Special thanks to extra-lovely host for the evening, ReeRee Phillips. *wink*

NUFF SAID!

Mista Vybe inna yuh (Yorkville) Dancehall again, yo – I’m OUTTTT!!!

I hadn’t bumped into Naya George and the guys from Invazion band for a minute, so it was good to hang out with them backstage and even better to see dem completely DEMOLISH “De Village” and leave the 10 To 10 crowd in a frenzy, setting the pace for the night’s many hype performances. Ziggy Rankin went on with them and really ripped up the place too. And of course yours truly followed after and had my lil mash up moment as well… *modest grin*

On top of that, it’s rare that I get to see my some of my  Greenz (aka Grenada) bredrins “done di place”, let alone getting a chance to see ALL of them on one stage in one night, so even though yours truly was seriously under the weather on the night of August 1st, I stuck around and braved it out to take in some of the finest performers in the Spice Isle.

10 To 10 Fete! (Grenada Spice Mas 2009) from Mista Vybe on Vimeo.

From Shotta Ricky to the enigmatic Lava Man to the veteran Inspector and of course my close buddy Mr. Killa (congrats on the Soca Monarch title boss!), the night was filled with fun performances and hype stage antics and the Greenz posse totally got into the action and got themselves ready for Spice Mas!

Me? I just rocked back with my under the weather self and let the hype performances warm my soul till the sun came up and it was time to board the bus back to the hotel.

After that there was barely enough time to pack up and head to the airport for 12 Noon to catch our flight back to Sweet TnT! Tired, still not 100% but happy I got a taste of Spice Mas vibes 2009!

Before I sign off, I gotta say thanks to Wayne Green & Homebase Entertainment for handling business on my behalf while I was there, big up to the promoter Waggy T and a very special thanks to WeeFMGrenada.com & photographer Mikey Hutchinson for some of the pics (the final shot of Ziggy is Copyrighted to ME though lol).

All my love to all the Greenz fans!! Bye Greenz! Love yuh bad… yuh know Mista Vybe will be back soon. Hmm might be sooner than you think!!! Stay tuned… ;-)

How fitting is it that another one of Soca’s all time greats happens to celebrate his birthday EXACTLY a week after mine? Yeah – Bunji is a Cancer man too!!! What can I say? We Cancers are just destined for greatness! ;-)

So anyway, earlier on in the day (July 14th) I got a call from my homegirl Nadia Batson, who explained that Garlin himself had called her up and told her to come down to his private Birthnight Bash last night over at Club Ibiza, “and bring Vybe and Alysha and de crew!”

Given that myself and Garlin go wayyyyy back to our freestyling days “on the Greens” in Arima back in the 90′s, you know I had to go and celebrate with my homey. Him being a fellow Cancer was just icing on the cake.

Myself, Nadia, my lil sista (Ms. Alysha) and (Digital Entertainment sound man) Don Iko linked up and headed down to Ibiza just after 9pm, expecting a nice Birthday bash for Bunji and got a GREAT lime and so much more…

For those who weren’t lucky enough to be on Bunji’s list of Special Invitees, you missed out on a classic live performance from Uncle Superblue (including his unique version of MJ’s “Billie Jean”), freestyles from Squeezy Rankin, Benjai, Fayann and even Garlin himself, and Happy Birthdays sung by Ziggy Rankin, Denise Belfon and Jamaican Dancehall star Cecile!

Mista Vybe at Bunji’s Birthnight (Courtesy SYNERGY-TV’S “De Scene”) from Mista Vybe on Vimeo.

Hanging out with good friends in the biz like Maximus Dan, Kees, Ninjitsu, Jungie Ranking and Scar was great as always, and also in attendance were the likes of Jason Williams & Blaze, Super Jigga TC, Michelle Xavier (Imij & Co), and Hypa Hoppa.

Well, when life hands you lemons… you LIME, HAVE A FEW DRINKS AND HIT THE STUDIO!!! Right? LMAO! Well that’s what I did anyway… turned out to be a great 24 hours of fun and fast paced work… just the way I like things ;-)

After Homebase Entertainment CEO Wayne Green picked me up from the studio and explained the cancellation, we set off to hunt for some food for my now-hungry belly. In the course of the search we bumped into none other than my bredrin Mr. Killa!

As much as I love a good lime with my boy Killa, hunger called, so we ended up at Creole Shack chowing down on some fabulous macaroni pie and barbecued chicken.

