I was out of the country when the whole furore over the scheduled appearance of American singer Chris Brown took place. The arguments for and against, themselves having been made moot by the cancellation of the show, I want to take this opportunity to look at a different perspective on the issue and offer a commitment. In my columns, I’ve at least twice given praise to Hits and Jams for their pioneering roles in entertainment in Guyana. From their signal Jamzone event; to their parties; to their television venture; to their groundbreaking concerts, H & J have demonstrated the sort of ambition and vision that are rare commodities in Guyana. In a short time we went from being off the radar in terms of international entertainment to being a venue that has hosted mega-stars such as Rick Ross, Akon, Eve, and Neyo, and I am sure I’ve left out others that I might be too age-impaired to recognise.
As someone from a generation a bit removed from those who would most appreciate Rick Ross and Chris Brown, I would like to openly suggest to Hits and Jams that they seek to bring the occasional classic artiste to these shores. While I admire young talents, there are some big acts of yesteryear that still have broad appeal now, probably even more than the new currently popular artistes. The average middle-aged person might not know a Rihanna song from a Beyonce song, but the likelihood is that both they and their children are going to recognise a Lionel Ritchie classic like “Hello”.
I see people like Ritchie and Tina Turner are still touring, and Gladys Knights, and Stevie Wonder who had a fundraiser for Barack Obama a few months ago. For me, personally, I would love to go to a Stevie Wonder concert, right here in Guyana, and my commitment is that I am ready right now to work in close cooperation with H & J for them to make this happen.