Soundcheck Rajah Wild

There has always been a complaint about dancehall acts, especially the ones who has gained their popularity in the last few years, that they need to find ways to practice working a crowd while on stage. Absolutely essential as there is no way to secure longevity as a artiste without being able to not only to attract a crowd but to be entertaining enough to keep them coming back again and again when named on the marquee. There was a time within the Kingston music scene that unplugged showcases were quite common. Venues like Jamnesia, Bookophilia and even the parking lots of shopping centres in the corporate area were filled with acts like Raging Fire, Chronixx, Protoje, Koffee, Kabaka Pyramid and many more cutting their collective teeth interacting positively, and more times than most would like admit – negatively, with whoever was in the crowd on a given night. But because dancehall has moved away from having soundsystems break younger acts by introducing them at their various sessions, there is a need for new ideas to help bridge a connection between an artiste, who has gained popularity online, and a curious fanbase hungry to support the newest trending star.

Fortunately in 2024, liqour giants Wray and Nephew in collaboration with Cafe Dubwise have ventured to try a series of live interactions aptly called “Soundcheck”. Which all involved hope can become a mainstay in the ever expanding Jamaican entertainment calendar. The first invitee was the self proclaimed “Rat Bat in charge” Rajah Wild. Rajah is well known among dancehall enthusiasts for “Another Dollar”, “Skull Pon Eh Line”, “100 Mile”, “Wild Out” and “Go Go” but it was his duet with starlet Sp!da “Call Me” that got the reaction from those who were gathered on that Thursday night, that both Rajah and his management team would hope will be regular occurrences. Rajah handled his set briskly and did show some promise with his stage craft on the night. Hopefully he takes the lessons learnt on the night and continue to improve as he will continue to be booked for these and even larger types of stage shows. Sound check is slated to happen every third Thursday for the remaining months of the year please check social media for the announcement of the next performance in the series.