Let me introduce you to 3J. They are a trio of Warwick Academy students who I met the other night at the City Hall theatre, and they are talented like Whoa! They have been together for two years now, their musical influences include the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Nas and the lyrically astounding Talib Kweli. Their immediate plans for the future include putting together a demo (a tape that 'demonstrates' their talent to hopefully salivating record label executives).

Why am I telling you all this? Well because they won JaKoMa's Teen Vocal Talent Show on Saturday night (cleverly entitled J2K), and raised the roof off our capital's first house in the process. But am I not getting way ahead of myself these days? Let's talk about the show from the beginning shall we (I just wanted to be the first to introduce you to Bermuda's newest rap phenomenon - 3J). Oh, and boy do I have a story for you! This was quite a significant event, because this Island has so much talent it's not funny, and avenues for expression are not exactly ubiquitous around these parts if you know what I mean. When I was a kid I remember talent shows popping up every other month, and as far as I know, the talent level has definitely not fallen off.

So why do we have to wait so long to be treated to the delightful exhibition of our young peoples' considerable talents? Beats me! JaKoMa deserves a lot of respect just for conceiving this event, and much love for giving our young talent room to breathe.

The show itself was very well put together, with impressive effects and pre-recorded skits giving it a polished, professional feel, but there can be no competition without controversy, and I'm not the kind of writer to brush injustices under the carpet and pretend that all things smelled sweet in the swamp. If you were there you know what I'm talking about (or maybe you think the judges did get it right, I don't know), but if you missed it, I'm about to set the record straight whether them judges like it or not. Here's the truth: The City Hall lobby was more packed then I anticipated when I arrived at around 8 p.m. -- show time of course. There was a line of people of all ages clamouring to get into the theatre, which didn't seem like it could hold so many desperate souls.

Well, I gradually fought my way through the big wooden doors, and the show finally started at something to nine -- Bermy-time of course. The lights went out and the stage was dimly lit with light smoke being emitted from the smoke machines when the voice-over came through the huge speakers and said: "For centuries music has been the Earth's heartbeat!'' and it was on! Soon Jah Simmons was out in front of us bouncing around and clowning all that entered his mind to hilarious effect. Jah was an ideal host for this event, and especially for those hecklers that just wanted to be disruptive all night (Trixie!). Katie Nash was the opening act, all the way from Atlanta, Georgia.

A sixteen-year-old songstress with a good voice and a foot in the door of a record label (I can't recall which one). She'll probably be a star by next year, but she must have been off on Saturday night, because I wasn't impressed at all. She just kind of paced from side to side on the stage like a caged tiger and sung her song in a quite melancholy manner. The crowd gave her love when she was finished, but I'm thinking that they were probably being nice.

She did look kind of nervous -- and I'm not saying that she was bad, I'm just saying that she lacked energy and the crowd may have inadvertently lied to her and you really shouldn't do that ... that's how the Spice Girls got so big, and we all know how sad they are.

Next the co-hostess with the mostest, Miss Zania Dill introduced the ...er, judges to us, and they seemed like a pretty solid bunch -- right up until the prizes were awarded (a crying shame I'm tellin' you!).

Kalmar Richards, Shagri-La Durham-Thompson, Ras Mykkal, Cal White, Manuel Palacio, Elmore Warren and `Tarantula' made up the panel of esteemed judges.

And now the fun begins.

The first competing act was a kid that called himself South Paw. This guy is as talented as anyone I've seen grace a stage locally in some time ... period! Why he was not judged to be one of the three top acts I can only guess. He is a rapper and a singer who put together a scorching set that featured an exceedingly clever news report style intro, a short rap that bigged up his neighbourhood (Cedar Park) and an original love song that had every female in the house screaming for his attentions; not to mention banging' beats, tight lyrics and a butter smooth voice. South Paw was easily a contender for the top prize; why he left empty-handed is a matter for the judges to ponder (hopefully in their restless sleep). I tried to talk to him after the show, but he had left before I could get back stage. I'm pretty sure he was not pleased with the judges' ruling, and I'm right there wit' ya kid ... wherever you are, hold your head up high and be proud, you represented lovely, and the judges robbed you -- that my friend, is a fact! Richard Brangman, Ki-juan Minors, Freddy Swan and Harley Place are the four voices that made up the next act. Collectively they are Possible Changes, which is quite ironic because I've seen these guys a few times and they seem to refuse to change their act! They sung Shai's mega-hit ballad 'If I Ever Fall In Love' (again), with considerable style and heaps of showmanship (well, if you consider Sisqo a master showman that is). Now these guys are good -- real good -- but they need to get a larger repertoire. They seem to want to ride that one song into the stratosphere. The thing is, that's already been done.

