Since his emergence on the dancehall scene, every career move Alkaline embarked on, has had a touch of enigma and glaring moments of controversy attached to it and New Rules 2022 was no different. The third staging of the event, but the second in Kingston saw approximately 45,000 patrons come out to the National Stadium to witness an impactful moment in Dancehall history. Hosted by world-renowned Selector Badda Bling, the show started with a few promising, younger acts gracing the stage to get the crowd pumped up for the legendary moments that were to come.
In the first quarter of the show, Kacique was the first to draw a meaningful ‘forward’ from the New Rules crowd. In a very similar vein to his performance at the show’s media launch, he approached the stage with a level of confidence and lyrical prowess that gave patrons no choice but to acknowledge his talent. A bright spark, with the gift of the gab, it was apparent that Kacique has studied dancehall greats like Papa San among others and his performance depicts one of a future dancehall icon in the making.
The dollies were in for a treat, as Prettii Pretii took to the stage and gave an exhilarating performance and the audience had no qualms about affirming her for that. The females continued to dominate the first quarter of the show as Marcy Chin emerged on the stage. A diligent and hard-working artist who has worked assiduously at honing her craft for years and is definitely to come into her prime. Her fashion sensibilities were just as on point as her command of the stage and both factors enabled her to get a riveting response from the New Rules audience.
Moving into the second quarter of the show, the switch from tracks to live bands was a well-needed one and it was another formidable female vocalist who graces the stage first with a band – Stalk Ashely. Her mellifluous vocals won the hearts of both males and females in the audience and when she got to Incognito in her set, the crowd couldn’t help but melt in awe of her soulful vocals and edgy image.
Continuing in the lieu of female performers, it would be egregious for us not to commend veteran DJ Macka Diamond for her well-organized and thorough musical offering. She entered the stage with her early 2000’s classic Hula Hoop which saw her accompanied by her well-rehearsed and fluent dancers. Her witty and suggestive freestyles were also well received by the audience but the crowd erupted when she got to her 2013 classic Dye Dye which had patrons rocking and grooving with nostalgia and joy.
Moving into the last quarter of the show saw the introduction of Aidonia to the stage. The authority and crowd control he exerted was nothing short of masterful. In a paradigm of dancehall music where so many artists struggle to translate their vocal ability from tracks to the stage, Aidonia showed us once again why he is one of the dancehall elites. Pulling from his endless catalogue of hits, his performance was essentially flawless. As a response to his detractors who criticize him for only helping to break one-act other than himself in the genre (Govana), he opted to introduce other talents to the stage. The stand-out performer of his ‘ call-outs’ was undoubtedly Posh Morris, a lyrical female DJ poised to have a huge impact on the industry once granted more opportunities to showcase her talent.
The penultimate performance of the night was the highly anticipated presence of Skeng. Possessing the regalia and aura of a rockstar, his energetic performances mesmerized the entire audience who sang every lyric from every one of his songs, at the top of their lungs. His performance moved to a new dimension of euphoria when he re-called Stalk Ashley to the stage to perform their smash hit Taliban. The fans were more than happy to see Stalk Ashley again and her alluring sensuality was definitely a treat to the eyes, so there were no complaints about her re-introduction to the stage.
The grand finale to an eventful night was nothing short of anti-climactic, as the man of the moment Alkaline graced his stage. Seeing Alkaline in Jamaica is a rare sight for dancehall fans so there was a tremendous sense of anticipation surrounding his performance. Running out on stage with a drink in hand, it was apparent that the Young Lord was in a festive mood. He started his set with some of the newer songs from his catalogue but his biggest crowd reactions came from his classics like After All, Formula, and City. Despite the naysayers and detractors, Alkaline has consistently shown the character of an overcomer, therefore it was only befitting that he closed the show with his inspirational track Ocean Waves.
Despite some of the unfortunate incidences of stampedes and violence that were reported after the show, the night was still an enjoyable one for true lovers of dancehall. Once again, Alkaline has proven that despite his enigmatic persona and controversial history, he is still a force to be reckoned with in dancehall music.
