By Osagie Alonge
It was a night of thrills, fun and a bit of absurdity at the Hennessey VIP Night on Friday, September 30, 2011 at the Octopus Lounge, Yaba, Lagos. If it wasn’t the performances then it must have been the side attractions that caught the eyes of those who attended the gig.
Headliners of this year’s Hennessy Artistry Banky W, Tiwa Savage and eLDee were all present as they performed the theme song to this year’s edition. The crowd was – understandably- more interested in the artistes’ personal songs.
DJ on deck, 2008 winner of the Hennessy Artistry Disc Jockey competition DJ Rexy got everyone in the groove as he dished out heavy Nigerian and foreign club music. Derenle Edun made a surprise entrance and hit the dance floor soon afterwards.
If there was anyone who wasn’t pleased with Rexy though, it would had been pop singer BrymO. The young singer stepped on stage to perform his new single ‘Ara’ but was disappointed halfway into his performance as the CD he was lip-synching to, started skipping. Chocolate City’s in-house turn table handler DJ Caise rushed downstairs from the VIP section to try to patch things up. A certainly pissed-off BrymO fumed off the stage after his ruined performance.
It was however still rosy, even though most guests couldn’t get into the VIP section to hang out with their favourite stars. There was an abundance of Hennessy to gulp. Davido’s energy on stage was remarkable, if only he had pulled up his jeans to cover up the stains on his undershorts.
High-life singer Waconzy got the crowd moving as he performed his big single ‘I Celebrate’.
Guests included Anis Halloway, Tee-Y Mix, Eku Edewor, Retta, Toolz, Fade, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbebi, Joy Tongo, Konga, Harry Okoh, Skales and many others. Host of the night was Beat FM’s Jimmie Akinsola