The Crown Prince rises again

Just as he chants in one of his well-known hits, The Prophet Rise Again, so it was on Sunday night into the wee hours of Monday morning when the legacy of Dennis Brown was on the rise again.

A slew of his contemporaries were on hand to tip their hats to reggae's crown prince, and in a fashion in which D-Brown -- as he is fondly called would have approved. The occasion was the birthday party featuring live and recorded music for the "entertainer's entertainer" who would have been 53 on Monday. Not only were his peers out in full force, but so too his legion of fans who descended infront of 135 Orange Street, better known as Big Yard -- the birthplace of D Brown.

Kicking off the event which marks the start of Reggae Month, the brand new outfit called Omega Element whet the appetite of the massive. Sangie Davis demonstrated that he is not only an established songwriter/producer but also a singer to be reckoned with.

Now a seasoned performer, roots and culture singer Jahmel, after breezing through Love and Hate (Here I Come), really got into his element with fresh lyrical content defining real dancehall to the pulsating rhythm of Three Blind Mice.

Charles Campbell of the Reggae Month committee in bringing greetings announced the slogan of Reggae Month is To The Roots. With that said he added: "We're starting with this and we hope that the Dennis Brown celebration on Orange Street at Big Yard will become an annual (event)."

And the head honcho, Julian 'Jingles' Reynolds concurred with Campbell, pointing out that it was a celebration of the history and culture of downtown Kingston as the musical force of Jamaica.

The final speaker was attorney-at-law Lance Cowan, from the Dennis Brown Trust. "There's two things that we do at the Dennis Emanuel Brown Trust... we promote the life and works of Dennis Brown... the other thing that we do... is to send children from Dennis' school -- Central Branch Primary and All Age -- to high school. I have here ladies and gentlemen, Latoya and Dedrian. These are two of the 34 children who we sent to high school nine years ago. They are both in their second year at university now... and as long as we're able to we're going to continue sending children to school and promote the life and works of Dennis Brown."

With formalities out of the way, it was back to the musical presentation, the first of which saw veteran Jimmy Riley singing It's Gonna Be Tougher Now, giving the first of two history lessons for the night. Informing the gathering as to why Orange Street became known as "Beat Street", Riley recited: "Downbeat di deh right deh soh, Slim Smith di singa live upstairs inna dah house deh, Prince Busta did deh right deh soh... further down di road Bunny Lee pon di right hand side and straight down di road a record shops..."

Ken Boothe followed in the same vein. Before getting into his act, he stated that the area brings back many memories. Opening with Dennis Brown's Cassandra, Boothe -- as he always does -- turned up the temperature with some of his well-known hits.

Then came the second history lesson from The Informative History Man. His biography of Dennis Brown -- with the punchline "Emmanuel Brown" over little known details of D Brown's life story -- was amusing and entertaining. Bongo Herman and his favourite instrument, the chimmy, was in good nick, so too was Bunny Brown, Derrick Harriot, Stranjah Cole, but none compared to John Holt, and moreso, when he was joined by Beres Hammond. Alternating as well as performing in tandem, they both brought this segment of the party to a fitting climax.

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