Shenseea, Mavado Brought A Taste Of Jamaica To Afro Nation Miami 2023
Jamaican stars Shenseea and Mavado brought a taste of the island to the 2023 staging of Afro Nation during its U.S. debut on Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
The two Reggae-Dancehall acts were among musicians from Africa and the diaspora who performed at the two-day music festival. Featured acts such as Wizkid, Burna Boy, Asake, Sech, Fireboy DML, Rema, and Dadju also wowed attendees at the event.
Shenseea, 26, was added to the lineup in place of Beenie Man, who unfortunately had to cancel his appearance last minute. A day before his performance Afro Nation released an apology on behalf of the King of Dancehall, stating, “We were informed that due to a situation beyond our control, Beenie Man, unfortunately will not make it to Miami for his performance at #ANM2023. We are truly devastated, but we look forward to an amazing day 2! 🫶🏾.”
In another post, the team thanked Shenseea for filling in for the Dancehall titan on such short notice. “Big ups to @shenseea for coming through last minute, can’t wait till she takes the stage!”
Beenie also made a short video citing the issue as “just a messed up thing” but wanted to extend a heartfelt apology to his die-hard fans. “I apologize to all the people who love Beenie Man all through these years and buy the ticket to come and just see me … I’m so sorry. Love you all” he said.
Shenseea did not disappoint fans, delivering another of her usually sizzling performances. Decked in a sexy ruby red ensemble, she enticed partygoers on Sunday with her bawdy and in-charge dance choreography alongside her backup dancers while performing songs like, Blessed, Cant Anymore, Curious, Rebel, Foreplay, and of course, Henkel Glue featuring Beenie Man to pay homage to the veteran star.
“🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥Her performance was lit as usual. ❤️❤️,” one attendee commented on Instagram.
Another added, “You made me even more curious when you dropped that thang!!! 🔥🔥😍.”
Watch Shenseea’s full set at ANM 2023 here:
The Gully Gad brought the vibes on Saturday, performing some of his greatest hits, including So Special, Last Night, Hope And Pray, Come Into My Room featuring Stacious, and more.
Mavado, 42, was given the celebrity treatment as a slew of roaring Miami-based fans cheered him on during his set. “Bless up @afronation.us thanks for having me there last night and bless up the fans thanks for the love.🔑💯,” the deejay wrote in an Instagram post yesterday.
“It was a good look & we enjoyed every minute 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 🇯🇲 the intro 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” one fan said about Mavado’s set.
Another said, “I lost my voice when you hit the stage. I have loved you since 2009.”
For some fans, however, the Father Gad singer’s performance wasn’t what they had anticipated. “Set was way too short did he even perform for 15min,” one person said.
Another wrote, “I love Mavado’s music but this performance was very disappointing. It was the worst of the night. He rushed through the songs and was shouting instead of actually singing. Also, what happened to the 30 minute set we were supposed to get?! He never really connected with the crowd and just walked off the set. No thank you, goodbye, nothing.”
“🔥 but I was disappointed when he walked away plus if he had issues they should of say something…. big silence then dj came to stage 🤷🏻♀️👀 he should of came back or something!!’ another also remarked.”
Watch Mavado’s full set at ANM 2023 here:
Afro Nation, dubbed the world’s biggest Afrobeats festival, first debuted in Portugal over four summers ago, with other editions taking place in Ghana and Puerto Rico.
The vibrant celebration has grown in stature in these last few years, showcasing African music’s growth in popularity. This includes the rise of Afrobeats, and Amapiano, the South African music genre, that is one of the hottest dance styles right now, while African pop has even cracked the Billboard charts, and influenced the platform to launch its U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart in 2022.