title taken from “Ye” by BURNA BOY
Tipsy in Miami
If you’ve been following DysChick, you know that I have a fear of flying; however, I have a greater fear of missing out on an epic event. Tipsy in Miami announced that it would feature the King of Soca and the King of Afrobeats and the FOMO was just too real.
Machel Montano has been making the rounds this year promoting his brand, encouraging nations to “Save the Soil,” and making sure that you know he is still the King of Soca after 40 years in the business. Burna Boy is the most popular Afrobeats artiste right now with his hit single “Last Last” reaching over 6 million streams on Spotify.
With these two heavyweights on the bill, you know DysChick had to fly to fete! Yet despite having the top artistes, the event was not E-P-I-C.
I arrived at the Bayfront Park around 7:30pm on Friday night and got into the VIP line. I heard from others that the scene to get inside was madness, but that was not my experience so I won’t comment on that. However, I made a B-line to the bar to ensure my body was loose enough to fast wine and gbese. The bar staff seemed like they had all been given a sedative. Despite the hoards standing before them, these young women seemed to have no sense of urgency. I ordered two drinks ($30) one time so that I would not have to come back once the show started - which it did before I finally received my drinks.
It was showtime!
Machel hit the stage and the crowd went bananas! I don’t even have to say much about this part because you know Machel is going to give a high-energy performance every time. But you know what would have made this segment better? If we could hear him. Someone needs to flog the sound engineer because there’s no reason why Machel’s mic cut off repeatedly during his performance. It wasn’t until he whispered to some dude in the back that someone ran to fix the issue. Really? You have one job, dude.
Farmer Nappy, Problem Child, and Voice joined Machel on stage and mashed up per usual. Then there was an awkward silence on stage before the dancehall segment. Now, I love a good dancehall vibe and this was never billed as a soca-only show so I was here for it. But it was like someone drained the vibes from the crowd. Noah Powah and Teejay performed their hearts out to a half-interested crowd. Some folks got a little more hyped when dancehall veteran (literally and figuratively) Shaggy took the stage. Yet, it was not until Kes unexpectedly made an appearance that people got hyped. Wait. What? I dunno, but okay.
Finally, the African Giant came on stage and that’s when I realized that Tipsy made a critical error. You’d think that, with the fast-growing popularity of Afrobeats in the Caribbean, that soca fans would be hyped to see Burna Boy live, right? Well, you’d be wrong.
Early arrivers left the venue before he even touched the stage. However, I saw people with Nigerian and Ghanaian flags arriving just in time to see the headliner. Is it possible that soca fans and Afrobeats fans don’t really party together?
The situation became even clearer to me when I saw the lack of enthusiasm and crowd participation - even causing him to say “I’ll wait” when the crowd did not put up their phone lights at his behest. Wow! Okay. As a Burna fanatic, I was disappointed in the reception he received. I sang out until I lost my voice and zankued until my feet hurt, but it was me and one other zealot in our whole section. Everyone else either stood still or started chitchatting with their friends when they did not know the songs. In fact, he only received a big response for “Ye,” “It’s Plenty,” and of course “Last Last.” There was virtually no movement for “Science,” “Tonight,” or “Bank on It” - songs that had Boston and Afropunk crowds in a tizzy.
Maybe it was ambitious to think that having two superstars on a bill would result in an epic experience. Maybe if the two shared the stage or perhaps in their behind the scenes tete-a-tete will result in a collab! Hmm….
