ABS Basketball Court
March 15th, 2009
Many people in Belize might be very familiar with the event name “STING” from the popular Boxing Day concert in Jamaica that happens every year for the past 24 years. Jamaican “STING” is famous for having the hottest line-up for their local artists, the hit makers, the rump shakers, anything can happen at a “STING” from “blow away” performances to a hardcore clash, a “STING” performance can make or break your career.
A few persons got together to provide an outlet to showcase Belizean dancehall talent at its best and created the first ever “STING” in Belize. Some of the performers on the line-up were Bundy, Holligan, Grandmaster, Anaconda, Mr. Program, Redder Dan, TR, Nello- Playa, Positive Vibes, Demus, Jah Voice, Continental Cat, Dan Man and more backed up by the Caribbean Fire Stone Band.
The organizers that made the event were Andrew “Hard Rock” Bennett, Oscar Herrera, and Rudy Cruz. They provided, with their own means, lights, sounds, and it was all up to the artists to bring the action. No doubt they did. The event was flipping with high energy and hit after hit of blazing tunes, all Belizean; some were very familiar some just made their mark with mind slamming lyrics. The competition was separated into 3 rounds narrowing down the Belizean artists to the ones that brought the most energy and best performance. I was one of the hosts of the event along with Kenny G, a person that I look up to as an MC; he is a man that carries the energy of 10 people in 1. Mr. Program, for unknown reasons decided to step down in the second round, which he did qualify for, but still performed his hit song “See I Rise” before stepping down from the stage.
The competition came down to Positive Vibes who had the crowd screaming and jumping along with his super charged performance and TR who also stunned the crowd with his real lyrics and constant flow. After a back and forth “diss.” It was settled that the person that could keep up with the pressure, and keep consistent with the energy would win. Both did well, but TR took it .
Congratulations to TR who won himself $500, a trophy and the respect of every single person who was at the event or who heard of it. He definitely proved that he is here and he is one of the best. The ABS Sting was definitely a small success. I was totally entertained and proud of my Belizean artists; the next Sting will definitely have a bigger crowd. The Promoters thank everybody for supporting and coming out.