BOUNTY and ROCK BAND , Collaborate

We've heard the mash-ups between Jay-Z and Linkin Park, but there are new mash-up tracks on the horizon. The latest mash-up garnering attention is a collabo between Dancehall artist, Bounty Killer, and rock group, Program The Dead.

Bogle murder suspect charged:

POLICE YESTERDAY charged the main suspect in the killing of popular dancer Gerald 'Bogle' Levy who was shot dead in January. Ricardo Palmer, 22, a.k.a. 'Ricky', was charged with two counts of murder, three counts of shooting with intent...

JUSTICE FOR MR. WACKY

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BUJU BANTON FACES ASSAULT CHARGES: Reggae star accused of gay-bashing in Jamaica.

BUJU BANTON FACES ASSAULT CHARGES: Reggae star accused of gay-bashing in Jamaica. *Reggae sensation Buju Banton will go on trial Oct. 19 for his alleged role in an attack against a group of gay men in Jamaica's capital last year, a judge said Friday.

(BOOM BYE BYE...)

Reggae master a spiritual being: LEE SCRATCH PERRY

18.09.05
By Scott Kara

Lee "Scratch" Perry is guilty of arson. He did it. In 1979, after two days of aimless wandering and hammer wielding on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, he burned down his own Black Ark Studios, a place where he had recorded many a reggae and dub masterpiece.

Perry, who plays the Studio on K Rd tomorrow with the Mad Professor, was arrested but released without being charged because of lack of evidence. Today though, the man behind some of Bob Marley's best music, is adamant: "I didn't do anything wrong. I had to burn [it] down."

For Perry, burning the Ark was a matter of life and death. After he recorded the Congos' classic album, Heart of the Congos - one of reggae's best albums - he realised the Ark had to be destroyed because it housed too many "demons".

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Wake up and Listen to the Cries of the People

Sherilla Gordon, Deputy Quarterly Editor Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Last Tuesday, almost all regular September activities were disrupted. Jamaica Urban Transit Company buses were pulled of their routes, businesses were closed, schools suspended and regrettably, a police officer was shot and injured while another man was shot dead.

I agree with the Jamaica Labour Party that the cost of living in Jamaica is too high, but I disagree with the extremities of some of the demonstrations. It is full time that the government wakes up and not only listens to the cries of the people, but ease the enormous burdens that many of them have to carry. Aren't two of the roles of government to control price and incomes, and regulate business, whether public or private, if they are acting against the interest of the general public?

In my opinion, the Jamaican government is ineffectively performing these roles. I have to agree with popular dancehall entertainer, Vybz Kartel, when he says "everyting except dead people a raise" in his single Emergency. Prices are on the rise, with no current indication of ceasing. Bus fares, oil, chicken, electricity and soon to come, water and telephone services.

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Marley's son returns reggae to roots : JR. GONG INTERVIEW

MARK LELINWALLA

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Being an icon's son isn't easy. Yet Damian Marley is doing just fine. The son of Bob is leading reggae back to its roots with his enthralling summer anthem, "Welcome To Jamrock," and new album.

The articulate, socially conscious artist known as "Jr. Gong" spoke to The Associated Press about the return of traditional reggae, gang violence, working with Alicia Keys and continuing his father's legacy.

AP: Since the "Welcome To Jamrock" single is so big, what do you expect from the album?

Marley: It can expose people to what we're speaking about and what the music stands for in a moral and lyrical sense. It's about what's going on in the world, not just my life.

AP: There has been a real return to traditional grassroots reggae. How do you feel about that?

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Lady G paving a positive path for her children to follow

Lady G says when she looks back at her musical archives, there isn't any material that she regrets recording. With over 17 years of experience in the dancehall, Lady G (real name Janice Fyffe) says that the material that she puts out is reflective of who she is as an individual.

Sean Paul adds message to the groove

Mark Lelinwalla

Associated Press

September 29, 2005

NEW YORK -- The ladies love dancing to Sean Paul's contagious dancehall grooves. Guys like him for making women move on the dance floor.

After three years without dropping an album, the dancehall don is back with The Trinity. In a recent interview, Paul talked about his message and his vibe.

AP: We Be Burnin' is a smash single, but behind the groove is a message. Do you think that message gets buried?

Sean Paul: Dancehall music is perceived as party music, which it is because of the rhythm, but there are messages that do come through or a purpose of an artist saying something to the world. People usually don't get the messages because of the partying.

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BUJU vs. GAYS

Reggae star denies attacking gays
REGGAE artist Buju Banton has been charged with assault in connection with an attack on a group of gay men in Jamaica.

LOST MARLEY TUNE TO APPEAR ON NEW ALBUM

A lost BOB MARLEY tune has been unearthed for a new reggae compilation album. Marley's son ZIGGY found the track, SLOGANS, in the family archives last year (04) and he asked pal ERIC CLAPTON to rerecord the music for the track over his father's voice.

