At the lengthy staging of the Excellence in Music and Entertainment Awards (EME), which was staged last night at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, Vybz Kartel, Jah Cure and Ding Dong were big winners.

Kartel, the Portmore Empire boss, received awards for male deejay of the year, recording artiste of the year and songwriter/ lyricist of the year.

Ding Dong was a big winner too and he said he only wanted to win at least one award. He received the award for dancehall collaboration of the year and dancehall song of the year, for his song Holiday with Chevaughn. Along with the Ravers Clavers, he received the award for best original dance move, Skip To My Luu.

Jah Cure received the award for male vocalist of the year. And, for his Call On Me single featuring Phyllisia, he got reggae song of the year and reggae collaboration of the year.

role models

Winning two awards, for dancehall rhythm of the year and reggae/dancehall compilation of the year, was West Kingston-based Liv Up Records.

Some of the other awardees for the night were Merital, Spanner Banner, Chino, Jah Vinci, Flexxx, Tifa, DJ Nicholas, Barbee, Busy Signal, Voicemail, Lisa Hyper, G Whizz, Tarrus Riley, Gramps Morgan, Cherine Anderson, Spice, Tarrus Riley, Stephen McGregor, Donovan Germain, Mavado, Queen Ifrica, Baby G, Sean Paul and Cecile.

In the honour awards section, Toots Hibbert and Denroy Morgan were named as role models of the year. Hibbert gave a quick speech but Morgan spent quite some time on stage thanking and giving 'big-ups' to almost every community, parish and Rastafarian sect that exist in Jamaica.

Flexxx was especially happy when he went to collect the award for most improved artiste. "Mi happy and mi glad wid it. Mi happy fi tie wid Tifa 'cause she is my favourite female artiste at the moment," he said. Tifa said she did not expect to win the award.

obvious tension

There was obvious tension when Chino, who was followed by what seemed like an army, and Portmore Empire's Jah Vinci, went on-stage to collect the breakthrough artiste of the year award. This was no surprise as the Portmore Empire and the Big Ship camp have been at odds in recent times. In accepting his plaque, Chino said, "big-up the fans, the fakers and the enemies."

Despite the fact that she is no longer a part of the Portmore Empire, Lisa Hyper still thanked the group for helping her to be named best new female artiste. "Big-up mi dads, Vybz Kartel. Nutten nuh change, Gaza mi seh same way," she said.

Throughout the night, there were many performances, making the event seem like a jam-packed stage show. Wasp's performance lacked stinging power, as he did not display much energy. Gramps Morgan and India Arie thrilled the audience with Therapy, before the US-based R&B singer did Ready For Love to the delight of the audience. Lady Saw was Marion Hall on the night, as she did two one-drop songs.

There was also a tribute to Studio One that was done by Christopher Martin, Hezron, Jodian Pantry, Nicky B, Cherine Anderson, Romain Virgo and Nadine Sutherland.

Although he collected his award earlier, Toots Hibbert returned to the stage to perform. While the people appreciated his set, they were now very tired as it was after midnight. By the time NFL player Morlon 'Ultimate' Greenwood was ready to perform, most of the guests had already left.

About 1 a.m. when the Bonner Brothers took the stage, they performed to a sea of white chairs. Yet, the quartet of Pliers, Richie Spice, Spanner Banner and Snatcha Lion tried to entertain those who remained.

Other performers for the night were Racquel Fairclough, DJ Nicholas, Dance Xpressions, Noddy Virtue, Boris Gardener, Stevie Face, Chino, Alaine, Wayne Marshall and Tami Chynn.