Busy Signal, as a Star vendor

Yes! it is true, Star of the Month Busy Signal and his management team took to the streets of downtown Kingston last Friday, as vendors of THE STAR newspaper.

It was evident from the start that having Busy Signal downtown selling THE STAR and signing autographs at the same time, would be something special. Busy is currently one of the most talked-about artistes in dancehall music with hits like Cool It Baby and Hey Girl, and he is the first artiste toundertake selling the newspaper to his fans.

Fans of the artiste were abuzz with excitement at the announcement that he would be selling their paper downtown. Some even called to find out exactly where he would be stationed.

Excitement

The excitement began on North Street, where employees of The Gleaner Company (which publishes The STAR) spread the word that Busy would be a STAR vendor. Many were impressed when they saw the Tic Toc vocalist dressed in the Star vest.

"Busy Signal a sell THE STAR today. Brap! Brap!" some shouted.

Busy settled at the front of the Ward Theatre. At first, not everyone was aware that the artiste was present, but students and other passers-by who first spotted him inside the parked car, quickly created a mad scene.

While they gathered around the car, the atmosphere grew more intense, some even pressing against the windows of the car in order to grab the artiste's attention.

"A wah dis now? Busy start work fi di STAR paper!" shouted a female student from Alpha Academy.

With just 30 minutes to sell 200 copies of THE STAR and sign as many autographs as possible, the artiste, who had to labour under very hot conditions, impressed as he showed his resilience.

Impatient

The crowd grew, and the students became impatient as most were already on their way home.

"Busy, please! We bus a leave, just sign the paper," a very impatient fan shouted.

Still, the excitement mounted until at midday a drunken man stopped the fun. He approached the artiste and demanded money. However, the artiste responded, "Buy a Star. A dat me a deal wid today."

The man was, however, given his marching orders by the crew members. That incident aside, what was the day like for Busy Signal?

"Well, it was good. The students gave me no chance at all... It was unfortunate that the day had to end that way (the drunken incident), but you could see that the people were having fun," Busy said after completing his time as a STAR vendor.

Busy autographs a copy of The STAR for a fan.

Busy Signal is surrounded by fans demanding autographs.

Busy (seated right) gets the crowd out during his day as a STAR vendor. - Ricardo Makyn photos