Staff writer - Kerran Monroe
As Jamaican we all look forward to the stage shows at the end of the year. Sting is one of the most anticipated stage shows to take place at this time of the year. Dancehall fans look forward to this event every year. They predict which clashes might take place and who will win those clashes. They also predict the success of the show depending on who will be on the show and who will not.
Usually if certain big acts are not on the show, people anticipate a flop and die hard fans of the artist that will not appear, sometimes stay away as well. We saw this happening a couple of years ago when Kartel decided he would not make an appearance on the show, as his financial demands were not met and so did his fans. Instead they went to his, then club, known then as The Building, now known as Club Riddim and partied with their artist there instead.
This year there are mixed reactions as to the success of sting with big names such as Beenie Man being absent and once again it seems Vybz Kartel will not be out in time for the big show this year. This leads to people asking questions such as,
Is Beenie Man relevant enough to keep the crowd away from sting?
Will fans of the World Boss be too busy petitioning for the authorities to ‘free World Boss’?
Are artists such as I Octane, Khago, Movado, and Bounty Killer enough to pull the crowd this year?
What about all these clashes that have been brewing throughout the year, have they simmered down or do they still have the hype?
Do people really want to pay money to see Tony Matterhorn and Twins of Twins clashing?
These questions and many more will be answered on the night of the 26th through to the morning of the 27th of December. As for now we just do not know. Sting is a huge event on the entertainment calendar and it has the potential to be a success as we have seen in the past, however, we have also seen some Sting flops in the past as well. So for this Sting to be a success especially, with the economic constraints people are now dealing with and with election just a couple of days away from the event, the promoters will have to come good.
