The Full RISE TO THE OCCASION Experience
What a night! What a career! 30 years is an amazing run in an extremely fickle business and industry.
What a night! What a career! 30 years is an amazing run in an extremely fickle business and industry. What Sizzla has achieved in 30 years is more that most could even fathom to achieve in two lifetimes. Miguel Collins changed the way how reggae and dancehall music was being played or even listened to. A versatile artiste who could sell out a stadium performing with backing tracks or a full range orchestra. A man that has a song for the full gamut of feelings or situations a human being could possible go through. From the wholesome to the lewd, everything is seemingly covered in his vast, and ever expanding, catalogue. It was an important event for many reasons mostly for his fans and well wishers to gather together and join the Jamaican music industry in celebrating a true force of nature. The man who is affectionately called Dada by those who are close to him. The one they call Sizzla Kalonji.
As an example of how universally respected Sizzla is that, a mere days before Jamaica’s general elections. The Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and other key members of his Parliament: The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange CD, MP and The Minister of Finance & the Public Service Fayval Williams MP among others joined a select few of invited guests in acknowledging both the importance of Sizzla’s 30 years in the music business and of the stage show itself as a conduit for him to show love to his fans and peers in the music industry directly.
An event of this magnitude would have been impossible without the help and expertise of many. Primarily the initiative and guidance of Tamiann Johnson and Anika Williams under Cur8ting Global, the event planning arm of Intently Global – a company that specializes in public relations. ‘Rise To Occasion Live: Celebrating 30 years of Sizzla Kalonji’ was actually the brainchild of Tamiann as she stumbled that fact one day on the internet. “I knew I wanted to keep an event and I just happened upon the fact it was 30 years Sizzla was in and around the music business. I brought it to Dada and even he was taken aback that it has been so long.” She explained. From that time to the 19th October, a date which was especially chosen because it fell within Jamaican observance of Heroes Day Weekend, Tamiann with the help of myriad of volunteers went full bore in production mode with the remit of delivering the best event possible. A fact reflected by the amount of sponsorship the group were able to garner in just a few months. Entities including, but not exclusive to: BOOM Energy Drink, Starlight Productions, Jamaica Tourist Board, Tru-Juice, Jamaica Social Stock Exchange, Clark Originals and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport joined the Sizzla Kalonji Foundation to provide support needed leading up to the night of the event and of course the event’s execution as well.
Another set of decisions brought on board by Cur8ting Global that went over well were the ones to give awards to the children of a few of the people Sizzla saw as influential to him and the creation of his art. The Rise To The Occasion legacy award was dedicated to the likes of Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell, the founder of the Xterminator Production Label and world renowned reggae singer Garnett Silk among a several others. What also was important was the inclusion of an onstage sign language translator throughout the entire event. The team of Antoinette Aiken, Abraham Aiken and Michalia Cowan all handled their jobs credibly, often adding to pageantry of the occasion with their collective enthusiasm. As for the invited performers, each were tasked to start their set with their own rendition of a Sizzla classic. This went over extremely well with the patrons present. Zalia Jazz, Jahbar I, Runkus, Ras Shiloh, Turbulence, I- Wayne, Bugle, Romain Virgo, Chris Martin, Nadine Sutherland, Jesse Royal, Beenie Man, Ras-I and Spragga Benz went above and beyond especially considering the time they were allotted. But was Sizzla’s night and he was given free reign to appear on the stage at several different intervals. Which kept the spectators engaged and gave some of the acts a perfect segue to transition from. Special recognition has to be given to Bounty Killer as his set really resonated with concertgoers as he went through the decades of hits at his disposal. Rise To The Occasion Live: Celebrating 30 years of Sizzla Kalonji was indeed a labour of love for all involved. The fruits of said labour beared for thousands upon thousands to share.
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