Damian ''Jr. Gong'' Marley Posts Highest Debuting Reggae Album in Chart History

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley made history today when his Ghetto Youths/Tuff Gong/Universal Records release, WELCOME TO JAMROCK, entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at Number 7, selling over 85,000 units and making it the biggest opening week for a Reggae artist in the history of the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart.

Damian ''Jr. Gong'' Marley Posts Highest Debuting Reggae Album in Chart History

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley made history today when his Ghetto Youths/Tuff Gong/Universal Records release, WELCOME TO JAMROCK, entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at Number 7, selling over 85,000 units and making it the biggest opening week for a Reggae artist in the history of the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart.

Tuesday round up :: 13-9-05

Sean Paul – We Be Burnin’ If you were ever in any doubt that Sean Paul loves the ladies, he’s back to hammer the point home and let you know he’s a player.

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'I've sold more than Bob Marley' (so what, I don't care mr. boomboclaatastic)
Shaggy tells Amina Taylor why he deserves to be ranked among reggae's best
Tuesday September 13, 2005
The Guardian

Once an underground sound, dancehall reggae has long since become a global music phenomenon. Based on sales alone - over 10m for 2001's Hot Shot, making him the only reggae artist to earn a diamond disc - Orville Richard "Shaggy" Burrell should be the genre's crown prince. And yet, as he prepares to release his sixth studio album, Clothes Drop, Shaggy is feeling less like reggae royalty and more like its court jester.

While hardcore acts such as Beenie Man and Buju Banton have brought acclaim and controversy to the scene, and Sean Paul has been hailed as dancehall's saving grace, Shaggy's critics claim his music is little more than glorified pop. Removing his straw hat and rubbing his hand through his curly Afro, Shaggy sighs. "I'm 'conveniently reggae'. Let me explain that," he says. "Within the last year, when dancehall has got its shine, there have been people who have dubbed me 'not quite dancehall'. Whenever people want this type of music to be in Madison Square Garden, the big bosses ask about the music's homophobia, sex and violence reputation, and the promoters will say: 'That's not true, look at Shaggy.' But when it's time to say, 'Look what reggae has done,' and acknowledge the people who have been influential, then I'm conveniently not reggae. I've had to live with that."

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World Clash Returns to Brooklyn, New York!! By Flair Lindsey, press release One Drop Promotions Posted: Sep 12, 2005 19:12 UTC

NEW YORK, NY - Irish and Chin’s World Clash series of events traveled to Jamaica, Antigua and Canada this year. Now, the flagship event is returning to Brooklyn, New York, where the monumental World Clash 1999 set new standards for the sound clash industry.

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Reggae's New Old Sound, Led by a Marley

By KELEFA SANNEH

Published: September 8, 2005

For anyone only casually acquainted with reggae music, the scene at the Hammerstein Ballroom might have come as quite a shock. It was last Friday night, and a crammed-in crowd was enjoying a typically crammed-together bill. Sean Paul cycled through computer-driven club hits. Sizzla delivered blistering song fragments, some lasting only a few seconds. And Elephant Man, dressed up as a Wild West gunman, invited Diddy (formerly P. Diddy and officially Sean Combs) onstage for some dirty dancing with two women from the crowd who both looked as if they could give a great deal better than they got.


Reggae has come a long way since Bob Marley.

And, in another sense, not so far at all. One of the headliners at the concert was Damian Marley, a k a Jr. Gong, the youngest son of reggae's most famous father. But Mr. Marley's appearance was not a case of nepotism run amok. He has a breakthrough hit with "Welcome to Jamrock," a thrilling protest anthem that adds his fiery monotone to simple, impossibly heavy bass and drums.

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Damian Marley Welcomes Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
Tuesday ,13th September 2005

After announcing 24 US tour dates to support his new LP, Welcome to Jamrock, Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley has also revealed some big news. The son of the reggae legend will be donating $1 from each ticket sold, to the victims of the New Orleans natural disaster. The Hurricane Katrina relief efforts have also had a massive help from the likes of BET… who with help from stars raised $10 million for sufferers. Mary J. Blige , David Banner, Floetry, Patti LaBelle and Alicia Keys were among the performers who took the stage for aid.

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Bounty Killer is back on the Billboard charts, as his single PSABK (2004) which features Jay-Z, debuts at number 75 on the R&B Hip Hop Singles & Tracks tally.



Roof embraces Levy reggae beat
September 8, 2005
By James W.B. Burrows

Celebrated Jamaican dancehall artist Barrington Levy sang in front of a full Hot Tin Roof on Thursday, August 11. Known as a driving force in dancehall reggae, Levy was heavily anticipated. His first performance on the Island lived up to expectations.

