Afro Carnival 2021 Review
By: Disney Molina
They say there’s no party like a DJ Tunez Party and Afro Carnival 2021 was a true testament to that. The afro-beats-driven festival powered by the BT Group held on August 21st and September 12th at Coney Island Art Walls in Brooklyn was the true meaning of epic. A day full of music, vendors, and good food Afro Carnival was definitely the place to be on those two days and if you weren’t there the stories from it left you wishing you had gone. Even Hurricane Henri came by to join the festivities but failed to damper the mood. The first day started early but the party was non-stop as various NYC DJs spun the latest in music keeping the crowd going till the main festivities began. Afro Carnival was powered by the BT group so it was only right for their label’s artist Jamaican-born J-Anthoni to be featured on the lineup, in his debut festival performance J-Anthoni battled the rain but delivered with song’s like River, Bomb, and his Debut single Differently.
Also on the lineup was J-Anthoni’s label mate Queenie Catora also representing Jamaica, Queenie had the crowd singing with her as she performed a cover of Need You Bad by Jasmine Sulivan as well as her debut single I’m the one featuring Dj Tunez Also featured from the BT records roster was ADH representing for Senegal. Representing the Island of St Lucia was Soca artist Teddyson John who brought the soca vibes with his song Allez and brought out a surprise guest Soca artist and Trinidad native Kes. Once Kes touched the stage with soca hit “Hello” it was as if there was no rain and the party had truly begun.
Also on the lineup was Adekunle Gold representing Nigeria, who got a wild reaction from the ladies and made his way to the crowd for a more intimate performance.
Ghana native Stone Bwoy also touched the stage, as well as Agho from Nigeria. Hailing from South Africa was Busiswa who shut down the show and exuberated boss female energy. If you came not knowing who she was you definitely left a fan. Dj Tunez held his own version of the Versus with a hit-for-hit battle with Ecool. In the battle of Starboy VS 30 BG, The vibes were nonstop.
The PressPlayGround got a chance to speak to Teddyson John, J-anthoni, and Kes before they got to touch the stage and each had their own definition of what Afro-Carnival meant to them. Teddyson John shared with us that while it was his first time at Afro Carnival, he saw one family, he saw every culture together he saw world music and a whole vibe, and that he considered it a privilege to be able to represent Saint Lucia. J-Anthoni shared that Afro Carnival meant a lot to him, being able to infuse his two worlds together by way of his Jamaican side and his Afro Side, he also shared that being from Canarsie and being able to perform at Coney Island the heart of Brooklyn meant a lot being able to represent where he comes from and show that people from Canarsie can make it out. Trinidadian Soca Artist Kes shared with us that he and Dj Tunez have always vibed musically so when Dj Tunez called he had to come through and that to him Afro Carnival, is an immersion of Africa with the Caribbean it's encouraging the connection between the continents, Kes also admitted that while he hasn’t been outside this summer he definitely feels like Essence by Wiz Kid featuring Tems was the Song of the Summer.
Part two of Afro Carnival took place on September 12th and in contrast with Part 1 the sun was shining and definitely set the mood for the special treat the BT Group had set up.
Soca artist Voice the artiste represented Trinidad with his hit single “Cheers for life”. L.A.X and KDDO also representing Nigeria touched the stage as well.
Shortly after came the moment everyone was waiting for, StarBoy arrived and he did with hundreds of fans screaming for joy once he touched the stage. Performing hit after hit with songs like “Joro”, “Come Closer”, and “Mood” which features Nigerian artist Buju. WizKid definitely knew how to keep the party going.
Wiz called out the audience in an attempt to differentiate between what he calls the Essence warriors and his true fans. In reference to his hit summer smash Essence featuring Tems. Wiz threw water into the crowd and ended the show with his summer smash Essence which the audience knew word for word. The whole Coney Island Art Walls sang in unison once the song began; it was then that it was known what a success the events had truly been. Here’s to hoping for an invite to join the BT Group next year at Afro Carnival 2022