T.O.K
IT WAS LIKE a scene from the life and times of the late Elvis Prestley or the English rock group Beetles.
Like pop icons, dancehall group T.O.K. was mobbed by overzealous fans who wanted to meet, greet and hold their musical heroes.
On Saturday evening, November 26, children from St. Cecelia Prep rushed to the stage and surrounded the group as they were about to exit the venue. The children, who were screaming and flashing note pads, surrounded the group for autographs.
The occasion was St. Cecelia Prep's annual Musical Explosion which was held on the grounds of the St Andrew High School. The school's administration gave out awards to Jamaican artistes, groups and bands whom they deemed to have contributed to the upliftment of the local music industry.
This year's recipients included T.O.K., Katalys Crew and Dean Frasier, who was unavoidably absent. Desmond Young, president of the Jamaica Music Association, collected Frasiers' award from Aneita Holness-Williams, director of St. Cecelia Prep. Also getting an award was Reggae artiste Tony Rebel.
T.O.K. kept things quite clean and motivational for the kids who screamed and chanted as they went into the song Footprints. They later closed with their latest hit Tears to a big round of applause.
Katalys Crew, a reggae gospel band was also awarded on that night. They performed two songs for the mainly youthful audience and were also well received. Three vocalists from the band Wayne "JAI" Buchanon, DJ Radic and Nadia Kennedy performed on stage. They opened with Open up your Eyes, before performing their gospel Christmas song Praying for Change.
Only the performance of Monster Twins put a damper on the proceedings. They tried to gain a spark with the kids with a tasteless song Chicken Back and Tun Cornmeal (that's all some gal feed pan ... ) but to no avail, and were out of sync with their cover version of Beenie Man's reggae gospel tune Move to the Left.
However, T.O.K came to their rescue, taking the microphone from the "twins" in a decent way.
Other performances came from St. Cecelia Prep, St Hugh's Prep, and the Little People and Teen players who were tremendous, especially in their last stint on stage which included a sign language presentation complete with neon lights.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to