Can’t Style Him!

It was one epic night of entertainment for the thousands of patrons who attended Saturday night’s Flow Dis is Rick.

Mr Crop Over Lil Rick and some specially chosen friends rocked the party and thrilled patrons till 4:35 a.m. when the show ended. Rick shared the stage with the crème de la crème of the Crop Over festival to put on what was arguably one of the better big shows of the season.

The high energy performer sang hit after hit after hit with his usual antics on stage to entertain the crowd. When he hit the stage, it was with the sounds of his 2019 hit Jam Down. That was followed by Mudda Sally, True Story, Can’t Style Me, All is Rum and Sugar Lump.

He later sang Blessings, Breakfast in Bed, Feting Mood, Wait till Tonight, Advantage of Me, I Like Muhself and Gym Instructor. By this time, Rick was dripping in sweat and the crowd was bawling for more.

Bajans who shared the stage with Rick completed him and also brought high energy performances. Those from Rick’s era like Edwin had the crowd in his hands as he performed Groundation, Yardie and other hits. His female counterpart Queen of Soca Alison Hinds was in ripping form with Faluma, Togetherness and Raggamufin. His cousin, Peter Ram, also took patrons down memory lane with tunes such as Quick Sand and Skettle. At one point, Rick came on stage with Ram.

The younger brigade of Shanta Prince, Jus D, Kirk Brown, Shaquille, Leadpipe & Saddis, Sanctuary and Grateful Co also held their own.

The segment with Soca Monarch Mikey took things to another level. That segment also saw Bashment Soca King, King Bubba, performing as well as Marzville and Hypasounds.

Foreign acts Antiguan Ricardo Drue and Trinidadian Patrice Roberts were also part of the stellar line-up and both did a fantastic job. Drue sang Professional, Vagabond, ID and Rum Again. He thrilled the audience with his performance as well as his vocals and connected well with the crowd.

Patrice Roberts was explosive on stage. The big girl sang her heart out with songs like Old And Grey, Big Girl Now, A Little Whine, Into You, Like It Like This. But it was when she sang Sweet Fuh Days that the “pumping started”. Patrice made her way down to the crowd in the VIP section as she danced and had a good time with them.

But as good as the foreign acts were, Rick saved the best for last. In a segment featuring the V-Neck Riddim, the entertainer brought his two sons on stage Unda Dawg and Nico Vibez. The three shared the stage as they sang Balance Batty, Bend Over and WukUp De Worst. They were joined by Kadaffy who also sings Si’Down on the riddum. The bashment continued with help from Stiffy, VerseeWild and Walkes.

But something spectacular and magical happened when Lil Rick called Bashment Soca King SK and Mole to share the stage with him. It started with the V-Neck Riddim where SK sang Reverse and Mole, Deh Wid Um. Referring to the two as his “sons”, the three were electrifying on stage as the Kensington massive bawled and screamed in approval.

Rick invited SK, known as the Lyricist, and Mole to freestyle much to the delight of the crowd. The skilful two took up the challenge. They then sang on the more recent and popular ThundaBolt Riddim. Unda Dawg joined them to sing Love To Wuk then SK sang Tek Position. But it was Mole’s Breathe that caused pure pandemonium. The crowd was now whipped into an uncontrollable frenzy.

The show fittingly ended as it started with Lil Rick in the spotlight as he sang It Ain’t Me which is on the same riddim. The man of the hour was still accompanied by SK and Mole; several times he told them not to leave the stage. The crowd was fully hyped as the three performed.

However, Rick’s hopes of ending with “pace” by singing Jam Down were not to be. He pleaded for an extra five minutes but the police were already there to enforce the end time arrangement made with Kensington Oval. (IMC)