Jamaican artist Konshens kept his promise of thoroughly entertaining his Kenyan fans at the Hype Fest concert at Ngong Racecourse.
The dancehall king delivered a spectacular performance during the wee hours of Sunday morning (08.09.19) in the presence of about 10,000 Kenyan fans who had turned up to see him perform once again on Kenyan soil after many years.
Dressed in a Kitenge jumpsuit made by a local designer known as Avido, took to the stage for almost three hours to belt out tunes like ‘Thank God Fi Di Gyal Dem’, ‘Bruk Off Yuh Back’, ‘Simple Blessings’,’Turn Me On’, Good Girl Gone Bad’, ‘Buss A Blank’, ‘Bassline’, ‘Sexin’,’Gyal A Bubble’, ‘Do Sum’n’ and ‘I’m Coming’ just to name a few.
The artist whose real name is Garfield Spence was backed up by his band as well as two Kenyan rising stars Pryshon and Sechi Love who won the ‘talent search’ competition he had ran on social media before coming to Kenya as reported by The Sauce. Konshens let them each get their fifteen minutes of fame by allowing them to sing to the crowd as he proudly watched on.
In an interview with The Sauce, prior to the concert, Konshens spoke on Kenya’s increasingly popular music genre Gengetone saying that the new crop of artists are doing what they (dancehall artists) did in Jamaica a few years ago. He also touched on his new album ‘Badman vs nice guy’ as well the Xenophobia in South Africa and Hurricane Dorian.
There were also some theatrics on stage when Konshens’ dancer took the stage and showcased very vigorous moves shaking what her mama gave her. Something that had the crowd cheering. After shocking Kenyans with her hardcore dancing prowess, she got a few Kenyan dancers to dance with her too which further excited the crowd.
Kenyan acts The Kansoul, Nviiri the Storyteller, Bensoul, Ethic and Sailors who performed at the gig also outdid themselves with great performances. The Kansoul and Ethic were even backed by dancers.
However all was not rosy as the previously much anticipated Hype Fest concert almost failed because of many inconveniences with the planning. Kenyans came out in large numbers,something that maybe the organizers had not considered this caused alot of confusion at the ticketing are which in turn led to some pushing and shoving. The rowdy crowds pushed past security and forcefully made their way inside after almost causing a stampede. This also meant that party goers were not searched thus may entry with unsafe things like drugs or firearms.
Skimpily dressed girls, booze, marijuana, blaring music, chaos and a great love for Konshens was the order of the night and revelers were thrilled.
