BASSETERRE, St. Kitts HE was up to de time and down to the hour as one of Jamaicas strongest lyricist gave an extraordinary performance last evening (Jan. 20) at the Peoples Action Movements Youth For Change Youth Rally held at the Challengers hard court.

With just six days remaining before the Federations general elections, the political party organised the youth rally, themed Increase the Peace, Stop the Violence, as part of its election campaign.

The event drew an extremely large crowd of mixed age groups to witness the return of Vybz Kartel, whose last performance in St. Kitts was in 2004 at Carnival Village.

The artiste performed for some 90 minutes singing mostly the first verses and chorus for almost 40 of his most popular songs. Initially, the artiste, who has been under much public scrutiny for being explicit and violence-encouraged, was questioned by many as whether it was a good choice to have him performing at the event.

However, SKNVibes was present with a very critical eye and has confirmed that PAMs choice of such an artiste was a good one, as Vybz Kartel was well-received and carried over their message of deterring the youths from gang and crime-related activities.

The activities kicked off around 8:00 p.m. and, in addition to the award winning artistes performance, the PAM launched its Youth Manifesto. According to the Leader of the PAM, Lindsey Grant, the Youth Manifesto was the first ever of its kind in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The night also featured homegrown artistes including D.C, Dagah, SMI and Infamus; however, some of those acts experienced technical difficulties with their music. Their performance was also short-lived to accommodate Kartel, as the organisers sought to keep within their scheduled allotted time.

It was a few minutes after 12:00 a.m. when Kartel hit the stage singing Dollar Sign, which sent the crowd into frenzy and caused young men and women to get as close as possible to the front of the stage.

A surprise package emerged when the artiste began singing Ramping Shop as his third selection for the night instead of saving it near the end of his performance, and that song was followed by Virginity, two of his 2009 hits.

However, he was very discreet with the lyrics of all the songs that originally spoke to abuse of women with a very high degree of profanity, by not having to say the words that had caused his songs, especially Ramping Shop, to be banned from the Jamaican airwaves.

At first it may have appeared as though Kartel would not have performed to persons expectations, but throughout the night he kept the audience engaged and was truly exceptional as the crowd sang his songs word for word..

Between breaks he also remembered to speak positively to the young people and encouraged them to practice a crime free lifestyle. He spoke about the lyrical war between himself and his former Alliance buddy Mavado, which erupted nearing the end of 2006 after he left the group to be an independent artiste and began 'parring' with the enemy, 'the doctor' Beenie Man.

However, in December 2009, both artistes gave the Jamaican Government a commitment to end their feud which has spilled over into violent clashes on the streets among young people.

People take the music too literal and want hurt one another over the music, but me and Mavado were not fighting each other, we nar war with one another, he told the audience last evening.

So we decide that we need to talk to the youths in Jamaica and make dem know seh Peace, Unity and Strength, and we as black people done get we fair share of sufferation already and we done get we fair share of tear drops so its love and unity and more happiness unity is strength, he said.

The event was incident free, and nearing the end of Kartels performance he took off his shirt and gave it to an excited young lady who was close to the stage. Kartel seemed as though he did not want to end his performance, as he said he loved St. Kitts and even joked that he would like to vote in the January 25 elections.

He also journeyed with two of his 15 Gaza artistes, Indu and Sheba, who sang on various tracks with him. An observation done by this media house revealed how much the artiste has grown. His stage performance was superb and his confidence while there allowed him to have control of the crowd.

The hosts for the night were Piza-A-Man and Purple who kept the crowd lively while Evolution Sounds juggled tunes in between performances.