Teens show off their talent Black was the next act, and she was off the hook! Now this here is a place where poets don't get all that much love but that doesn't mean we don't have some outstanding poets. Tamesha Hodgson proved that poetry is not only the highest form of expression, but also the most artistic form of live performance when done right. Her piece was definitely done right, and the message was clear too. `Do I Have What It Takes To Raise A Child?' is a question that all teenage girls need to ask themselves, or at least talk to Black. Hers was an outstanding performance that may have been a little too powerful for a few of the - er, judges.

Yanique was solid. Not outstanding, not bad. They were just about what you'd expect from a teen talent show act: good voices, good energy, good showmanship and good use of lighting and synchronised dance steps. I do not feel that their very competent rendition of Yolanda Adams' `Time To Change' was enough of an outstanding performance to win them Second Runner-up though. These three young ladies are very talented, and their act was good, but I can't agree that it was one of the top three acts on the night ... so I won't.

Nice & Critical, Tennille Riley and All Players rounded out the first half of the show, and highlights were hard to come by in these three acts. I could speak on my ideas on why they failed to impress, but that would just be rude.

They tried, and they deserve mounds of respect just for that. Nuff respect kids ... and don't ever give up the dream ... all you need is work.

After the intermission, Jache, Justin and Jovan exploded onto the stage and carried the crowd through a performance that was the quintessential `off the hook' experience. 3J were outstanding! They emphatically stamped the original song `Creepin' On The Mic' onto our collective psyche, and we loved them for it. Their energy was outrageous and they handled their respective verses with the savvy of 15-year rap veterans. They were my favourites, and clearly deserved to win the top prize. This was the only decision I agreed with to any respectable extent.

I love Twanee. She has as much talent as anyone this Island has ever produced, she possesses a beautiful voice that she uses with polished precision and she even dances, acts and looks like a star in waiting. But I cannot bring myself to agree that she deserved to be the First runner-up on this night. Her performance was solid, but not outstanding. She used the smoke effect and her chosen scenery -- she had a wooden cross planted at the back of the stage -- to great effect, and her dress and make-up were beautiful, but she was not one of the top two acts on this night. I would have conceded Second runner-up after some debate, but that didn't even happen. And for all you who think I like to talk smack behind backs, I spoke to Twanee after the show, and told her exactly what I just told you. You see, she is not only an extremely talented young lady, but also a refined performer who knows when she missed the mark. She understands that, I just hope the judges do too (because they missed the mark too Tommy!).

Ryan Bean was a bit of a surprise for me. I've known this kid for more than a year, and I had no idea the kid sang -- and sang well at that! His performance was solid (see Yanique section) and he garnered quite a good response from the capacity crowd. Carmilia Bean sang the same song as Twanee (CeCe Winans' `Alabaster Box'), and went off key a few times, but the performance was pretty solid otherwise; and the dancing girl was a very classy touch. Jozy and the Pussy Cats were quite cute, and the flashing lights made for a very cool dance effect (well done Jozelle).

All in all, this was an outstanding showcase of some of the Island's notable young stars. South Paw got robbed, and I sincerely hope that he doesn't let this small setback (translation: injustice) get to him to any real degree.

Twanee was boosted again, when in reality, she's already a star (now she just needs to let the world know). 3J busted out like Tim Robbins in Shawshank.

Yanique got some unexpected love, and everyone who got in through the doors enjoyed an exceedingly good show (including this old critic). Congratulations JaKoMa, and please, keep up the good work! REVIEW Jakoma's Teen Vocal Talent Show, City Hall, Hamilton Saturday, March 3 ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINERS ENT