In the midst of a blistering set with supreme audience participation, Jamaican dancehall star, Timoy “Teejay” Jones took the time to advise the masses gathered for the Magnum Xplosion “Summer Stage” event to “put down the guns” and “stop the violence” here in Trinidad.
Jones was the headline act for the first Magnum Xplosion event in Trinidad and Tobago since the pandemic, which was held at the Queen’s Park Savannah last Saturday night and attracted thousands of dancehall and Trinibad music fans.
PHOTOS BY: Akil Pegus & Cleon Henry for Overtime Media
Teejay gives sound advice to thousands of fans while performing at the Magnum Xplosion "SummerStage" concert event held on August 19th at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain, Trinidad
“Stop killing one another,” Jones paused singing to say during his 40-minute set. “My name is Teejay, The Up Top Boss and true me sing badman song, this is just entertainment! Ghetto youths, me wha uno make nuff money, take care of your family seen, yuh understand. We no do petty crime, we no rape women, we no kill lickle pickni, yuh understand. All ah de G dem who know say ah money alone we ah pree. But we bad same way and we na go drop we 3 points cause we dey ah road."
Not dropping 3 points is a Jamaican expression meaning to not let one's guard down or make bad decisions.
Launching next into his “Up Top” hit single, the singer/songwriter had the massive crowd singing his lyrics and following his instructions throughout his performance.
Teejay gets close to the fans gathered at "SummerStage"
Jada, Skeng and Valiant delivered...
Valiant had already warmed the crowd up just before Teejay with his charismatic presence and engaging delivery shining through a few threatening sprinkles of rain, but Skeng before Valiant literally wet the stage, the monitors, the fans and himself with various liquids sprayed from colorful bottles.
We were informed, however, by his many screaming, adoring fans that "Skeng Is a rock star" and that is what a rock star does.
Jada Kingdom experienced similar fan adoration taking the stage at midnight and expressing satisfaction with the turnout and the energy of the assembly, she quipped rhetorically;
"Meh love how the crowd looks! None ah we in here not no losers, don't it? Cause one ting we ah go try how much time, no matter if ah million times, don't it?"
Launching into "Win" she grooved and waved, wined and twerked for the litany of cell phones recording every moment.
Rheon Elbourne and Jahllano delivered a stirring tribute to K-Lion after "Jashii" ripped up the start of the main segment, opened by the Magnum Top Performa, "Jubba" and the Magnum Spotlight Winner, Ola "Kesi" Tempro, who were both warmly received by the growing audience filtering into the spacious arena lined with bars and booths, promotions and giveaways, food and beverages readily available, enhanced by the brilliantly visible Campari and Magnum activation centres of activity and engagement.
Spokesperson for Purple Robe Entertainment and Ultimate Promotions, Lyndon Gomez thanked the fire and police services for the cooperation in making the event safe and successful, especially given the challenging pouring and intermittent rain showers which occurred throughout the day.
"We faced a number of challenges on the day of the event in particular," Gomez admitted, "but managed to rise above them all and execute an event, which lived up to and some say surpassed expectations and fulfilled the mandate and objectives of our corporate partner and title sponsor of the Magnum Xplosion series, which is now pledged to invest in the talent of Trinidad and Tobago for the next five years with the Xplosion series and other initiatives designed to provide opportunities for talented singers and entertainers in the genre.
"We sincerely thank and appreciate all team members who assisted or provided services to the production of this event and look forward to working with key stakeholders to grow and nurture the entertainment industry in Trinidad and Tobago and throughout the region."
Lyndra Gomez, Lyndon Gomez, Gerald Gomez and Christian Flemming
Magnum Top Performa, "Jubba"; Magnum Spotlight Winner, "Kesi" and Magnum Ambassador, Romeich Major