Mavado is known across the world for his hard hitting lyrics and Gangsta for Life attitude and his performance was no disappointment to his fans in Montego Bay on Thursday evening for Dancehall night at Reggae Sumfest 2008. Mavado and his mentor Bounty Killer have been touring the country relentless and his stage show is solid and well rehearsed. Mavado had a great performance at SumFest. He puts on a great show and if you ever get the chance to see him perform live in Jamaica its a must do experience.

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I made it through the first night of Reggae SumFest and I had a great time. I did not make it to the final act of the evening and I missed “The Doctor” and Jamaica’s reigning “King of Dancehall” Beenie Man on stage. I woke up at 5am and watched the sun rise on Thursday morning and was not able to squeeze in a nap during the day so when the sun started to pop up again this morning I thought I was hallucinating at the pretty light show and remembered the hour long drive home ahead of me. I called it quits and drove home early for some short sleep and now I’m up again with little hope for any sleep again before the show tonight. I may end up missing some part of tonights show as I expect I’ll take a nap during the day at some point. My van is parked within easy access and a sleep break is easy with the press pass. I can walk in and out as I wish with the armband I’m wearing and not even the cops say much to me. I did notice like 100 police dogs all over and when I tried to snap a shot of one the guy made me put my camera down. It was a beautiful all black German Shepard with perfect form. I just wanted a pic of the dog but he would not have it. I don’t question Jamaican police I just go with the flow.

I was out gunned for interviews and the little bit of video I did get is probably crap because my camera with built in mic could not compete with all the noise in the room. Many of the people running interviews had much nicer cameras with attached microphones which made the interviews possible. I was stuck alone with my handheld video camera and no tripods allowed because of space constraints and tripping hazards. It was sad really but I had my digital camera and I got some good still photos. I spent much of the night networking and the show turned into a huge opportunity I think with a number of Jamaican artists expressing interest in working together with me on some online music projects. I’ve found so many musicians with a MySpace page and not their own website. I show them how powerful and easy something like Wordpress is and they can manage it from there. Having your own website allows you to generate your own income, builds a better brand with your music and gives you greater creative control. Anyway lets hope I can get a short nap and move on today. If not tonights coverage may be even weaker.

I had my Zune and WiFi on but I never caught a signal anywhere. not very surprised at the fact there are no Zunes in Jamaica but I was hoping for someone from the media or maybe an artist or band member to have something with them. No Zuners at SumFest except MAX and me.

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I went to the Reggae Sumfest 2007 last July and I got the idea to ask for a press pass this year and yesterday I got an email requesting a photograph for my pass which has been approved. I did not expect that I would be able to do so because I got a late start and actually made my request after the official accreditation process had been closed. I think I was able to sweet talk a very special young lady in SumFest administration who facilitated my special request and was able to help me out.

I was only planning on going for just one day, Thursday evening is Dancehall night and my good friend Ras Slick wants to go that night. The King of Dancehall Beenie Man headlines with Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Mavado for what should be an explosive evening of hardcore Jamaican musicians. Now that I have backstage and artist access I suppose I’ll have to go for the 3 main evenings and my plans are now to catch Friday and Saturday nights shows as well. I’m not very prepared but I think it should be a fun experience.

Friday nights line-up features Lil Wayne, Keyshia Coles, John Courtney and Jah Cure who happens to be smoking hot here in Jamaica right now. This guy has a huge fan base here in Jamaica and is set to remain so for quite some time it seems. I’d like to interview him just to ask him some questions about wa gwan here in Jamaica. He seems to be a powerful influence on Jamaican youth and I’d like to hear his views on things in his home country. Jamaican musicians have incredible impact in the development of young Jamaicans and it’s not uncommon to hear 5-7 year old kids singing the latest hardcore hits word for word. I know a few 5 year olds who swear to be “Gangsta for Life” as the “Gully Creep” for me.

Saturday nights show features T-Pain as the main act with Reggae legend Beres Hammond and rising star Tarrus Riley backing up a mixed line-up of international stars. John Holt, Etana and Rootz Underground are also on the bill and should make fora great days music. I’m looking forward to my week. Anyone else in Jamaica for Sumfest with their Zune?

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