The historic city of Benin on Saturday August 15, 2015 played host to the crème de la crème of Nigerian music as several superstars including MI, Wande Coal, Seyi Shay, Burna Boy, Jesse Jagz and home girl Cynthia Morgan performed all night in front of a capacity crowd at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium during the Star Music Trek 2015 concert tagged #BeninRocks! Sponsored by foremost beer brand Star Lager, the concert, which kicked off by 8pm, featured thrilling DJ sets from DJ Neptune and DJ Switch as well as several exciting curtain raisers from upcoming talents in Benin as part of STAR’s commitment to giving young Nigerians a platform to shine and make their dreams come true.
The show kicked off proper as Choc Boi Nation artiste Jesse Jagz took the stage and immediately launched into performances of his crowd pleasers including Bad Girl, Redemption, Summertime, Bend Down Low, Nobody Test Me, Sugarcane Baby, Wetin Dey, Son Of Abaga and Murder Dem. Seyi Shay was the next to hit the stage as she made her Trek debut in Benin. The singer performed hits like Murda, Crazy, Jangilova and Right Now to the amusement of the capacity crowd.
Then came a highlight on the night and one of the most memorable moments of the Trek so far as a visibly excited Cynthia Morgan made her grand entrance onstage in her home city. The crowd went into a frenzy as soon as they caught sight of the red-haired German Juice hit maker. Quickly she got down to business, taking the crowd to ecstasy with a 40-minute set made up of hits such as Popori, Don’t Break my heart, Lead Me On, German Juice and I’m Taken.
Speaking afterward, the visibly emotional dancehall singer had this to say, “Tonight was a great experience! It was a lot of fun seeing how much love the people have for me in my home city and it was very emotional as well. I think STAR has done a great thing by providing this platform for me to connect with my fans back home in Benin City and what can I say? If I could do it, you can do it too. You just gotta work hard and believe in your dream. Much love to Benin and big ups to STAR for making this happen.”
DJ Neptune and DJ Switch then created a sensation of their own as they launched a 1 minute DJ clash which got the crowd pumped up and ready for the next act to hit the Star Music Trek stage.
MI was that act and he created the story of the evening with the most spectacular stage entrance seen yet on the Star Music Trek 2015. Dressed in the monkey costume from his Bad Belle video, the Chairman bounced onstage with the unsuspecting crowd not knowing who he was. Suddenly he took off the mask and the fans at the packed Ogbemudia Stadium screamed in excitement.
Burna Boy was the next to perform and the reggae dance hall artist delighted the music fans with hit songs such as Don Gorgon, Kush, Like To Party, Check & Balance, Gba Gbe amongst others.
Wande Coal joined him onstage for a rendition of their collaboration ‘Amorawa’ and then he bowed out for Black Diamond to wrap up the night in Benin with an energetic 50-minute set comprising all his major hit records from 2006 till date including Taboo, ‘You Bad’, ‘Bumper to Bumper’, ‘Taboo’, ‘Pere’, ‘The Kick’, ‘Baby Hello’ and ‘Wake Up’.
Speaking after the event, Corporate Media And Brand PR Manager, NB PLC Edem Vindah remarked, “Apart from the thrill of seeing their favourite artistes up close like this, one big takeaway from tonight for everyone who came out is the fact that they got to see someone from this very city who went after her dream and made it come true. Tonight Cynthia Morgan returned as a heroine and a symbol for Benin. This is what STAR is all about – providing that platform for young people to realise their dreams and no doubt everyone in this stadium, both the fans and the local artistes who performed have been inspired by what they saw tonight. This is what #MySuperstarStory is all about.”
The nationwide concert tour which has thrilled Nigerian music fans for nearly two decades has a tradition of bringing the country’s biggest artists together to thrill fans around the country and this year’s theme, “My Superstar Story” aims to inspire the youth to view their situations as a work in progress and to always keep their goals in mind.