Levy has enjoyed a couple of decades of success, growing in recognition from Jamaican star to international celebrity. After first forming The Mighty Multitude with his cousin, Levy tested his talents as a solo artist. He quickly established a name for himself. At 14, Levy was already a popular performer in Jamaican dancehalls. He teamed up with promising young producer Jungo Lawes and recorded well received singles backed up by The Roots Radics' roots-based rhythms. Using these traditional rhythms, then adding a hard-hitting edge for the dance floor, they created a sound that was embraced in the clubs and sent dancehall music in a new direction.

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Sean Paul: Uptown top ranking

Sean Paul has taken dancehall to the world. Ian Burrell meets the most high-profile Jamaican musician since Bob Marley (I think this is questionable but thaz just me)

Published: 02 September 2005

Sean Paul stands on a small stage in a Soho cinema and performs the latest Jamaican dance routine, the Willie Bounce, which, suffice to say, involves a deft gyration of the hips and requires a loose-fitting pair of trousers. The many female followers in the invitation-only audience look on admiringly as he explains the lyrical thought process behind "Straight Up", his less-than-subtle ode to horizontal gymnastics. "He does have a point!" exclaims one well-spoken woman. If another man had been solewd, the same woman would, quite possibly, have doused him with chardonnay. How does Sean Paul do it?

The well-mannered former water-polo star has somehow encapsulated the Jamaican party spirit and fused it to the hottest of the island's digital rhythms by means of his honeyed lyrical flow and saucy innuendo. Hit tracks such as "Get Busy", "Shake That Thing" and "Like Glue" helped his second album, Dutty Rock, to bring the sound of Jamaican dancehall to the worldwide pop masses in a way that no one had managed before. This achievement took him from Mexico to Zanzibar but presented him with the challenge of how to follow it up. His response is The Trinity, released this month and so named because it is his third album, it took three years to make, it was recorded in a country considered part of the "Third World" and because the artist believes it represents three distinct elements of his musical style.

It is an offering that, all at once, gives his fan base more of what it has come to expect; shores up his credibility in the cut-throat and ever-evolving Jamaican dancehall culture (by using hot producers such as Steven "Lenky" Marsden); and yet still introduces listeners to a new Sean Paul, one that has a greater concern for deeper issues such as social injustice and bereavement.

This last element offers the potential for lasting relevance and a longevity of career usually denied to Jamaican "DJs" and rappers, their American equivalents. It is also this more complex side to his personality that he chooses to focus on during a frank meeting at London's Sanderson hotel, two days after he unveiled The Trinity inSoho.

Sean Paul Henriques was born in St Andrew's hospital, Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in the middle-class district of Norbrook. The Henriques name is a noted one in Jamaican society and Sean Paul was enrolled in the private Hillel Academy, a Jewish "uptown" prep school (though he is not Jewish, his father is part Portuguese-Jewish and part African-Caribbean and his mother is a mixture of Jamaican-Chinese and English).

As his ancestry is complex, so was his early home life. "My father was a hustler. He came from a good family but didn't do a lot of schooling," he says. "We had to go and get him and pick him up from the ghettos where he would be burning a chalice [marijuana pipe] with his friends. That kind of stuff happened regularly when I was a kid."

Sean (only ever called Sean Paul when his father was scolding him) admits he was "not very good at school" and at the age of 13 he was moved to Wolmer's, a "ruffians' school" further downtown, where he was quickly identified as a wayward rich kid and forced to fight the bullies. "Wolmer's was a culture shock. There was a lot of fighting. There was 40-odd students in a classroom. It shocked me because public school was not taken care of. In private school I had taken that for granted."

Barely had he started this new phase of his life than Sean's father, Garth, was sent to prison, and served six years.

During his difficult teenage years Sean Paul looked to the swimming pool at the National Stadium to give him a sense of order and ambition. Garth Henriques had been a champion long-distance swimmer and national water-polo player (making his fall from grace all the more painful). Fran, Sean Paul's mother, before she became a respected watercolourist, had been Jamaica's 100-metre butterfly champion. Sean was at the heart of Jamaica's swimming set. "That was my life as a kid. It taught me a lot of discipline. Exercise does a lot for the mind. Knowing that my father and mother were champions meant that I had a lot to look up to, to try and be a champion for Jamaica for myself," he says. "I'm still a swimmer and the swim team are my closest friends."

