In his first religious efficiency in Brooklyn, King Ajamu, the perennial Grenadian Calypso King-turned-Gospel artiste, on Sunday rocked the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn throughout the inaugural Gospel of Reward Live performance hosted by the Brooklyn-based Dee Vee Worldwide Productions.
The four-hour-long live performance was emceed by Daybreak “Woman D” Samuels, a Jamaican-born, Bronx-based worldwide singing/preaching evangelist, gospel recording artist, Christian comedienne, creator of two books, pastor and gospel singer.
The occasion additionally featured a bunch of different gospel artistes and performers, together with six-year-old Kelaiah Ventour, granddaughter of Grenadian Derek Ventour, president of Dee Vee Worldwide Productions, accompanied by DJ Web page; Apostolic Voices; God’s Property Dancers; Veron Richards; Dr. Zorina Frederick; Princess Tyetia Hodge; Jacqueline Williams-King; Williams-King’s daughter, Abena Amory; saxophonist Joe Alert; Gerard Placide; and Donn Warde.
A second of silence was noticed for the late Trinidadian Calypso Queen Denyse Plummer.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, was additionally available for the presentation of awards with Grenadian David Williams, the proprietor of David Williams Funeral Service in Queens.
Lifetime Achievement Awards had been offered to Vincentian-born Fr. Leopold Baynes, whose spouse is Grenadian, and Light Benjamin, in any other case often known as “Light Ben”, of Light Ben TV.
Different awards got to Grenadian United Methodist Church Minister the Rev. Wesley Daniel; Bishop Christopher Butler; and Ajamu.
“I used to be not new to this, however I’m true to this,” mentioned Ajamu in receiving the shock award. “Thanks very a lot, Mr. Derek Ventour. Mr. Ventour by no means ceases to amaze me.”
Clarke, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, advised patrons: “We now have the power. We’ve been via far more than the enemy has for us.”
In noting the anti-immigrant sentiments in Washington, she urged households and the group to return collectively in unity.
“This can be a second the place I imagine in our group,” the congresswoman mentioned. “In a democracy, the individuals rule. Don’t make the distractions discourage you.”
In a high-octane efficiency, backed-up by his band and singers, Ajamu offered a gospel feast to the bubbling viewers, belching out, amongst others, “Sing for You,” “Born Once more,” “By no means Get Weary” and “Prodigal Son.”
Trinidadian Placide, the three-time, first-place winner of the Mc Donald’s Gospel Fest, and Barbadian Ward rendered completely different variations of “How Nice Thou Ar.t”
In making her singing debut, Kelaiah Ventour sang “Jesus Loves Me”; Richards sang “Within the Grasp’s Arms”; Dr. Frederick wrote and sang “If I Didn’t Inform You, You Would By no means Know”; Hodge performed on keyboard and sang “I Am a Baby of God”, “A Little Extra Oil” and “Quickly and Very Quickly”; Williams-King echoed “We Shall Behold Him”; Amory sang “You Say”; and Samuels provided “Goodness of God” and “Rivers of Babylon.”
“Typically, the gospel live performance I ought to say was my signature manufacturing,” Ventour advised Caribbean Life afterwards. “All of the performers gave an excellent account of themselves, together with my six-year-old granddaughter Kelaiah Ventour, who made her singing debut with the music ‘Jesus Loves Me.’
“The viewers was very appreciative, dancing and clapping from begin to end,” he added. “It was an satisfying expertise total.”
Ajamu’s bio earlier than turning his life to Christ
Ajamu’s music displays the number of spices and musical artwork types prevalent in Grenada and the Caribbean. He’s adept in calypso, soca, parang and reggae. Few Caribbean entertainers can match him for his means to put in writing music, compose sharp and deep lyrics, or organize music.
Ajamu started singing calypso in 1983 after a one-year stint in Trinidad & Tobago, the place he skilled first-hand the nice calypso stars in motion.
As soon as he arrived on the calypso scene, followers welcomed this breath of contemporary air and dubbed him King Ajamu, a title that he solutions to, however his humble nature has not embraced.
Acknowledging his expertise, Ajamu has since been hailed by each Calypso Rose, the Calypso Queen of the World, and The Mighty Sparrow, the Calypso King of the World, as a gifted, proficient and top-class calypsonian.
Ajamu holds the unprecedented title because the seven-time Grenada Calypso Monarch, successful within the 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, and 2004, and he continues to make excellent musical contributions producing CD after CD and hit after hit.
Standing at simply 5’ 7”, this musical large performs guitar, keyboards, drums, and is an authorized sound engineer.
He has written, organized, and produced songs for a lot of high Grenadian calypsonians, and has reworked many a calypso along with his ending touches.
He concluded an important yr in 1997 by successful the coveted “Male Vocalist of the Yr” title on the spectacular “Sunshine Awards” held in New York, beating out different calypso stars like David Rudder of TNT and Edwin Yearwood of Barbados.
His musical efforts have been acknowledged by the worldwide music group as he has been featured commonly within the “Bible of the Music Business” – Billboard Journal.
For his providers to the calypso artwork kind, Ajamu turned a member of an elite group of three calypsonians honored by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, with the distinguished title “Member of The British Empire” (MBE) in December of 1998.
Though he’s acknowledged principally for calypso and soca, he’s equally at dwelling within the reggae style.
With the discharge of his first reggae CD “Jah Is My King”, audiences obtained a style of simply how versatile he’s. This was adopted in 2005 by the long-awaited launch of “Residing Water.”
He’s acknowledged by high reggae artistes all over the world and has shared the stage with a lot of them.
His second and long-awaited reggae CD was launched in 2005.
