CBC Pon di Road: Part 1
2009 Detroit Dancehall Queen Competition
Presented By:
Reggae Gurlz Entertainment
King David Grand Lounge
Detroit, MI
6.20.09
Pics by See-Shell and Bashy
Chat 'Bout made its way to Detroit for the much anticipated 2009 Detroit Dancehall Queen Competition. The event was heavily supported by masses from Chicago, Pittsburgh, Toronto, parts of California (yes, for real), and of course Cleveland was in the house to see who would take the crown.
Since the D parties a little earlier than Cleveland, Chat 'Bout entered the venue a little past midnight and arrived to some great tunes provided by One Blood sound from Chicago. The first thing CBC noticed was the tables and chairs on one side of the dance floor filled with people waiting for the competition to begin.
This was new to me. Compared to Cleveland, the tables and chairs would have merely been filled with a few purses and coats, but the Cleveland masses would have DEFINITELY dancing to the tunes, a fact proven by the only people in the place up and feeling the tunes (besides myself) Lady Spyda, (Cleveland's newest import) Dancin' Twinz, Lady Nikki and Destinee..This IS a party, right?
As the nice tunes flowed, the bash filled with more patrons the anticipation grew for the start of this event as local artists performed for the masses by about 2am.
Understandably, the restless crowd was on its ear as D Mose took the stage to begin the event. Big up Lady Spyda for (literally) taking a seat dead center of the stage, 'I don't want to miss anything' she says....
Shortly, after a few words from promoters of the event, Reggae Gurlz Entertainment, Styles and Suga, the competition began by announcing the 4 judges for the event; Windsor Canada promoter, Figi, Pittsburgh's own Fudgie Springer, Detroit dance duo, Kingston and Jamaica (from Detroit TV show 'Dance Party') and yours truly.
(Yes, I was asked to judge the competition several months ago, but was sworn to secrecy by Styles - trust me, it was a hard task J)
Soon, D Mose prompted the contestants to introduce themselves to the crowd, the contestants were; Shehaitian (from Detroit), Spice (from Detroit) Lady Nikkie (currently in Cleveland by way of St. Ann's), Glam (from Detroit), Lady Empress (from Detroit), Diamond -Toledo's current Dancehall Queen, and Acacia (from Oakland California).
The competition began with a host of headstands, splits, whining as the judge carefully discussed each contestant after their performance. Judges were instructed to score contestants on categories of Style, Appearance, Crowd Participation and overall Stage presence.
No sooner than Diamond began her routine, there was an immediate disruption on the stage clear to the judges table. All we could hear was, "THIS PARTY IS OVER! WE ARE SHUTTING THIS DOWN!"
Huh?
As I looked around for Styles, there was instant confusion amongst the audience and all those on stage as the ?powers that be' repeated "THIS EVENT IS OVER, THIS EVENT IS OVER!"
Again - huh? What the -
Before I knew it, the judges were in deep negotiations to convince management to let the competition continue. We explained to them that we needed only 15 - 20 more minutes to complete this round. They reluctantly agreed to 15 minutes and the competition re-started.
Since Diamond's routine was in the mist of the confusion, she was allowed to repeat her performance followed by the rest of the contestants to complete round one.
Somehow, word was passed that Round 2 would be allowed to take place.
Whew.
Uh, not so fast, no sooner than Suga collected the judges sheets and begin the second sound, management appeared on the stage AGAIN with the same tune as before: "THIS EVENT IS OVER, THIS EVENT IS OVER - N O W !!!"
Eh boy.
Chat 'Bout never got a clear answer as to why the event was interrupted, as stories ranges from bad management decisions on the part of the venue, to Detroit's 2am party curfew and other issues..but one thing was clear -
Lightening DOES strike twice.
Detroit and other Midwest communities know of the drama surrounding the last contest in 2007 when that Dancehall Queen Contest was abruptly ended with the same confusion and uncertainty. I dare ask Reggae Gurlz the plan for the next contest..
By the time word came from Detroit that that Round 2 would continue that evening, Chat 'Bout along with the other judges were long gone (although I remember Figi being long gone that evening shortly after the first disruption)
Modern technology afforded the opportunity for people to view Round 2 performances through the www.detroitdancehallqueen.com, where the public was allowed to rate each contestant's video as well as vote for the best performance.
(Note: Unfortunately, Acacia was not able to submit a video for Round 2 so only 6 videos were added to the site for voting)
Finally about 3 weeks later, a winner was crowned! Congratulations to Detroit's own Empress, the 2009 Detroit Dancehall Queen. Second place winner Spice moved on to represent the D in the Midwest Dancehall Queen Competition!
Big up Detroit's own Brownin' Glamour Gurlz, DHQ Selebrity - sporting her crown, no doubt, Nocturnal, China Doll and promoters Reggae Gurlz Suga, Spice and Styles, all in the place showing Chat 'Bout Cleveland MAD love!
The Chat 'Bout is Dance or Die Part 3 in October..will CBC be in the house? Hmmm, different venue - maybe....
Check out our pics of the event!
Enjoy!
Bashy B | 