In what was clearly a poignant moment, he participated in Kingston's Across the Harbour swim, a two-and-a-half mile race in the shadow of the General Penitentiary, where his father was being held. Garth Henriques had, as a teenager, been an Across the Harbour champion. "He was in prison and the prison is right on the harbour, so he could see me. I got a call to him and he said, yeah, he saw us diving in and he was watching but he couldn't see the end of the race because it went round a corner. It was jellyfish everywhere and everyone got stung. I was 13 and I came 13th." Sean Paul (a freestyle and backstroke specialist) broke into the Jamaican swimming and water-polo teams, enjoying the glamour and prestige of leaving his classes with a sports bag to fly off to Mexico or Barbados for international events.

Meanwhile his aunt had established a sound system, Sparkles Disco, and Sean Paul, who helped her by carrying speaker boxes, developed a taste for partying and music. He was drawn to the dancehalls downtown, spotting musical heroes such as the gruff-voiced Shabba Ranks at the famous outdoor club House of Leo, a venue where an elastic-limbed dancer called Gerald "Bogle" Levy was making a name for himself.

Fran Henriques had enlisted her son for piano lessons but Sean Paul persuaded her to buy him a Casio keyboard from a flea market and he attempted to recreate some of the digital rhythms characteristic of Jamaican dancehall music. "I pleaded for it," he recalls. "She was trying to encourage me for the piano lessons and I would try to build back these riddims. Moms was like 'Forget that, forget that.' She's an artist and it was hard for her. She has two kids and was alone and was trying to paint. When people don't accept your work as an artist, it's very emotional. She didn't want that [rejection] for me and my brother." He was still sharing a room with his younger brother, Jason (aka Jigzag), who appears as a producer on The Trinity.

Sean's first attempt at music bore the stamp of a serious young man. Aside from his father's imprisonment, he had experienced bereavement when his first girlfriend (a fellow swimmer) died from a brain tumour a year after they split up.

During our interview, he sings an early lyric a cappella. "It's an alarm dis, it ah di ghetto story, you read about in the Star, watch it 'pon TV. It's an alarm dis, di ghetto story, you read it in magazine watch it on movie. Pamela she well hungry, only have enough money to feed pickney, she send Steve and Johnny to find dem daddy, daddy him drunk and spend di money, they haffe walk 'pon the road and beg fi money..."

It was Garth Henriques, emerging from jail, who gave his son his first break, introducing him to his friend Cat Coore, the bassist of the reggae group Third World and getting him into the recording studio. An old schoolfriend - a Wolmer's table tennis champion - had become a rising artist called Don Yute and had formed a "crew" with his friends Kid Kurrup and Daddigon, the latter having grown up around Bob Marley's Hope Road home as the son of a Rastafarian. The crew was called "Dutty Cup" (dirty cup) and Sean, who was allowed by Daddigon to join, became known as "Sean from Dutty" and coined his dancehall catchphrase "Dutty Yeah!" The crew hung out at the recording studio of Jeremy Harding, the son of the Jamaican senator and former foreign affairs minister Oswald Harding. Now one of the hottest producers in reggae, Harding has become Sean Paul's manager.

Sean Paul started to be in hot demand for dub-plate special recordings from big sound systems such as Renaissance and Stone Love. He developed his stagecraft and his work took him to New York, where he worked tirelessly. Dancehall fans realised that as new rhythms such as Bookshelf and Street Sweeper swept Jamaica it was invariably the Sean Paul cut that did most damage on the dancefloor. Women were particularly responsive to his smooth flow. "My friends would say, 'DJ to the gal - the gal dem love your voice!' The producers would say the same thing. The songs I'm making [then] are all about ladies. I was coming with a different style, my name was simple. I blew up in Jamaica."

By 2000, Sean Paul (he chose the stage name because it was more girl-friendly than a classic dancehall moniker such as General something) had scored so many Jamaican hits that the New York-based reggae label VP released his first album, Stage One, which sold 25,000 copies. But that was nothing compared with sales for 2002's Dutty Rock. For the first time, an American audience was ready to accept a Jamaican dancehall album on its own terms (attempts to crack the US a decade before by Sean Paul's heroes Shabba Ranks and Supercat had been defeated by big label insistence on hip-hop hybridisation). Suddenly Sean was on international TV, Bogle's dances were being replicated by girls around the world and Jamaica was enjoying its highest musical profile since Marley.

Though celebrated for party hits such as "Gimme the Light", Sean Paul has long nurtured a desire to deal with more serious material, only to be knocked back by a Jamaican public that sees his background as distant from the island's social problems. In January, Daddigon was shot dead in Kingston in an apparent case of mistaken identity. Days before, Bogle, an icon of Jamaican culture for more than a decade, was slain in a drive-by shooting. The dance Sean Paul performed at his record launch, the Willie Bounce, was Bogle's last contribution to the dancehall. Paul's response is the haunting lament "Seasons (Never Gonna be The Same)", the most powerful track on The Trinity.

