– Chris Martin shines, leaving the crowd begging for more

HE sauntered out on to the stage at 01:50hrs on Sunday, wearing a white shirt, brown blazer, black skinny jeans and a white rag on his head, covering his neatly done cornrows.

Wisps of smoke surrounded him, giving him a mystical air. The crowd, mostly made up of eager women, immediately whipped into a frenzy.

That was the start of the performance by Jamaican dancehall/reggae artiste, Dexta Daps, at the “vent x owna” concert, which started late Saturday night and ended on Sunday morning at the National Stadium, Providence.

The concert, headlined by Daps, whose real name is Louis Grandison, was considered the most anticipated event of the Easter weekend.

Made all the grander by the fact that this was the first Easter weekend in two years that events are being held, after COVID-19 had put a pause to all events.

As Daps walked out on stage, persons immediately whipped out their cellular phones to capture the moment they got to witness Dexta Daps live in concert in Guyana. At least one young lady in the VIP section faked a collapse into the arms of the young man she was with.

The marketing of the event paid off as both the VIP and regular sections were packed to capacity. Rumour has it that the show was sold out. Daps opened his performance by thanking his fans and telling them how honoured he was at the huge turnout.

The hazel-eyed songster then got into giving his fans what they came for, a provocative, explicit content-filled performance.

Within minutes of getting on stage and belting out some lyrics, Daps found himself drenched in sweat, his shirt matted to his athletic physique.

The ladies in the crowd dripping on his every word and movement, and even the male attendees soaking in the vibes and ensuring they enjoyed their monies worth.

Daps’ performance included some of his leading tracks: “7Eleven”, “Jealous Ova”, “Chinese Jordan”, “Wifi”, “Mi C Mi Bed N Miss U”, “No Underwear” and his top charting number, “Bring It To the Owner”.

He was also briefly joined on stage by his fellow Jamaican artiste, Ikaya, for a rendition of their duet “Di General”, a sultry performance followed. Ikaya served.

As was expected throughout the performance, many a young ladies tried to get up on stage to steal a dance with the sought-after lyricist.

One young lady, in a memorable forest green floral two-piece outfit, succeeded in her attempts, and earned a chance to briefly gyrate with Daps, who feigned shyness and eventually left the young lady to dance on her own.

Her time on stage barely went past the statutory 15 seconds for short-lived fame, but for some, she left a lasting impression, doing a well-played “splits” at the end of her stage run before scampering off.

By the time Daps had gotten to the stage, the crowd was already well-prepped, due to a titillating, high energy performance by fellow reggae/dancehall artiste, Christopher Martin, who came on just before Daps, and had the crowd wanting for more by the time he exited.

A number of other performances by both international and local artistes also preceded Daps performance.

The local line-up included songs by Carlvin Burnett, Vicadi Singh, Tony Cuttz. There was also a collaboration among Gully Ras, Drew Thoven, and Bobby Kush on the well-known “Eggball” song among others.

Ikaya would’ve also had her own slot. The night’s momentum truly began to build when Trinidadian soca artiste, Lyrikal, touched down on the stage.

Lyrikal was later followed by Martin, who some argued may have been the best performer of the night with his performance being a more refined session compared to Daps.

Lyrikal donned his best tracks including “Mama”, “Nah Nah Nah”, “I’m A Big Deal”, and “Paper Loving”.

Martin was also kind enough to take off his shirt and share it with a young lady in the crowd, but when one young lady climbed on stage to “whine up” on the artiste, he chose instead to keep it classy and decline her gyrating offer.

The night closed off with a performance by old timer, Louie Culture, who resonated more with the older crowd as he belted out some of his reggae classics like “Gangalee”, “No Gal”, “Big and Bold”, and “Malfunction” among others.

Like with many events, there has since been much mixed reviews from the Guyanese public on the success of the concert. Though many were very pleased with Mr Daps’ performance, there were those who conveyed that the pot had needed a little more spice.

The event also seemed to have been marred by an incident after the show which saw patrons in the VIP and VVIP sections have difficulty getting photos with Daps, although it was promised as part of their ticket package.

Notwithstanding the hiccups, Daps has truly shown that he’s still much in demand by his Guyanese fans. Many left the show satisfied that they got their monies worth.