Gyasi Merrique
As Burna Boy (Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) waved goodbye to the crowd at O2 Park in Chaguaramas Saturday morning there was no doubt that the African Giant had given the crowd the performance they wanted.
"Trinidad I love you, I have to say bye bye oh," Burna Boy, bare-backed and drenched in sweat, told the crowd as he walked off stage.
They returned the love to Burna Boy.
But while Burna Boy's performance was rated highly , there were several other elements to the event that got the thumbs down from the crowd.
The path to Burna Boy reaching the O2 stage was not an easy one.
At first the venue change from the Hasely Crawford stadium a week before the concert raised concerns about the possibility of traffic congestion to get in and out of Chaguaramas.
And while the promoters tried to alleviate some of that congestion by organising a shuttle service there was still some traffic experienced.
There were also concerns whether the show itself would be able to get off the ground after legal action was threatened by another set of promoters.
However, Cash Money Brothers Promotions decided against filing an injunction in the high court to stop the event.
The show started around 9 pm with Kees Dieffenthaller taking the stage.
Kes the band performed for around 45 minutes.
The crowd was hyped following the performance, which saw the soca star incorporate a wide range of music genres.
But this passion was drenched following a lull that lasted for around two hours.
Jamaican dancehall artiste Popcaan (Andrae Hugh Sutherland) had originally been carded to perform after Kes but he missed his performance time.
T&T deejays Private Ryan and Adam 2MV tried to keep the crowd enthused but the energy of the concert dipped.
DJ Lambo eventually delved into some AfroBeats at 1:10am just as rain started to come down.
Burna Boy appeared at 1.45 am preceded by his drum corps.
Burna Boy gushed about the beauty of women in Trinidad as he delved into his hit "My Hand" which got the women in the crowd along with him .
He followed this song with his more upbeat hit "Location" which received an even greater reception.
When Burna Boy began an acapella intro to his song Toni Ann Singh it seemed like Popcaan would appear, but this didn't happen.
He also surprised the audience with his cover of the hit Jerusalema by South African artiste (Kgaogelo Moagi).
Burna Boy maintained crowd interaction throughout with a very energetic and passionate performance.
"On days like this I'm grateful because I come from a far place called Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We must do all we can to maintain this connection so that our children wouldn't even know about our separation," Burna Boy said.
Burna Boy had previously performed at Plymouth Recreation Ground, Tobago, as part of the Tobago Music, Arts and Culture Festival (TOMAC) in October.
One patron Valentina Sim told Guardian Media that ahe felt his performance this time around was even better than then.
"The energy on a whole was better," Sim said.
When Burna Boy performed his song "Kilometre" he segued into a captivating drum and dance interlude involving band members and backup singers.
The crowd loved it but not enough as Burna Boy questioned if they were tired and joked about cutting the show short.
The audience screamed "Noooo!"
Another acapella into his hit "It's Plenty" and the crowd took over singing loudly.
Burna Boy quipped "Now we're talking!"
After performing a few more of his hits Burna Boy toyed with audience by leaving the stage.
"No Last Last?" patrons asked.
Burna Boy obliged with a tease.
"I got you, didn't I?" he asked wide grinned.
He was out-sung by patrons for this mega-hit.
After Burna Boy finished performing around 2.55 am patrons began to leave.
However around 3.45 am Popcaan finally took to the stage.
This caused patrons who were about to exit to have to turnaround and run back to see the performance.
Popcaan performed for around 40 minutes.