"My music has to have these moods and show this growth. I can't be always saying, 'Just shake that ass', because to me that's not life," says Sean Paul. "I also need to say things to the world and to my fans about what I feel deeply. It's very unfortunate that it was about my friend. Daddigon was always the one in the group that did conscious songs."

But the Sean Paul party is not over. The Trinity has a string of "bangers", such as first single "We Be Burnin'" and "Ever Blazin'". Things are looking up too for Mr Henriques senior. "He called me New Year's Day four years ago, drunk as a skunk, and said, 'I'm going to stop drinking.' I was, 'Yeah, yeah', but he did. It has been four years and he hasn't drunk or smoked cigarettes or nothing," Sean Paul says. His father is once again a respected figure in the Jamaican sporting world. "When Pops came out of prison, I only saw him sporadically and that's how it's been most of my life. But he's a big influence, my Pops. I hope a lot for him."

'The Trinity' is out on 27 September on VP/Atlantic

Sean Paul stands on a small stage in a Soho cinema and performs the latest Jamaican dance routine, the Willie Bounce, which, suffice to say, involves a deft gyration of the hips and requires a loose-fitting pair of trousers. The many female followers in the invitation-only audience look on admiringly as he explains the lyrical thought process behind "Straight Up", his less-than-subtle ode to horizontal gymnastics. "He does have a point!" exclaims one well-spoken woman. If another man had been solewd, the same woman would, quite possibly, have doused him with chardonnay. How does Sean Paul do it?

Read on

Luciano sings title track on Glory To Gloriana movie

Basil Walters , Observer staff reporter Monday, September 05, 2005

Popular roots and culture exponent Luciano has done his first movie title track for the latest local flick, Glory To Gloriana, which is expected to hit the big screen in early 2006.

"We hoped to have it (the film) finished so that it can be screened by the end of the year," director Lennie Little-White said.

The soundtrack which will feature a number of reggae artistes is arranged by noted saxophonist Dean Fraser who has produced reggae, soca and mento versions of the title song.

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yow black ppl one an all go check out JaH cUrE site at http://www.jahcure.com

News round up...

Music: The Temptations pack the house at Hot Tin Roof
The Hot Tin Roof was hopping Thursday, August 25 when Sizzla, one of today’s hottest Jamaican dancehall reggae acts, gave his first-ever Vineyard performance.


KIEVA ROBBED::
'DANCEHALL DIVA' KIEVA is thanking God for life after surviving a robbery at her home two weeks ago during which a gun was held to her head. Kieva, whose real name is Kieva Hibbert, said...
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Reggaeton But No Reggae At VMA Awards Hardbeatnews.com, NY - Aug 28, 2005 ... Aug. 29, 2005: Reggae took a back seat to the reggaeton movement at the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami last night despite plans by the network to introduce ...

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Music Of The Sun
Rihanna (Def Jam)

It's not too late for a summer getaway after all. With her debut album Music Of The Sun, new artist Rihanna brings us the sultry dancehall and R&B sounds of the Caribbean islands.

The 17-year-old green-eyed cutie, born in the Barbados, made a splash onto the summer scene with her dancehall smash single Pon De Replay.

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House of Blues :: Keeps Sizzla

Despite community protests, the Los Angeles-headquartered House of Blues has refused to cancel all its scheduled concerts by Sizzla, a reggae singer whose lyrics promoting violence against gay people caused the United Kingdom to deny him entry to the country last year. His 2004 European tour was canceled as a result of outrage from the gay community there and earlier this year protests

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'Jr. Gong' Marley #1 in Canada & New York - Confirmed for Irie Jamboree 2k5

By Jamboree 2k5 press release Posted: Aug 20, 2005 15:32 UTC

NEW YORK, NY - Reggae sensation Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley is not just doing well on the charts in the US but he is making stride in Toronto and England as well.

Marley’s controversial single “Welcome to Jamrock,” is the top single on the Reggae Mania Top 10 charts, compiled weekly by Ron Nelson of CKLN 88.1fm in Toronto. The song is ahead of ‘Telephone Ting’ by Kip Rich, ‘Ride This’ by Buju Banton, ‘Footprints’ by TOK and ‘Good Over Evil’ by Sizzla.

In the US, Marley continues to create mayhem with ‘Welcome To Jamroc’ which is #1 on the Weekly Star Top Ten Chart for the past 10 weeks. On the NY Reggae Top 30 chart, “Welcome To Jamroc” has spent over 15 weeks at the top spot. On the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Chart, ‘Welcome To Jamroc’ debuted at #70 and is currently listed at the number #23 position.

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Review Star Jam 2K5

Review: Star Jam 2K5 - Unfinished Business

Megastars and local stars graced the grounds and stage of Pier 1, Montego Bay, on Saturday, August 12 to finish business that had been left unfinished at the Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2005.

