The crowd went crazy for Ataklan on July 3, at the T&T launch of The Mix at Casa de Ibiza on Tragarete Road in Woodbrook.
The event, officially titled Alric & Boyd and VTM present The Mix, takes place in�Jamaica, Barbados, and now T&T. It's a weekly party featuring an artiste performing a�few of their songs. The whole thing is captured on video and, according to Jason Cox of�VTM, one of the promoters of the event, it will eventually be organised so the events�can be streamed live between the islands. The crowd took their time arriving, and at first it seemed the turnout would be low.
But by the time Ataklan started singing at 1 am, the club was full and his fans made up for�their tardy arrival with wild enthusiasm. They screamed, shouted, waved and went wild for the young rapso man, who came looking cool in all black and�dark glasses. He immediately established great rapport with the audience, teasing them by coming onstage singing his hit, Flood–then "wheeling" and saying they couldn't hear that one so�early on. He went through a slew of his hits, including the always-powerful Naked Walk and Spanish Girl, for which he came into the crowd to get close to a female fan. He sang two odes to his hometown, Straight Out of Morvant and Never Moving Out of�Morvant, as well as the Ras Shorty I-inspired Who God Bless/My God Doh Sleep,�saluting the jamoo icon for helping him in his early career. Ataklan called out to fellow performer Mistah Shak in the audience, and brought him�up to the microphone.
Far left: Ataklan performs at the T&T launch of The Mix concert series at Ibiza on Tragarete Road, Woodbrook, on Saturday night. The 2010 Dimanche Gras debutant sang a snippet of one of his songs, Real Liberation, calling for better content and quality in soca music. He, too, got his share of loud cheers. "Klannie" reprised Flood and continued with the brand new I Am Me, Love Reincarnation�and reggae remix of Shadow in the Dark. He had his DJ, Rhythm International, cut short most of his songs, remarking�that he was only supposed to perform three songs at the event.�Pointing to the video monitor, which was showing a recent Mix concert in Jamaica, Ataklan said he had attended that show. He said the siege that took place in the Tivali�area, while police hunted for outlaw "Dudus" Coke, had inspired a new song, Kingston�Town, which he shared. He brought the set to a close with the fiery Flambeau, keeping the audience under his�spell right to the end. After his performance the party went on to the sounds of DJs VTM and Nappy Head Trooper. The next edition of Alric & Boyd and VTM present The Mix will take place at Ibiza on�August 7.