M.I
Friday, June 15, 2012, will go down in
the history books as the night superstars shut down the city of Awka in
Anambra state using the power of music, as part of the ongoing
nationwide Star Trek 2012, tagged Naija Rocks.
Billed to commence at 7pm at the Marble Arch Hotel, the show had hundreds of youths trooping in as early as 6pm.
A slight drizzle came down at about 8:30pm, but the teeming crowd wasn’t deterred. DJ Switch
continued to thrill the crowd till 10pm with his impeccable mix of
Nigerian gbedu, which kept the crowd excited, and in anticipation of the
headlining acts, such as D’banj, MI, Phyno, Mr Raw, Ikechukwu, Sound
Sultan and many others.
By 10pm, the host for the night, Gideon Okeke,
stepped on stage to keep the crowd occupied. This he did for the next
two hours, with mild anecdotes here and there in English and in his
native tongue, and with short dance competitions.
He also called out several upcoming acts, who performed for exactly 1 minute each. Among the acts who performed were E-Boy and Sammy Young, Polash, with his unique blend of highlife which the crowd enjoyed, Smile – another female highlife exponent who showed a lot of potential, Bamayie,CJ Kool, Sammy C and many others.
Of particular note was a one legged rapper called Toxic and eclectic singer/rapper BMG,
who came all the way from Benin city. ‘Toxic’ quickly caught the
attention of the audience due to his handicap, and also with his style
of rapping, as he wowed the audience with a freestyle on the popular
Lil’ Wayne ‘A Millie’ beat. Meanwhile, BMG came on with a unique style
of carrying along the audience, blending various genres of classic old
school/new school joints on a contemporary hip hop beat. He spent close
to 15 minutes on stage, and by the time he was done, he had won over the
entire audience.
At 12am, Gideon Okeke introduced Crystal,
the 2012 winners of Star Quest, and they promptly did what they do
best, delivering a great performance. The group is made up of Emmanuel
(drums), Godwin (Bass), Daniel(Keyboards), Civian & Tinuke (Vocals)
and rapper Romeo, who hooked the crowd with his incredible flows and
stage charisma.
