THE MIXTURE of genius and spirituality in artistes like Wyclef Jean, Luciano and Beres Hammond made the final Tempo concert an event to remember in the hills of Nevis last Sunday.

These and other acts personified MTV's new Caribbean entertainment/lifestyle channel, which will showcase the crème de la crème of regional entertainment when Tempo is launched on November 21.

Atop scenic Mount Nevis, which overlooks its mountainous sister country, St Kitts, Wyclef showed he was indeed more than the man who has produced music for artistes ranging from Lauryn Hill and The Fugees to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and
Machel Montano.

Indeed, the Haitian proved himself to over 6 000 patrons – and the millions who will watch Tempo over the next year – as producer, writer, performer, DJ selector, rapper, guitarist and genius.

His high-energy performance started, rather tamely, with takes on The Fugees' Ready Or Not and remakes of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry and Redemption Songs, but intensified as he sampled Elephant Man songs and brought his bodyguard "Beast" on stage to "gih dem a run", "signal de plane"and "thunder clap".

Getting on Beast's shoulders, Wyclef went into the crowd's midst after warning patrons that he was "afraid of nobody" since he had been raised by Jamaicans and Haitians.

Crooning I Don't Want To Lose Your Love Tonight and covering TOK's Footsteps, he snatched off a policeman's hat while loudly proclaiming his fondness for marijuana, and then returned to the stage to wine on a scantily-clad woman displaying her serpentine flexibility.

Wyclef's versatility was indeed chameleon-like; for at one point he was singing in fluent French, then playing his guitar à la Carlos Santana (with whom he did a remake in 2000), rapping over dub plates, and finally scratching records like any top DJ.

Amid it all, though, his shouts of solidarity with the Rastaman were the essence or irony, having recently shorn his own trademark dreadlocks.

He was joined onstage by Kittitian rapper Kym and reggae artiste Ashkenaz.

Earlier in the night, MC Dahved Levy had introduced top artistes from the home country including the energetic band Cassanova which boasted three vocalists, and young hip hop gospel group Pepper Ranks who delivered a powerful message of Christ's central role in today's world.

Maintaining the introspective feel was Jamaican group Morgan Heritage, whose music breathed spirituality and infected the crowd that included St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas and Nevis' Premier Vance Amory.

The four children of former chart-topper Denroy Morgan of I'll Do Anything For You fame truly lifted the Tempo with songs like You Don't Haffe Dread To Be Rasta, Reggae Bring Back Love, the soulful Man In Love, and She's Still Loving Me from their Full Circle album.

Though the group's lone female member was absent, lead vocalist Peter, keyboardist Gramps, rhythm guitarist Lukes and percussionist Mr Mojo were in superb form.

American singer and former rapper Angie Stone killed the mood somewhat when she appeared after them, as she offered mostly unfamiliar songs amid a few hits like My Sunshine Has Come and No More Rain.

It took "The Messenger" to reinvigorate the audience.

Luciano, bolstered by three backing vocalists and veteran saxophonist Dean Fraser, brought back the spiritual tone set by Pepper Ranks as he got on his knees to sing It's Me Again Jah and Lord Give Me Strength among other hits.

He even said an actual prayer, asking for love and unity among Caribbean people; leaving the crowd spellbound.

Then came "Uncle Beres", the veteran whose mixture of reggae ballads and conscious music makes him one of the most appealing of regional artistes.

He quickly had patrons swaying with hits like Standing In My Way, She Loves Me Now, Falling In Love All Over Again (featuring his version of the dancehall interlude recorded with Buju Banton), Double Trouble and Come Back Home.

As the hits flowed like water down Mount Nevis, he paid tribute to the late Garnett Silk with Hello Mama Africa, and stayed in the conscious groove with Putting Up Resistance.

Acts like Beres, Luciano and Wyclef, moreso than many others who performed at the other Tempo concerts, proved what the new channel must highlight: talent that is tested and tried and not merely new, fresh and hyped-up.

Coverage of the final Tempo concert held Sunday, October 30, in Nevis was sponsored
by Cable & Wireless (Caribbean) Limited.