Is there a Rihanna Concert in the making for Guyana?

From left to Right: Kerwin Bollers, Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty and Rawle Ferguson

Guyana and Barbados share a special bond, a bond that Pop songstress Rihanna is obviously the living proof of!
Since this little sun-kissed beauty touched the international music scene in 2004, rising to stardom and now being described as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, she has proudly owned her Bajan and Guyanese roots.
This was most recently exhibited on social media over the weekend when Rihanna celebrated her grandfather’s birthday in the sunny island of Barbados where she grew up. The Directors of Hits and Jams Entertainment, Kerwin Bollers and Rawle Ferguson, were pleased to have been invited to the private function which was hosted at the songstress’ mother’s home for relatives and close friends on Sunday, November 03. During their visit, they used the opportunity to speak with Rihanna and her team about a possible concert in Guyana.

From left to right: Kerwin Bollers, Jay Brown and Rawle Ferguson.

Rihanna’s Manager, who is also the Co-Founder and President of Roc Nation, Jay Brown, was also present at the Birthday celebration and discussed with Directors of Hits and Jams Entertainment Rihanna’s interest in performing in Guyana. Brown said that he is very opened to the proposal especially since Rihanna is thrilled to perform here.

It was gratifying to discover that Rihanna and her family are still very much in tune with Guyanese culture and are proud of their heritage. In honour of her grandfather’s birthday, Rihanna posted on Instagram “Happy Birthday Grandfadda Bravo!!!!! You are so special to all of us!!! If it wasn’t for you buying out the whole tray of mangoes from gran gran Dolly that one day you got off your ship in Guyana, and charmed her with that smile laced with a gold cap, NONE of us would be here!! So I’m saying a special thanks to you for having a heart of a lion, my Scorpio Kind, Legend!!! They will never know what it took for you to get us here!! I love you way past unconditional!!! You’re true as steel BRAVO!!!!”

The Pic-Collage Rihanna posted on her official Instagram page of herself and Grandfather Bravo.

Rihanna’s mother, Monica Braithwaite, took pride in the Guyanese dishes she prepared for the birthday function which included pepperpot and curry. “She said she cooked this curry the real Guyanese style with the Guyanese spices aggi and geera,” Bollers recalled with a smile.

Monique Braithwaite dishes out Kerwin Bollers a mean curry and dhal puri!

Meanwhile, Rawle spoke about his encounter with the megastar and stated that she struck him as a “very calm, very down to earth and very natural person”.
Rihanna is one of the leading Pop artists with a total of 238 awards from 540 nominations. Apart from awards for her work, Rihanna has also received awards as an artist, including 22 Billboard Music Awards, 17 Barbados Music Awards, six NRJ Music Awards, three MOBO Awards and two BRIT Awards. She was also named the most liked celebrity on Facebook at one point, ranked as one of Forbes Magazine’s top-earning women in music and even third most googled woman!
Earning herself some of the biggest acknowledgements this generation of artists have ever seen, Rihanna definitely lives by a demanding schedule. However, a concert headlined by Rihanna is foreseen in Guyana! “The perfect time has to be set but a performance in Guyana is not too farfetched,” Bollers said.

Hits and Jams Entertainment has worked with international Grammy Award winning artists such as R. Kelly, Rick Ross, Neyo, Trey Songz, Akon and Eve and is in the process of organizing a January 04, 2014 concert with John Legend and Beres Hammond.
Rihanna and her family have not returned to Guyana in several years and are looking forward to returning soon for a huge celebration in the form of a concert with the Guyanese fans.
Hits and Jams Entertainment is very optimistic and excited about the possibility of bringing yet another, and one of our own, back to Guyana! The entertainment giant also believes that this can possibly be the artist’s biggest Caribbean concert since Guyana is located in South America and bordered by countries which are home to a large portion of Rihanna’s fan base! This will therefore result in a large influx of tourists benefitting this sector greatly.

