In Bass We Trust: BBS 20th Anniversary and Eeka Mouz Bassday Bash Review
Memories Captured and Recounted by SoulSista Sekano
It was on this day, 18 October 2020, on Eeka Mouz BassDay (Birthday) celebration and BBS (Big Bad Sound) 20th Anniversary in Reggae City (White City) Soweto that we, the Reggae and Dancehall Massive in Gauteng, got our yearly dose of medicine for our Reggaemylitis. The very same day that Africa’s beloved Reggae Artist Lucky Philip Dube was brutally taken away from us 13 years ago; a day before the Mighty Peter Tosh’s Earthstrong day and almost a month since the lockdown restrictions due to Covid 19 pandemic were eased. We had a lot to celebrate, and celebrate we did.
We were left with nothing but painful joints, throbbing feet and good memories that many will cherish for a long time. Though not the first reggae dance session to be hosted after the easing of the lockdown regulations, it was certainly what the doctor ordered. Words will never be enough to describe the energy and the love that was reigning in Reggae City on that day. One Die Hard Dancehall Soldier, Tsiga SidPlanta de First, perfectly summed it up on his FB post:
A look through Eeka’s timeline on FB will also give you a glimpse of the aftermath and make you ‘experience’ what went down on that day. Malunga Street, where Eeka’s yard is located, threatened to bust at its seams as reggae lovers, young and old, from various backgrounds and all corners of the country convened with one thing in common; to celebrate, to show love and appreciation to the works and the Man.
Reggae City lived up to its name on this day. Certain parts of the country had been experiencing a heatwave for the last couple of days and on the 18th the thermometer was sitting on +- 35Celsius degrees but that did not deter the masses from making their way to Reggae City. Empresses came dressed to impress reminding us that they have been trendsetters, fashion forward and ALWAYS proud in showcasing the beauty of an African woman in its entirety.
When the flyer to the event was posted on social media a few weeks before the event, one thing that was noticeable was the exclusion of a line up, on the day of the event before heading out, my sister also enquired about this and I simply said who really cares about the line up for all we need is some bass. And did we not have a bassday! Selectors showed up and added a couple of Celsius degrees on top of the heat that we were experiencing. Steppas stepped in unison from the vibrating, pulsating, energy sapping bass that was blazing from the custom made Eeka Mouz Earth Strong present to himself.
One of the highlight of the day was the set played by Selectress Thando, a young lady destined for big things who rocked the crowd like a pro 💪 kudos to her. The BBS crew, Selector Jerry Mawiza, Giggs Pro, Elder Jah Crucial, LNT Sound, BoboTical, Sanzalixious, Ras Chunku and Patricia FireWoman (not to be confused with Fyah Uman), who gave an impromptu performance, all came out guns blazing. Badda Badda (BaddaTwiceasNice) who was the MC of the day did not disappoint as usual, with his flair and neck of making the crowd laugh, dance and empty their pockets “money pull up”at the same time.
One thing that is still disheartening though is still the lack of Local Reggae music on our DJ’s playlists. It is evident that the masses crave this, when IleyCreation and Blak kalamawi’s ‘Ndiwe’ came on, there was that feeling of: ‘this is home and can we have a lot more of this.” Ceeboo’s ‘The One’ and Chantty Natural’s ‘Ke wena wantlha’ featured on My Number One Riddim produced by Baldhead Rasta for Spitting Fyah Ink Productions, mashed up the dance and left the crowd craving and salivating for more. Elder Jah Crucial also took the opportunity to showcase his latest compilation ‘Corona Covid 19 Crucial Riddim’ backed by Rambo Man aka Titanic performing his track “Bak 2 Back Corona” off the Riddim. We have a lot of good music at home, we can do better, let’s do better.
Eeka sent a heartfelt thank you message to the selectors on his FB page, in his typical Eeka’s way, short of saying: “I Love you all, one by one”
During the show, a visibly tired, emotional and drained Eeka spent most of the day mingling with the crowd, constantly checking audio levels, also happily obliging to many requests of selfies, as expected everyone wanted that “exclusive selfie” with the man of the moment for bragging rights. As the night went on the festivities never let up, when we finally decided to leave the party before the imposed lockdown curfew of midnight we were already wondering how we were going to wake up the next morning and go back to being normal high functioning members of the society.
Malunga street is turning out to be too small for the annual dance, hopefully Eeka’s dream to host it at a stadium or bigger venue will materialize. This was undoubtedly hands down thee biggest and baddest party of the year so far. Eeka Mouz lived up to his promise he made in the interview we conducted with him just before the showdown:
“18 October 2020 is going to be Big and Bad.”
Like and Follow our Facebook Page MzansiReggae and set it to: “See First” in your News Feed, for more Pics!