Headline act Rodney Price, popularly known as the Bounty Killer “the ghetto gladiator” took the stage at shortly after 6 am dressed in his business suit and ended business but only after long bout local acts and proper address from his “Alliance,” characters such as Vybz Kartel, Wayne Marshall and Bling Dawg, who all worked apparently unrehearsed with the Anger Management Band.

Bounty Killer and a host of artistes, took the liberty of lyrically whipping the Sumfest sponsors as well as promoters, particularly Johnny Gourzong, who the ghetto gladiator emphatically told, “Johnny Gourzong me naah keep nuh b---man money inna mi bosom.” He went on to explain that he amongst other artistes had helped to put Sumfest where it is, long before the Red Stripe had taken title sponsor role.

Missing from the line up however was the Gargamel, Buju Banton, who Bounty explained was stuck in Pittsburgh.

Prior to the onslaught of big acts, the crowd was privy to up and comers such as Merritol (whose performance was cut early), Warface whose set was plagued with CD mix ups, Lady Champagne, New Kids, Military and Mobado. After the being warmed up by some of western Jamaica’s finest, the heavy hitters took the concerts helm. We then saw the likes of Pickney, Jagwa, Busy Signal and Angel Dulas.

Pickney whiney voice gave the crowd much to laugh at and be entertained with. Busy Signal with a string of current hits got full crowd support with songs like “Step Out.”

The show started racing to its peak when megastars like Fantan Mojah and Norris Man commandeered the microphones. Bling Dawg got good response with songs like “Nicky-Ann,” while Vybz Kartel decked in white issued hit after hit, like “I Never,” “School Bus,” and his cell phone songs “…can you hear me now.”

Wayne Marshall treated the crowd to his romantic ode to Juana, the song known as “Marry Juana,” the crowd was then surprised by the presence of the Twin of Twins who slipped their song, which was a response to Macka Diamonds counteraction of their hit single.

The morning however belonged to Bounty Killer who gave the crowd a great cross-section of his catalogue; he belted his early songs, war songs and love songs. The crowd “Lodge,” “War,” “Look Into Ma Eyes,” “Fitness,” “It Ok,” and “Heard that you’re Leaving.”

By Yannick Nesta Pessoa

Bob Marley Coming of Age Story May Stir It Up on Broadway in Near Future

By Ernio Hernandez
16 Aug 2005

Legendary musician Bob Marley may be the next popular artist to be venerated on Broadway, according to The Jamaica Observer.

Neville Garrick, the reggae artist's former collaborator, told the publication "A Broadway play on Bob Marley is supposed to be the next big project I'll be working on with the (Marley) family."

The play, which would focus on Marley's early years in music, is among a number of projects that are in the works in this, the observance of the 60th anniversary of the his birth.

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I-WAYNE :: LAVAGRPUND ALBUM REVIEW

By The Associated Press Tue Aug 23, 4:34 PM ET

Selected music reviews:

I Wayne, "Lava Ground" (VP Records)

Many reggae artists are content to just make us dance and groove to their carefree music.

That does not apply to I Wayne. He brings reggae back to its essential roots riddims via tranquil vocals on "Lava Ground." The Jamaican uses the album's lead single, "Can't Satisfy Her" to pull listeners in. Then, once he has their attention, he opens up and discusses darker subjects affecting his island, such as crime and poverty.

"Can't Satisfy Her," has I Wayne begging listeners to scratch beneath the surface. As much as the track presents a singsong catchy flow, it narrates the full circle and harsh reality of life as a prostitute. "One man can't satisfy her, she need more wood for da fire. Sex price getting higher, ah more money she require," Wayne sings on the hook.

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Review of Sumfest 20

Review of Sumfest 2005

Montego Bay is host to two of Jamaica’s premiere cultural events and these are the RedStripe Reggae Sumfest and The Dancehall Queen Competition. Sumfest is undoubtedly one of Montego Bay’s premiere income earners with Robert Russell’s projected statistics proposing that it pulled to the city 5000 tourists spending a minimum of $1000 US, which equals 300 million dollars in extra revenue being pumped into our friendly city. But this year Sumfest arrived with much hullabaloo, debate and dissent. This owing to the fact dancehall giants Beenie Man and Bounty Killer had been barred from performing, and there absence carried weight that was clearly visible in the crowd on Dancehall Night.

Reggae Sumfest is platform for what is happening in and around the dancehall arena, it gives a quick zoom into the world of artistes. This year Sumfest brought to visible fore the struggle that exists between gay activists and dancehall artistes. It should be clear to everyone now, seeing the absence of Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel, which group of people is swinging more weight and packing a harder punch. It is clear to me now that foreigners whatever kind of activists they maybe are able to take strangle hold control of our culture by sheer virtue of their bank books. Welcome to “GLOBALISATION”.

