Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

Western Bureau:

After over a decade in the music industry, the lyrically witty and charismatic Tanya Stephens remains a relevant fixture in the business. even as the music evolves, her message can never be denied.

Even at age 37 the These Street reggae/dancehall musician still draws a huge following, and getting Unplugged in Montego Bay at the Coral Cliff's Rum Jungle was no different.

With cocktails prepared by renowned chef Bernard 'Pepper' Morrison by the pool and patrons sipping on the delight of Chardonnay and Merlot, the tone was set for a musical splendour, second to none.

The performance of Montego Bay's quartet Soul4Soul offered an excellent opener to the evening of musical delight.

Making her entrance to Handle The Ride, it was clear that Stephens was there to produce a good performance.

Huge catalogue

Stephens took her time to go through her huge catalogue of hits in a performance that spanned more than an hour.

With each record securing huge applause and singalongs, she paused at regular intervals to talk to her fans about the songs she had done and the messages that were intended in each.

"I know that a lot of my song came off as always bashing males, which seemed like I don't like men. That's not it all," she laughed.

"I love men and I do songs to express my appreciation for them too."

It's A Pity Tanya did not have enough time at Unplugged to tell her male fans how much she appreciated them, but she did touch on the issue when she sang These Streets from her 2006 Rebelution album.

She sang several songs from that Rebelution album, making sure hits from the 1990s, such as Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet and Google, were not left out.

The musician used the opportunity to discuss the discrimination of persons living with HIV in a new song that had the crowd intrigued.