Hunger averted, we bounced down to the island’s hottest club/lounge, Karma, where we hung out with the owner and sipped on an ice-cold Stag… aaaahhhhhhh – the Good Life! lol

Post-Karma, there was a quick pit-stop at local radio station City Sound 97.5FM, where the lovely Simone was spinning the latest Greenz Soca for 2009, including Jab Jab Reloaded, my new joint with Tallpree! Thanks for the love hun!=

Following that, we wound up at Homebase Studios where we wrapped up the night listening to new tunes for Greenz Carnival as Wayne gave me a sneak peek of the hot tracks that were as-yet-unreleased for the coming Spice Mas season.

After that, bedtime… then back to the studio the next morning to do backgrounds for several Homebase tunes. Big up to Keisha, G.P. (AKA Ignition) and all the other talented artists whose tunes I put vocals on, and of course respect to Roots for some wicked productions.

By the time I blinked again it was already after 5pm and we ended up literally RACING to catch my 6:30 flight back to TnT.

Before you know it I was back behind the wheel of the Vybe-mobile in Sweet La Trinity (Trinidad for those who don’t know lol). Ahhh – there’s no place like home…

Don’t worry Greenz peeps – I’ll be back in Grenada for 10 To 10 fete on July 31st 2009 to show allyuh how to “Jab Jab”! Till then.. enjoy the tune! ;-)

In the meantime though, I just wanna say on behalf of myself and my showbiz “family”, The Big Artist Crew, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who supported us so lovingly during our amazing performance at the Super Concert on Saturday night at Carifesta IX, in the National Stadium (Trinidad)!

You know, sometimes when you spend as much time away from home representin’ your country as I do, you find yourself wondering if the people at home appreciate what you do as much as the fans abroad do when Carnival is over… and at Carifesta the warm reception myself and the crew got certainly proved that there’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME! Gotta send a special shout ot to the Crew…

Saturday night was the first time in a while the entire Crew got to represent together on one big stage – and it was a night to remember trust me!

My homegirl Michelle Sylvester started things off with a bang, mashing up the place with her string of hit tunes, including “Go Ahead”, “Sleep In Your Bed”, “Face Me”…

Then it was MY turn! Singing “Always On My Mind” with Michelle is always wonderful but this time it was made even more special by the thousands of you out there who sang and danced along… thank you guys and thanks Meesh! Love ya! (Aye Michelle! I hear we make the Express front page? Wayyyyyy!)

After “Always”, I got to perform “Ting” in my first major show at home since I won the Caribbean Soca Monarch. Judging by the amount of jumpin’ and wavin’ and winin’ going on I’d say “Ting 4 D Road” certainly still has that special something… Never ceases to amaze me how people react to that song.

“Somebody say Ting..4 D Road” for real!!!

My lil sista was waiting in the wings by this time, but before I brought her onstage I had to big up the rest of the Big Artist Crew. Even though they weren’t booked for the show, my friends Nadia Batson and Terry Seales not only came along to the event, but even sang backgrounds and gave the crowd a lil impromptu piece of their solo performing skills too! Thanks you guys!

Big Artist Crew forever!

(FROM LEFT: Vybe, Michelle, Terry, Nadia, Alysha and Julio! BIG ARTIST CREW CHILLIN BACKSTAGE AFTER PERFORMING)

Oh – can’t leave out my lil homey (and one of my favourite producers to work with), Julian “Julio” Nelson (that’s him in the yellow and green)! Saturday was the first time I got to finally introduce the young man who produced all the music for “Ting 4 D Road” live onstage! Julio boy – time to release yuh solo tune – dem ladies out dey feelin yuh LOL!

Last but by no means least, my lil sista Ms. Alysha BLAZED the place with her hit tune “Party”! (Hope you havin fun mashin up Miami Carnival sis – I miss you! Come back soon!)

It was truly a night to remember – the Big Artist Crew in full effect, supported heart and soul by the great audience at Carifesta IX.

I couldn’t end this blog entry without mentioning some of the other talented artists who performed that night, including Jadee (“Dooon’t DIS mih God!), Maximus Dan (D.C.D.B.!), Isaac Blackman (big up the love Circle family), Jabae (whaddup Barry – sorry I left before you guys performed!), H20 Phlo (look out for the new H20/Ms. Alysha collaboration – comin soon!), Multi Symptom… the list is endless.

Finally, after all that love at Carifesta, Michelle and I hustled down to Clifton Hill, Point Fortin, (yeah you read it right – from Port-of-Spain to POINT!), where we performed to another appreciative audience. Point is always a great crowd – love you guys!

Bless up Shal Marshall & Clyde The Outlaw (thanks for hypin’ up the crowd for us fellas!) and my boy Brenty (Invazion family!), the best selector we could ever ask for.

Special shout out to www.TriniView.com….where you can find all these cool pics and more! Check them out for pics of all the happenings..during the whole week of Carifesta IX!

Mista Vybe is gone again… studio callin!

Somebody say NEWWWWWWWWWW TUUUNEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!

Blessed love,

Vybe