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THE PARADE.... Every time we go downtown for a Miami Carnival we seem to have a problem with getting there early. This year was no different. We even took the Miami Metro Mover to try and get around traffic, parking and getting loss. 2 out of 3 wasn't bad... cause we surely got lost! So by de time we reach downtown, it was to catch the tail end of the mas bands and ah steel pan band crossing the Convention Center and enter Bicentennial Park.

We enter de park one time and refill cups at de bar. Chit system for drinks is always a pain, especially when you have to buy chits for exact drinks. I didn't have de capacity at that hour and beyond to figure out de color system for de chits, ah just know that by de end of de night you will always end up with extra chits!

It wasn't long before we catch what must have been de Band of de Year, Generation X. We drink, we chip and we wine... had ah blast in de cool evening sun. Now the restrooms in the park were far and wide, so it's ah good thing all ah man need is a coconut tree, women meh heart bleeding fuh allya. I mus say that music was at ah premium this year with de likes of Dorenzo, Tony Tempo, DJ Rebel, Supreme Team, Eternal Vibes, Giselle The Wassi One, Natural Freaks, Walshy Killa and Mr. Slaughter & X-Caliber Sound on d' road. Patrice Roberts' "Wukking Up" and Machel Montano's "Wining Season", both on the Barbershop Riddim, received a lot of love by both DJs and masqueraders. These two songs will do some serious damage for the TnT 2008 Carnival season.... trusssss. We gotta give Lalo the 'Best Sound System' award for MIA Carnival 2007. It was so powerful, that surrounding bands had to ask them to turn their system down so they could hear their own music..... no joke!

Like most Carnivals around de world, de most confusing part is what does happen after your band crosses de stage. So we followed carefully, and things were nice... all de trucks assembled in a corner of de park and people just continued to jump, wave and fete. It was going rhel good until de lights went down and out... that is de point that yuh does have to start to watch yuh pockets and such. So we make we way out of there to find some of de Caribbean dishes that these Carnivals are known for. Ah cyah explain it for de likes of me. Ah mean to say, vendors come out to make money... but like that is not their scene? Ah line up in about 5 different lines before ah give up and take a roast fish from some vendor. Yuh know what, it turned out to be a good call... it was a real wicked fish! Not what I wanted, and not enough to settle de Carnival hunger or absorb de alcohol, but tasty nonetheless.

THE FESTIVAL.... So after giving up on trying to get a piece of pan chicken.... cause everybody response is 25 minutes til it ready, we went and take in the live entertainment. Just missing Gailann's performance, St. Lucia's reigning Road March champ, Ricky T, was on stage and had the crowd in ah frenzy as the DJ had to wheel and pull up he sang de anthem ("Pressure Boom")... my pressure bad, bad, bad ... my pressure mad, mad, mad ... my pressure sick sick sick sick sick ...... wheeeeeeeeeeeeeel. He was immediately followed by Tizzy (El A Kru), who had everyone exposing their rags and flags as she sang her 2006/2007 release "Expose". MC Giselle The Wassi One kept the show's energy at a high level as she introduced Vincy's Problem Child on stage. With no time to waste, it was.... "ooouuu, ooouuu.... No more sleep til Carnival done (yea ah) ... Ah jumpin up in de burnin sun (yea ah) ... And I don't care if de rain come down (yea ah) ... Dat eh stop me from havin fun ... Cause I am a... Party Animal, Party Animal, Party Animal ... No sleep at all ..."

Dancehall band Whysper was next in the line up, but didn't really move the Bicentennial Park crowd. However, calypso veteran Lord Nelson buss de dance and his pants (literally).... two words, "Meh Lover"! Classic entertainer, classic performance. The Mighty Shadow then kept the classics flowing as he took us on a lil' journey down memory lane. Boy band, Crossovah, then grabbed the audience's attention with their eclectic mix of Soca, R&B, Hip-Hop and Dancehall together with choreographed dance moves. But their performance really got heated when dancehall artist Red Rat joined them on stage, which came as a surprise to the crowd. Red Rat pleased de people with some oldies but goodies ("Shelly-Ann", Big Man Little Yute", "Tight Up Skirt"), some new stuff and he even crank'd de Soulja Boy with Crossovah.

The show was an nice blend of old and new entertainment, with Alison Hinds & The Alison Hinds Show drawing the curtains down. The Soca Queen was in her usual fine form as she belted out all the hits from her days with Square One ("Raggamuffin", "Aye Aye Aye", "Iron Bazodee") all the way to her most recent release "Thundah". The audience even got a lil' extra entertainment when Alison invited 3 fellas from the crowd on stage for some 'Wukkup 101' lessons. Somewhere in between, Iwer George - who was losing his voice - still managed to dismantle the crowd. Niceness everytime. We got to give credit to Caribbean Entertainment, the producers of the Miami Carnival Concert. Keep up the good work guys!

Man, we work to de very end, and when Giselle The Wassi One exit de park, we know that de party done and we follow suit. Giselle is it 10, 15, or 20 years you celebrating in Carnival? We wish you continued luv and success!! Special thanks to Yvette and the Miami Carnival Inc. committee for accommodating the TJJ family. It's great to see Miami Carnival return to Bicentennial Park. We'll be back again next year!

TJJ Boy Scout & Daddy Juice officially signing out from Miami Carnival 2007.

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Related Videos/Galleries
Miami Carnival 2007 Video Coverage (TJJ TV)
Miami Carnival 2007 Parade Pt. 2
2007 Miami Carnival Coverage