Mad Talent Showcase

The much touted, highly anticipated Mad Talent Showcase took place recently at The Rain Forrest Theatre, Crystal Palace. The event the brainchild of Wesley Finlayson of WesSide Entertainment sought to ensure that talent scouts from various companies are exposed to Bahamian talent.

Artists flew in from Grand Bahama in the north to Eleuthera and as far away as Inagua some of whom were not schedule to be on the show but came to show their support. Rappers, R& B singers even a rock & roll band all gave the large audience and the reps. their all and all belting out tune after tune.
It was truly some of the crème del la crème in Bahamian entertainment that performed from virtual unknowns as Tru Life & Dumbo to seasoned acts such as So$a Man & Mdeez.
The show was hosted by none other than Mr. Bahama Hotones himself Randy C. who firstly introduced the audience to an extremely talented dance group known as Swiftz who dazzled the crowd with a stellar performance. Due to popularity of hip-hop music on the early morning show Bahama Hotones heard on 100 jamz and the involvement of that show in Mad Talent an extraordinary amount of rappers were the first out of the gate. They rocked the show with their down-home oftentimes comical rhymes that had the audience cheering them on.

BACKSTAGE - YES THE GODFATHER WAS IN THE HOUSE

This caused the show to run into overtime and some impatient patrons left, the ones who stayed however, were in for the treat of their lives as Travis Clarke of Bahamian Idol fame blew the audience away with an original piece, hitting that high falsetto that he has become so famous for. Julien Thompson also left the crowd begging for more with his smooth vocals, sexy looks and awesome stage presence; he also sang an original song (Believe) that was perfect for the occasion.

Also appearing on the show was Bahamian entertainment persona Sasha Dunn of The Vendetta Group putting on what was described by Randy C as The Vendetta Showcase. It began with Sasha appearing onstage with two men in suits while he gave a fiery speech making way for Ras-Bud, and Young Magic accompanied by the contestants of the Ms. Bahamas Galaxy pageant contestants, which is slated for Easter Sunday weekend in the same Theatre. The Vendetta showcase displayed a level of organization and creativity that was refreshing to see in comparison to the many hip-hop acts that are out today.

Save the best for last, if ever this statement was true, well Willis & The Illest showed why they were worthy enough to wait for. Hitting the stage well past midnight Willis, Mandisa and crew lived up to their name by bringing the house down and caused even the A & R reps. to come out of their seats clamoring for more. Both talent scouts Frank Karaglanis and, Demi Demaree, got onstage to thank the shows organizer Finlayson and to say how happy they were to find so much talent in the Bahamas. In closing Mr. Finlayson said this has been a dream of mine for some time now and I am happy to see it come to fruition. I am planning on doing similar events in the future.