No Burna Boy but Uptown Mondays blazed

Word in the street, fuelled by a media invitation from Campari to cover Uptown Mondays at which Burna Boy would be present, saw more than the usual strong turnout at the weekly event on Monday.

Among the patrons wanting to see the Last Last artiste was Andre Coleman, who walked on his hands into Uptown Mondays close to 2 a.m.

Coleman, who was born with a spinal condition that has left his feet permanently folded behind his back, told THE STAR that he was a regular at the weekly session, but he was looking forward to meeting Burna Boy.

“Burna Boy inspire mi. I want to tell him that I have a lot of respect for him ... I like the collabs he has with Popcaan and Last Last,” Coleman, who turns 21 on July 28, shared.

Coleman, however, did not get his wish, because up to long past 2 a.m. there was no sign of the award-winning Afrobeats artiste, but informal updates said that he would be in the venue by 3 a.m. and that “at 11:06 p.m. his private jet landed at MIA awaiting the greenlight”.

With no sign of him, in keeping with regulations, Uptown Mondays founder Whitfield ‘Witty’ Henry soon signalled that the party was over.

In an interview with THE STAR on Sunday, Henry — or Father Witty as he is affectionately known — shared that he had “heard some talk weeks ago about Jamaica being on Burna Boy’s itinerary for his birthday”. He said that persons were asking him if the singer would be at Uptown Mondays to continue his birthday celebrations.

Burna Boy turned 32 on July 2.

“Celebrities come to Uptown Mondays to celebrate their birthday all the while ... Burna Boy would not be here to perform. It would have been great if he came,” Henry said Monday night.

Meanwhile, Coleman said that he was disappointed. “I was really looking forward to meeting him ... but this is still my place. Mi fit in here. Mi feel comfortable and party with everybody and feel normal. Mi see Ding Dong and Bounty Killer, who is like mi G. Bounty Killer tek care of mi. The vibes did still nice,” Coleman shared.

His presence had been met with a lot of fist bumps from patrons who hailed him up by name.

“Every night ... seven days a week ... mi outside in the streets. I love the music; it keeps me going. I respect a lot of artistes and dem tek care of mi and mek sure seh mi good inna di streets,” shared Coleman, who attended Mona High School, but admitted that he didn’t graduate owing to the pandemic.