Leah “DEZii” Forrest’s concert, Life, Love and Liberty, on May 29 was an ode to determination and perseverance. It was heartening to witness the power of artistes coming together to help one of their own.
The concert was divided into three segments—Life, Love and Liberty—with the songs within a particular segment related to the theme. Her repertoire consisted of a mixture of genres including rap, hip-hop, soul and calypso.
All about Life The Life segment featured the voices of Spoken Word poet Zakiya Gill, Amrika “Amrika” Mutroo, John John Francis, Chinaka “Chinaka” Pierre and DEZii. Amrika’s song, Woman, was an acknowledgment of the stages of life of a woman. The strong vibrant performance was dedicated to DEZii and the steps she’d taken in her journey through life thus far.
The dramatic voice of John John Francis reminded the audience that it’s often the Small Tings which fracture a relationship.
Chinaka’s breathtaking voice let the audience know she wouldn’t let her voice whisper about the state of her relationship.
DEZii had the audience enthralled from the minute she took the stage, beginning with You’ll Never Know and I Stayed, about women in abusive relationships. The performances were powerful and passionate, evoking the pain of the characters. A Song for Mummy, accompanied by a dance piece by Marielle Dos Santos, explored her feelings about the loss of her mother. DEZii also wowed the audience with her covers of I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing and Skyfall.
Making music for Love In the Love segment, Chinaka sang about her Ex’s Gift to her, followed by a duet with DEZii on Salt. Both songs spoke to the pain and the pleasure which can be experienced in relationships.
Yung Rudd’s song I Just Want to Ask a Question asked the woman he was interested in if it was OK to be with her. John John’s sultry sexy song, Let’s Make Music, elicited screams of excitement from the audience.
Liberty wins women empowerment The Liberty segment featured songs about women’s empowerment and liberation to do what they want, emotionally, physically and sexually. Keoné Osbourne’s Sza was about a woman willing to share a man with another woman and Come Thru encouraged men not to be shy about approaching a woman.
Marcus “Braveboy” Hardy sang Rude Boy Like Me, a modern day love story about warning a woman not to fall in love with an entertainer, and then collaborated with Yung Rudd on Sunday Lunch, complimenting the beauty of Trinidadian women. Rheon Elbourne sang his hit Pam Pam.
The final call DEZii’s final set included In Common, a duet with Elbourne asking him to Stay the night, the original song Set this Place on Fire, Uninvited and Power.
She had the audience singing and dancing along during her performance.
The performers were backed by the Wanderer’s band, an accomplished aggregation which at times threatened to steal the show from the artistes they were backing. They included Franklin Lambert (bass); Chris St Louis (drums and keyboards); Denzil Tidd (drums); Leigh Tang Wing (keyboards); Kwami Morrison (electric guitar); Darion Dennis (violin); Joshua Salcedo (drums and keyboards); and, Mikhail Salcedo (pan); with Louise Clarke and Jessica Arnold as background vocalists. The concert was part of DEZii’s
Wanderer fund-raiser series, in aid of travel expenses for her debut performance in Winnipeg, Canada as part of the Canadian- Caribbean Soul Exchange Forum and also to assist with the completion of her album, Wanderer.
DEZii continued wooing audiences when she performed last night at Fiesta Plaza’s Wednesday night concert at MovieTowne.
For further information on DEZii or bookings, call 799-7056, e-mail engage@powermediahub.com and follow DEZii at dezii.world on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