The Sumfest promoters have chosen to tread a dangerously thin line by creating an event for proponents and fans of dancehall and reggae music, but yet have opted to be sponsored and dollar slaved to the music’s antagonists. I see very serious conflicts of interests here, one that threatens to make the whole event collapse. Even beyond barring Bounty and Beenie, they failed to bring acts like Buju Banton, Sean Paul, Shaggy, amongst other to bolster the line-up, for the Dancehall and International nights, the rockers night, had to miss me, due to the fact that Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond, UB40, Yasus Afari or Tony Rebel.

I can honestly say that the three nights I attended the event (Dancehall night and the two International nights), it was noticeably lacklustre. Dancehall night was undoubtedly rescued in sales and in terms of the level of vibes at the event by a little man from August Town by the name of Sizzla Kalonji, who the promoters thanked by axing him from Sumfest for the foreseeable future. Sizzla’s performance was an unrepentant “lyrical” assault aimed at no one else but dancehall’s strongest opponents, gay activists and outrage. Beyond that, his performance was intense and carried lots of energy; he set loose an onslaught of hits, ranging from his love songs to anti-gay songs to his gun songs, and right back to his early songs. All in all he was very energetic and his performance fantastic. However it would be unfair to mention Dancehall Night and not make note of the commendable effort of Turbulence whose song “Notorious” has been riding the airwaves and blasting from cars (which seem to me these days as ‘modern day mobile sound systems’) almost every where in downtown area.

After Sizzla on Dancehall night I swore there was little left to look forward to, however I was surprised by none other than the seed of the legend, the youngest veteran himself, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, who with surprise artillery whipped the crowd to a high, which was unprecedented for the entire Sumfest. He began his act with material from the “Halfway Tree” album, peppered with some of his even earlier songs. After that he bridge the time gap and gave audiences from every generation some of his dad’s hits. He then delved into his new material and added his brother Stephen and some of his solo career efforts to the package. At which point he seemed ready to end the show almost sending the crowd mad, a crowd that eagerly await the opening line “Welcome to Jamrock…” His performance has been the most all rounded I have ever seen.

In general however the show seems to me to be toeing a dangerous line as it pertains to pleasing audience and pleasing sponsors. I also believe had it not been for the energies and efforts of two young Rasta’s (Jr. Gong and Sizzla Kalonji) carrying the show on their backs, the “RedStripe Reggae Sumfest” may very well have been a complete flop. That’s the opinion of this humble writer and Montegonian, thanks for reading.

By Yannick Nesta Pessoa
B.A. in Philosophy
yannickpessoa@gmail.com
or yahnyk@hotmail.com

.and now, Gangsta Colony

.and now, Gangsta Colony

BY BALFORD HENRY Observer writer Monday, August 15, 2005

They are a group of young artistes and professionals determined to bring a change to the way Jamaican entertainers perform and write music.

They are not only full-fledged artistes, but they have also acquired the skills of engineers and producers and have even taken on the unenviable task of managing themselves.

They're the newly emerging Gangsta Colony comprising rappers Enigma, Hype and Slyloc; DJs Sim-mity, Calico and Shackleford; singer Jahyute; and engineer/producer Xtreme.

The group was formed in 1999 by high school boys determined to make an intelligent impact on the direction of Jamaican music.

Read on

Rihanna Brings Riddims

West Indian Jay-Z protegee heats up America

"I don't even have time for boys!" says Rihanna, the seventeen-year-old Jay-Z protegee whose dancehall-tinged single "Pon De Replay" is lighting up both dance floors and pop radio. The Barbados native is currently preparing for full-fledged stardom while finishing high school, spending eight hours a day with a choreographer and fifteen hours a week with a tutor amid a globe-trotting performance schedule. Thankfully, Rihanna (full name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty) has the goods to back up the expectations: Her debut album, Music of the Sun (out August 30th), is a seductive mix of big-voiced R&B and souped-up island riddims -- what Beyonce might have sounded like if she had grown up in the West Indies and skipped the whole Destiny's Child thing.

Read on

George Nooks pays tribute to Dennis Brown

Catch the Riddim

Kevin Jackson, Observer writer Monday, August 22, 2005

George Nooks pays tribute to Dennis Brown

With the assistance of noted producer Tad A Dawkins, George Nooks has assembled an album which pays tribute to the late Crown Prince of Reggae, Dennis Brown. The album, titled George Nooks Sings Dennis Brown: The Voice Lives On, is due for release next month.

Nooks said that the album was something that he had wanted to put out for some time now. His friendship with Brown dates back to the mid-1970s when they both recorded for producer Joe Gibbs. "I met Dennis way back. We were rehearsing with Chinna Smith up at New Haven, and we just linked up from there," Nooks told the Observer. "I was always inspired by his talent and I used to sing like him. We developed a great friendship which lasted until he died. He was also the first artiste to produce me."