Jamzone Summer Break 2011: Beach Jam

Game participant entertaining the patrons
Game participant entertaining the patrons

The curtains came down on the Jamzone Summer Break 2011 with its annual Beach Jam and the final leg and inauguration of the Miss Jamzone International Pageant. On Sunday August 21, 2011 there were lots to be seen and heard as crowds of folks from all around Guyana, the Caribbean and parts of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia (yes, we kid you not!) gathered to witness one of this country’s most epic and highly anticipated events. When the Guyanalive.com team arrived just a little after 14:00hrs the crowds were minimal but steadily growing. While the Stereo Sonic Sound System dished vibes from all facets of life, we noticed persons swimming, riding jet skis and rafts, playing sports and games by the beach and just enjoying themselves to the maximum capacity. Now as we all know, a little music and a lot of alcohol can create some very interesting stories. For instance, while the DJ did his thing, two ladies (one seemed around forty and was dressed in a blue carnival outfit, while the other was younger and draped in a bikini where the top struggled to keep her “assets” in order) were incited to square off.

Jamzone Summer Break 2011
Jamzone Summer Break 2011

After expressing that they were going to dance for nothing but Pounds Sterling or Euros, the audience met them half way with putting a little over G$2,000 in the pot. It was at that time that the blue costume wearer gracefully bowed out, but that did not stop the other contestant from showing her stuff and shaking her “salt shaker” on stage. The masses went crazy, as that “almost contest” sparked a wave of lawlessness and laughter. Persons of all sizes got their fifteen minutes of fame as they jumped on stage and entertained the crowds with their gyrations and acrobatics. After a few attempts by the DJ and Splashmins Security to control the potential onslaught of inappropriateness, Entertainer Kerwin from the Hits and Jams family entered and asked them to leave as he was about to begin the Jamzone Beach Jam Games Segment.

Mackeson Drink Off
Mackeson Drink Off

The first was the Mackeson Drink – Off, sponsored by the fine people at Ansa McAl. Males and females entered the contest and G$5,000 was up for grabs each time. The males went first and the rules were simple, drink two bottles of Mackenson Power Stout without spilling, splashing or throwing any away. The fastest to complete that grueling task was deemed the winner. The people went wild as the men used very different techniques to take home the prize (or spend it there). However, it showed that the slow and steady was usually triumphant, since he finished last but broke no rules (as opposed to everyone else). The ladies had similar rules but only one bottle of stout per female and a short stack of sweetness took the prize home, usurping the fans’ favorite. Then there was the Couples Balloon Bursting Competition, where duos comprising of one male and one female inflated three balloons each and whined to pop them. After much deliberation there was a tie, and popping one more balloon using the same modus operandi would determine who would walk away with the G$10,000.

Fish Burger eating competition
Fish Burger eating competition

Afterward, the White Castle Fish Shop provided fish burgers for the Burger Eating Battle which saw patrons from all walks of life (and all different sizes as well), compete for a whopping G$15,000. In both instances, the slow and steady competitors were victorious, thumping the persons of larger statures. Then, there was the Skull Spin Contest where each player had to place their head on the upper end of a hockey stick and spin on the axis for a period of about two minutes. Both males and females competed for the G$10,000 prize and the laughs were in a large supply. The male winner almost fell into the turntables of Stereo Sonic while the female winner stood her ground for exactly three seconds, before almost launching herself into the crowd.

Skull Spin Game
Skull Spin Game

The vertigo they experienced after the game made it difficult for local entertainer Chow Pow to ensure that they accurately counted their winnings. After that it was only fitting of Hits and Jams to introduce the Best Laugh Competition. No more than 5 persons (similar to previous battles) vied for the G$10,000 prize only if they could wow the audience with their laughs. There were shrieks, screams and some other sounds we cannot identify but the winners of both male and female categories did so with infectiously funny laughs (yes, we know that the irony is thick). After the winners were crowned and gave an encore, the stage was graced with the presence of a bevy of beauties dubbed the “Gizmos & Gadgets Girls”. Dressed in their green and gold, they modeled and danced to the rhythms provided by the DJ.

View pictures from this event at –> GuyanaLive.com Gallery

By Patrice Wishart