The night started off with music played by Livity Movements, Dev Kutta, Dean and BlackIce. Setting the vibes for the night as the patrons sang along and danced to the sweet sounds of Reggae. The décor of SOBs was branded in Destine Xposure logo and a slide show of photos of the royal family of reggae, Morgan Heritage. The ambiance allowed all in attendance to know exactly what they were about to experience.
At approximately 10:00 pm, DJ Roy of Road International and Irie Jam Radio, was up next. DJ Roy started his set with Jamaica national anthem, setting the tone for the night as all proud Jamaicans sang word for word in unison. It was also the 51st year of Jamaica's independence so DJ Roy continued to honor the celebration and play some of Jamaica's most popular festival songs. It was now 10:30 pm and the lights dimmed and a video of Morgan Heritage was introduced and started playing.
All eyes were set towards the stage for the next eight minutes as the fans learned a little more about the Morgan's. The video was a small documentary, which showed the roots of reggae's royal family. The documentary allowed the audience to see the Morgan's in the street of Brooklyn where they grew up as they discussed some of their musical inspirations. It was now show time and first up was Jemere Morgan who gave a stellar acoustic performance. Denroy Morgan, father of Morgan Heritage was also spotted in the crowd looking on and watching the lineage he has created be embraced on their accomplishment.
Showtime was now here, DJ Roy took center stage and introduced Morgan Heritage by asking the crowd to 'Welcome them Home' and there they were making their way to the stage; Una, Gramps, Mojo, Petah and Luke and the rest of the night was history. The acoustic, unplug performance was just exceptional. Petah Morgan took this opportunity to discuss the current state of reggae music and the recent terminology of 'reggae revival' as well a the lack of support in the industry for reggae and young talent out of Jamaica. Petah passionately said to the audience that "reggae has never died so how can we rive something that never dead".
He goes on to say that Hot97 and many other radio outlets choose to say they are playing Hip Hop R&B and reggae, but they never book a reggae artists for their events, the slogan should state Hip Hop R&B and dancehall. The crowd agreed and 'buss blanks' as the group would start to sing some of their hits after each introduction. Some of the songs Morgan Heritage sung were; 'Down by the River', 'You Don't Haffi Dread', 'She Still Loving Me', 'Tell Me How Come' and their current singles off their current album 'Perfect Love Song' and 'Ends Nah meet' just to name a few.
As the night wound down it was evident that Destine Xposure and Morgan Heritage were fully supported by the music industry and members of Reggae music fraternity, as many were in attendance; Shane Brown of Juke Boxx Records, Randy Chin of VP Records, Bobby Clarke and Louie Grant of Irie Jam and Dahved Levy of Caribbean Fever not to mention the host of media houses in attendance. The night came to a close with Morgan Heritage thanking everyone for the support and vowing to continue and never stop singing Reggae. Now can we all say YES RASTA!
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