segment was over and his alter ego, Diggy took over the show. Songs in that segment included “Dread,” “80’s Baby” and “Grow,” (featuring Jah9). His hour-long set ended with the crowd favourite, “Wrong Side Of The Law,” complete with sounds of sirens and helicopters. Cheers were plentiful throughout his performance due to his unconventional lyricism. After the show, patrons were seen leaving Weekenz as though they had just been hypnotized by the well executed live music display.

The Seven Year Wish was well attended by the public and the likes of Beres Hammond, Billy “Mystic” Wilmot and Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett were spotted in the crowd. Industry insiders have since been buzzing about the show and are heavily speculating that Protoje will be Jamaica’s next major crossover artiste in 2010.

The show was filmed for a DVD which will be released as a compliment to Protoje’s debut album, The Seven Year Itch. The album is scheduled for launch in early 2010.