Urban Beach Week hits Miami once again and every celebrity and who’s who are present. The pool parties, the clubs, the beaches, the entire strip is lit. We can’t leave out the Caribbean people though. Don’t worry! Jabba got you. The Best of the Best Music festival is only the biggest reggae stage show in America. Jabba, DJ for New York City’s Hot 97 is the cofounder of Miami’s annual Best of the Best Concert, the reggae-centric celebration and this year marked its tenth Memorial Day Weekend edition at Bayfront Park. Some of the biggest names in Reggae and Dancehall come out to perform for their fans.
Jabba expressed, “There used to be a few dope Caribbean concerts”. However by 2006 The DJ and his friend, eventual Best of the Best cofounder Joey Budafuco, noticed most of those parties had given up. They were set on keeping reggae alive and from there came the birth of Best of the Best.
Last year’s staging left a few fans disgruntled at the fact that Beenie Man was not in attendance. However this year’s staging came back with a vengeance. With over twenty artists performing, there was something for everyone in any age group. We saw performances from Mr. Big Deal himself Chris Martin also amazing set from Kranium, Safaree and Maja Hype.
The legendary icon Mr. Beres Hammond graced the stage and took us way back to those rock steady days with hits after hits such as “Remember the Days”, “Putting Up Resistance” and “No more Pain”. He definitely took the night hands down! There were also great performances by Taurus Riley, Mr. Vegas, Baby Cham, Nesbeth, Half Pint and the energy god himself Elephant Man.
The soca junkies were indeed pleased as Destra Garcia and Patrice Roberts took us back to carnival with their electrifying performance. Destra had us wining our waist lines to hits like “I Dare You” and Patrice had us jumping up to “Unforgettable” featuring Kerwin Du Bois and feteing ‘till all wi money done.’ We can’t forget another great legendary artist Buju Bantan; there was a segment dedicated to him called #FreeBuju and it brought back so many memories.
This year’s staging is the best yet and whether you are a diehard Reggae or Soca fan, it was pure island vibes!
Also check out article on Memorial Day Weekend in Miami Beach.