Alkaline rewards patience at ‘Up To The Line’

At 3:33 a.m. Sunday, he hit the stage with a microphone and unmatched energy, and all the grumbling disappeared.

The 'Vendetta Boss', Alkaline, then ruled the Up To The Line stage for the next 50 minutes, fans soaking up his undivided attention, and forgiving him for making them wait well into the early morning to see him. Boasting a baby blue outfit and freshly done hair, the artiste got right into it, churning out hit after hit to an audience that knew every line and lyric. With Mad Luv, and Company, Alkaline started the lyrical banter with the fans who went phone crazy trying to capture every moment for posterity.

For the ladies at the stage front, he got intimate as he crouched down and performed songs such as On Fleek (Love Yuh Everything). They clamoured to grab onto his pants at every turn. Patron Pauline Myers told THE STAR that the show was money well spent.

"I had to come out because it's Alkaline. He's my babe, so I had to be here because I am everywhere that Alkaline is. I enjoyed it because it was well organised, but then anything that Alkaline is involved with is like that. The vibe was good and I had fun. I loved all of his songs; I can't choose which one I loved more. The ones who complained about the show being long don't really know what they are saying. You can't rush greatness," she said.

Other than the main acts, the event was a mixed bag. Despite the rains, the mud and the chilly temperature, the crowd kept pouring into the Police Officers' Club for the after Champs event. DJ Fresh Mint controlled the turntables initially with the early 2000s dancehall that built a vibe that got the crowd warmed up. Midway through the event, the Stone Love Crew took over the reins, and Boom Boom and Gugu Mental had the needed rapport between each song to keep the crowd entertained well past midnight.

After 2 a.m., the crowd started getting restless. It was at that time that the early acts made their way on stage, receiving mixed receptions. Valdomore failed to build a vibe while Knaxx fared a little better. Khandy also brought good energy and was flicking all over the stage, much to the delight of onlookers. Of all the early entrants, Sita Lyrical was embraced by the crowd. Bouncing on the popular WYFL riddim, she offered up a song comprised only of words that began with the letter 'S', and the crowd was in an uproar when she rode the rhythm to perfection. She delivered snippets of other songs like Right Desso, which connected with the crowd. Before exiting, she showed off her singing voice, acceding to Boom Boom's request.

Skippa was a man on a mission to dominate, which he did with Go Girl and Currency, and the women just kept screaming to get his attention. Near the end of his set, he bellowed "You know why the girls love me? Cuz me full a money". He proved it by casually sprinkling a wad of $5,000 bills over the audience at the front of the stage which sent those within reach scrambling to grab as many as they could.

The surprise guest artiste of the event was Shane-O, who demonstrated that he is still on top of his game with Wicked People, Last Days and Take It Tell Me. Reminding them of how far he has come since his early success, he then did Lightning Flash, which had patrons singing along.