Lots of bright sun, smoky barbeque, peace and love themed music and very little clothing turned the academic quad into a little preview of summer Sunday afternoon.
Sun-baked students and Berkshire residents came out in droves for MCLA Presents! UMOJA Reggae Celebration, sponsored by a comprehensive conglomeration of MCLA’s multi-ethnic groups. The Black Student Union, MCSS, SAC, LAS, Asian Club, Diversity Task Force and the ALANA and Multicultural Education Center worked together to bring Reggae and hip hop to the college.
The performance began with the Nexxus step-dance team. Team leaders Monique Symes and Jamila Creswell flanked the rest of the squad as the unused percussion instruments on stage snapped, clacked and vibrated with each perfectly coordinated step and stomp.
The opening band was Black River Sound, a Boston area band made up mostly of members of the Hendricks family: Jon, Holly, Julianna, Sarah and Josiah Hendricks. Their blend of reggae, hip-hop and rap with a featured female singer gave them a strong Black Eyed Peas feel at times, but their use of rock made them sound more like Sublime.
The hippies were out in force during the show. Whether new age or Woodstock age, they were out celebrating, dancing, playing hackey sack and enjoying the colors and weather of spring.
The Robanic Reggae Band came on after Black River Sound. The Robanic Reggae Band was a reggae band in a more classical sense of the word. They played mostly covers, opening with “Raspberry Beret” by Prince with a steel drum replacing the lyrics, and then “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley.
The final band was the Alchemystics. Playing together since 2004, the band has only released two albums, both in 2008. The first was a self-titled EP, which they gave away copies of at the show. The second was a live album.
The band’s sound was part rap, part-rock and part-reggae. However, their sound was much closer to Matisyahu than Black Eyed Peas. The main difference between the Alchemystics’ sound and Matisyahu’s is that the Alchemystics have a guy who sounds like someone doing Eminem karaoke.
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