Hot 97’s On Da Reggae & Soca Tip Recap

For Caribbean people in New York City, Labor Day Weekend equals Carnival season. Being the melting pot of Caribbean cultures, all islands are celebrated through the entire weekend with festivities starting the Wednesday going through the end of Labor Day.

 

New York’s Hot 97 On Da Reggae & Soca Tip, hosted by Bobby Konders & Jabba, is a must-attend stage show, that’s more like a big party, to kick off the Labor Day Festivities for a guaranteed good time. This year was no different. Dancehall and Soca’s best came out to perform and have a good time with the Caribbean massive at Brooklyn’s Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island. Performers included Dovey Magnum, Tifa, Nailah Blackman, Shal Marshall, Ding Dong, Kranium, Aidonia, Konshens, Elephant Man and a few special guests and DJs.

All photos by Mel D. Cole

 

Upcoming dancehall artist Sekuence opened the show along with Rayvon and Sugar Bear brought some 90s dancehall vibes to warm up the crowd. Dovey Magnum hit the stage with raw energy. #BawlOutNation was in full effect complete with pum pum empowerment as she performed some new tunes and her hit song “Bawl Out.”

Tifa by Mel D. Cole

Fresh off the release of her latest album Curry Goat & Champagne, Tifa gave good energy representing for the Matey’s and the Wifey’s in the same set. Showing off her DJing skills with songs like “Dash Out”, “Jealous Over” and brought up an audience member on stage to wine up for her song “Big Bumper.”

Masicka by Mel D. Cole

Masicka hasn’t performed in New York before, but fans were ready to hear from one of Dancehall’s newest favorite artist. He performed hits like, “Greatness”,“10 out a 10” and more.

Nailah Blackman by Mel D. Cole

DJ Young Chow kicked off the Soca set with good vibes, bringing out Mr. Killa who did a quick “Rolly Polly” set with an audience member. Nailah Blackman touched the stage with energetic hits like “Workout”, “Baddish”, “Birthday Song”, “Baila” and more. Mr. Splinters himself, Shal Marshall got so many forwards for “Splinters” the crowd sang at least 3 times. He also performed favorites like “Famous” and “Dip.”

Shal Marshall by Mel D. Cole

Kranium by Mel D. Cole

Kranium lit up the stage bringing out Brooklyn’s own Lil Kim! They announced he was on the remix for her latest single “Nasty One.” Kranium had the ladies in their feelings as he performed “Nobody Has to Know”, “Can’t Believe” and “Last Night.”

Lil Kim & Kranium by Mel D. Cole

Ding Dong brought the vibes and took the energy to a next level having the whole arena dancing. Ding Dong mash up di stage with dancing hits like “Lebeh, Lebeh”, “Genna Bounce” and of course “Fling” where Bobby Konders’ son shut down the whole place with his dance moves. He brought out a few friends too, Safaree, Ricky Blaze.

Ding Dong by Mel D. Cole

Short on time, Aidonia breezed through his set of hits including “Yeah Yeah”, “Caribbean Girl”, “Fi di Jockey”, “Banga” and “Ukku Bit”.

Aidonia by Mel D. Cole

The ladies went crazy for Konshens as he performed gal chunes like “Bruk of ya Back”, “Gal ah Bubble.” Sharing his pride for Caribbean culture, specifically Dancehall he performed “Suh Mi Tan” and “Do Sumn’ ”  sending the crowd into a frenzy before he exited stage left.

Konshens by Mel D. Cole

Closing the show was fan favorite Elephant Man. The energy god took to the stage and did dance hits like “Ova de Wall”, “Higher Level“, “Scooby Doo”, “Signal de Plane”, “Pon de River” and even though his time ran out the crowd sung “Bad Man ah Bad Man.”

Elephant Man by Mel D. Cole

Reggae, Soca, Good times and great Caribbean vibes in Brooklyn is the best way to start the weekend.