Aidonia gives emotional tribute during energetic set

Highlighting his 19 years in dancehall, Aidonia delivered a powerful and emotional performance on the first night of Reggae Sumfest. Opening with Trigger Work It, he captivated the audience with a series of his hits, including Banga, Hot Tool, Bad People, and Yeah Yeah.

A highlight of Aidonia's set was the appearance of Govana, who recently released his sophomore album Legacy. Govana hit the stage with Up Front, and the two artistes vibed together, creating an electric atmosphere. Govana performed singles from his catalogue, including Four Storey and Champ, sending a shout-out to all "youths from the garrisons" and hailing his community of Spanish Town.

In a deeply emotional segment, Aidonia paid tribute to his friends who had passed and expressed his struggle with mentioning his late son in the same breath. "Mi caah even seh RIP fi mi son, dog... a mi son dat," he said before moving into Real Killa (R.I.P). He opened up about the immense pain he has been enduring, saying, "A whole heap a tings mi go through. A whole heap a tings mi still a guh through. Whole heap a pain. Whole heap a pain and unuh don't even realise it because every time unuh see me, mi seem happy. Nuh happiness nuh deh deh. Losing yuh only son at the time, Khalif Lawrence, and mi deh deh a guh through mi ting and is like mi don't even a show it to the world. A just me and mi wife and who close to me a guh through it with me but wi hul it."

The performance reached a poignant climax when Aidonia brought out the Nexus Choir for an emotional rendition of Jahova (Watch Over Me). The raw emotion and vulnerability displayed during this segment resonated deeply with the audience.

Night two of Reggae Sumfest gets underway tonight and will include performance from artistes such as Beres Hammond and Babyface.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com