Ghanaian Audience Are The Most Patient - Shaggy

Shaggy poses on stage ?Not even when the power went off on two different occasions at the Accra Sports Stadium would make the highly charged Ghanaian audience get mad at the organizers or even me. This is what I call matured audience?. Shaggy told Ghana Music.Com just after he went off stage after his last show at the Accra International Conference Centre on Sunday January 4, 2003.

Only first 15 minutes into his first Ghana bash at the Accra Sports Stadium, the main power went off. Shaggy had to return backstage and you would see him feeling ordinarily cool taking his water and seriously expecting to get back on stage earnest. About 15 minutes later, the problem was rectified and no energy seemed to have diminished from the 35-year old reggae superstar. Then 30 minutes later the power went off again and this time around when it came back, Shaggy said ?I don?t care what is going on out there. Whether the power goes off again or not, the electricity and energy between me and Accra will be live?. And wouldn?t this message put even more fire in you?

Shaggy did most of hit songs back to back as if the power was going go out again if he didn?t do it quick. Though the crowd wasn?t as big as expected for a stadium that could ?mash-up? 45,000 fans during a top football game, my guess and, infact that of Charter House PR, Paa John Dadson?s was the around 10,000 persons.

An exited Shaggy fan But what made Accra see the best of Kingston, Jamaica born Orville Richard Burrell was his performance at the Accra International Conference Centre on the second night dubbed ?The Exclusive Show?. Exclusive because it happened at a plushest of venues plus the seats cost ?400, 000 ($45) and others reserved for ?500,000 ($55). The tickets ran out even before Shaggy landed in Ghana late Friday January 2. And the ordinary seats were later used as reserved seats. At the show it self, one could easily loss their dancing spot for another person?s feet if they raised their feet for a little too longer.

Shaggy at the Accra Int. Conference Center He appeared on the stage at exactly 11 pm prior to a 5-minute pre-recorded video announcement of his coming on large projectors. This, I believe was made to garner more female screams. And when everything one could hear in the hall was the scream of the wet (yes! sweat-wet) women, Shaggy appears, not vibrantly, but as cool as the female fan would like it. He posed at the centre of the stage and wouldn?t move but gazing sexily at the trailer-load-a-girls yelling to get closer to him. In an interval of 20 seconds his deep romantic voice purrs ?Mr. Luver, Luver, girllllll? for about 5 more times. He then dismantled the first few rolls by calling all the beautiful Accra ladies close to the stage. A little vibe for the Accra crowd follows then the songs began to row. Mr. Bombastic, Oh Carolina, Hey Sexy Lady, In the Summer Time among other pieces of tunes he performed.

He later introduced Rayvon and performed Keepin? it Real with him, then Rik Rok and did It Wasn?t Me with him. They will pause and debate over the advice Shaggy gave Rik Rok. ?Why is it that guys almost always get caught but girls never get caught?, Rik Rok asked the audience. Shaggy replied, ?Because we are all s-t-u-p-id?. Rik Rik asked the vice versa and Shaggy said because the ladies are always smart. Then the beat rowed back and Rik Rok sung the second hook ?Gonna tell her that I?m sorry // For the pain that I?ve caused// I?ve been listening to your reasons// And it makes no sense at all??.

Surprisingly to Shaggy, he never started a song that the audience never knew it. ?This is like a New York audience? he once remarked. He played for the next 100-minutes, left the stage, almost unnoticed (because Rayvon and Rik Rok backed by smooth vocalists Brian and Tony Gold took over comfortably).

Rayvon sings Angel with a female fan For another 20 minutes, after he had changed into a branded black T-shirt, he performed tracks from the Luck Days album. And this is how he wet the dreams of a lady from the audience named Louisa. (He did the same act to another female fan the previous night). Shaggy pulled a lady from the audience. ?This is your Luck Day?, he told her. He found her a chair to sit on started smooching her and by the time the lady turned herself, Rayvon, Tony Gold and Rik Rok were seen kneeling as close as air could get to her. Then Rayvon starts singing the song ?Angel?. The lady was visibly seen emotionally out of this world.

When Shaggy returned for the last time, he was clad in the number 8 jersey of Ghana?s Black Meteor?s striker, Michael Essien. By this time it wouldn?t take a rocket scientist to realize that Shaggy was almost out of energy. But, wait a minute! It never occurred to his female fans. All they wanted was more.

The Deputy Information Minister, Asamoah Boateng presented Shaggy with a plaque and an African drum and blessed his next outings. After this presentation, Shaggy did another four songs including some soft ones on his Lucky Days album plus Chica Bonita using instrumentals of Chaka Demus & Plier?s Bam Bam. He performed Chaka Demus & Plier?s Murder She Wrote and two other tunes of Bob Marley?s. But not until he had dedicated those songs to the Reggae legend?s wife Rita Marley, who is permanently based in Ghana. 

Commedian-extraordinaire KSM with with Earlier on local acts such as the Ghana Dance factory, hip-life stars 4 X 4 and VIP shook the hall half-filled with Lebanese (Perhaps, because the show was brought to us by Lebanese-owned GSM service provider, Spacefon). But the act that commanded the most standing ovation apart from Shaggy?s performance was when comedian extraordinaire KSM had his turn and later called rappers VIP back on stage to compare the dance of today to that of the 70?s.

Shaggy this morning moved to Angola to complete his African Tour coming this weekend. ?It?s been a very wonderful experience; we will be doing this quite often?. He told us before he departed from his M-Plaza Hotel base.

Now tell us, all you like or hate about our coverage of Shaggy Live In Ghana, let us know. Send e-mails to verus@ghanamusic.com.

More pictures from Shaggy's Show at the Accra International Conference Centre

Babes, babes, babes everywhere A section of the crowd at the Conference Centre
More babes Wow!!!
Brian, Rik Rok & Shaggy moves the audience Fans get closer to Shaggy