I'd only requested a press pass to Unforgettable, the big Georgetown Christmas night show featuring reggae acts Tameka Marshall, Konshens, Jah Cure, and R&B singer, Ashanti. I called Shanghai, of Kashif and Shanghai International at about 11am on Christmas morning to check on the status of my request. Kashif and Shanghai handle marketing for events, mainly football matches, though they dabble in concerts, all over South America and the Caribbean. "Call back at noon", he said. At noon, I got more than I was expecting. "We're at the State House. Can you come now? Right now?" I had just finished dressing for lunch with family. "Yes, Ashanti is here with the President, having breakfast. Come." It took about 5 minutes of reasoning with the armed gatekeepers to on New Market St. to gain entrance. I didn't notice that President Bharat Jagdeo was even in the room until he answered, "Yeah?", to an aide's, "Mr. President?". He was just so casual in a white linen shirt and khakis. I only snapped this photo, which I made Ashanti's manager take. He was not happy, but he did it anyway. There was no way I could leave Guyana's State House without a photo. We only spoke for a few minutes about being from Queens before she declared, "I love the pepper pot!" (traditional Guyanese dish of meat and casrip), and left for sound check. From there I shadowed Shanghai to a television station, where I watched Konshens do a live spot before snagging my 3 VIP bands. Took my mom to the show. I'll post video on my Vimeo channel in the next few days.
7 comments:
Leave it to the Yankee to snag a pic at the State House with Ashanti, lol!! I heard she was going to be in town for the holidays; I hope her show didn't disappoint. Oh gosh, they probably shut down GT with all this confusion! Can't wait to see the video.
Ha! Why I gotta be a Yankee??? And on my own blog!!
;-p (Video soon, love!)
You girls look hot!
I haven't listened to Ashanti as yet...but doesn't Tameka Marshall have a glorious voice? Sort of rich, creamy. I really wish she had a good song writer.
Pres. Bharat is that way, my cousin met him at a party and they chatted so cool 'n' casual. Guyana is small, everybody knows everybody...
Aw lawd, look what me start pon dis blog! I hear ya- I get called that all the time when I go Home and I was born there. I guess what I was trying to say without being too facetious was that Ashanti isn’t as popular in Guyana as she is in America, so for us it’s a big thing but maybe not so much for some Guyanese. She does have her following among the youth and the concert is good for putting the country on the map so I’m happy she was there for the holidays. Anyway, mash it up on Ole’ Year’s night, after you eat your cook up and salt fish cake. Happy New Year my dear!
Hey Samantha, no explanation necessary! That was fake outrage ;-) Girl, if I got mad at being called a Yankee, I'd have spent the entire 2 weeks vexed!
GG, Why thank you, my dear! Yes, I met Timeka Marshall at the show! I was really impressed by her voice and her poise onstage. I think she could crossover big time. Having said that, I heard there are some who think "she use obeah to get where she get". Others think "she go'ffa go to whining' school". Boy I tell you, I have gained a whole appreciation for Guyanese people.
Wwwwell, dat is only a smaaall part of the population. If you were to meet the Amerindians in the interior, you'd see a completely different side. Same with other groups / cultures.
Woah this blog is magnificent i love reading your articles. Keep up the great paintings! You recognize, a lot of individuals are hunting round for this info, you could help them greatly.
Post a Comment