HAD it not been for sheer intelligence and the strength of his musical catalogue, the performance of singjay Konshens at Studio 38 in New Kingston last Friday could have fallen flat on its face.

The event, which was part of the venue second anniversary celebrations, saw one of the weakest patronage of the concerts being staged there. So when Konshens hit the stage at near midnight , instead of a raft of screaming young girls, ready to ‘bruk out’ the young artiste was faced with mature, seated audience awaiting his performance.

Nevertheless, the artiste — who was born Garfield Spence — took to the stage like a boxer entering a ring, hoodie and all, and delivered the necessary blows that would see him being the winner at the end of the night.

He began his set, which lasted just over an hour, with some of his popular dance tracks hoping to get patrons on their feet and create a Friday night vibe. Instead, what he got was what he referred to as a sit down Sunday vibe.

His tracks included The Realest Song, Bounce, Do Di Ting, and the collaboration with Tarrus Riley Good Girl Gone Bad. However, these tracks, although they were appreciated, it was still Sunday at Studio 38.

Despite the urging by Konshens for the ladies to get up and dance, it was just not that audience,

But they did show love when he went into his break out track Winner from 2008. Here, he managed to get the call and response going and that momentum fed into his “Sunday track”, She’s Happy.

Before he launched into that tracks, Konshens whose intelligent banter between songs really kept his audience’s attention, related the story behind the song. “Some people might call mi greedy, but for me its ambitious. What drives me?” he asked. “It’s the birth of my daughter, who was born at seven months, so from then I know that as long as she’s happy.”

He was then joined by his brother, Delus, for a great rendition of the touching track, which was well-received by his sit-down audience.

Throughout the performance Konshens introduced a few of his contemporaries to share the stage. Voicemail, Darrio and Dellus were among the guest performers.

As he headed into the final round, Konshens turned up the heat with a steamy rendition of Give it to her Different from his mixtape — Sextape. Olympian Juliet Cuthbert was the object of his affection as he told her his intention in no uncertain terms, and restoring a Friday night vibe.

— Richard Johnson