Read on

Roots reggae and resistance from Jamaica to Brixton

The rerelease of a range of roots reggae albums exposes the music’s hidden political history, writes Ken Olende

Once feared by the authorities and celebrated by rebels from Notting Hill to Zimbabwe, roots reggae has been sanitised. Bob Marley is presented as simply uplifting summer music. But a series 1970s reggae reissues is making it possible to see how innovative, influential and politically aware it was.

Jamaican music developed dynamically through the sixties. Brass-led ska shifted into the more vocal oriented rocksteady, which saw the introduction of overtly political lyrics. In turn this evolved into slowed down, electric bass driven reggae. Another major change was in the influence Rastafarianism.

Jamaica has an explosive history. Slave revolts had been followed by protests against colonialism. By the 1950s there was a ferment against imperialism. Jamaica gained independence in 1962, but found itself on the front line of the cold war — the island is 90 miles from Cuba.

Read on

THE TRINITY

Sean Paul Returns With 'The Trinity': First Single,

NEW YORK (Atlantic Records) - VP/Atlantic Records has revealed the first details of the eagerly anticipated new album from dancehall reggae superstar Sean Paul. Entitled "THE TRINITY," it is slated to be in stores on September 27th. The album will be heralded by the release of the single, "We Be Burnin'," which impacts at multiple radio formats on August 22nd. The track's companion video, directed by Jessy Terrero (50 Cent, Young Jeezy, Chingy), will premiere on BET's "Access Granted" on Wednesday, August 17th, followed by its online premiere on MTV.com on August 18th. On "THE TRINITY," Sean Paul delivers more of his groundbreaking, signature blend of reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop. Recorded entirely in Jamaica, the album finds Sean working with the hottest producers on the island's dancehall circuit, including Steven "Lenky" Marsden, Don Corleone, Renaissance Crew, Snowcone, and others. As for the title, Sean notes that this is his third album, which has been three years in the making, and which was "all done right here in the Third World."

Sean Paul : : : New Album

Billboard.com -- Sean Paul 'Burnin' With New Album
Dancehall star Sean Paul will release his new album, "The Trinity," Sept. 27 via VP/Atlantic. Although it has yet to be officially serviced to U.S. radio outlets, the single "We Be Burnin'" has already garnered scattered airplay this summer.

SIZZLA vs the Gays

FRENCH SIZZLA CONCERT CANCELLED OVER GAY CONCERNS

The GARRANCE REGGAE FESTIVAL in Paris has been cancelled after of a flood of complaints about singer SIZZLA's anti-gay lyrics. The festival, which was due to take place on Saturday (02JUL05), was called off because of "risk of public disorder", event organisers say. French gay rights groups complain Sizzla's lyrics incite violence towards homosexuals after OutRage, a British gay rights group, translated Jamaican patois lyrics from Sizzla's PUMP UP song as, "Burn the men who have sex with men." The singer, real name MIGUEL COLLINS, defends his lyrics with his religious beliefs. He argues, "They can't ask me to apologise. They've got to apologise to God because they break God's law."
29/06/2005 05:55

taken from: http://www.contactmusic.com/

Dancehall Documentary's first ever received press release

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

Septakahn, Vybez Cartel, Ce’cile, Yammi Bolo, Chino, T.O.K

Feature On Icy Cold Records II “Tsunami” CD

New York, NY– July 1, 2005 – O’Neil Gray PKA Septakhan, CEO of Icy Cold Records II and Janhoi Cole, Founder and CEO of Icy Cold Entertainment, announce today the Street Date Release of the long awaited “Tsunami” (Icy Cold Records II) CD Album, which will be distributed worldwide by K.E.S. Distribution from July 19, 2005. In the vein of classic Jamaican Dancehall with a Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani feel, the Tsunami CD is set to be a summer smash.

The ground breaking reggae mix CD features the single “My Bell” by the multi-talented Septakahn, son of reggae royalty’s Judy Mowatt and featuring Shema [Yeshemabeth], daughter of reggae superstar icon Freddie McGregor. The Tsunami CD also features up coming reggae star Hawkman, and dancehall star Vybez Cartel, together with Ce’cile, Chino [son of Freddie McGregor], T.O.K, Yammi Bolo, Major Damage, Danny English and others.

The Tsunami CD will receive full market coverage with video and radio promotions, P.O.P, In-Store promotions and worldwide tour, together with college tour, through a deal inked with K.E.S. Distribution’s independent music and video resource support team NMAP [National Marketing Advertising & Promotion, LLC]. The K.E.S. distribution network stretches to over 80,000 retail outlets across the USA, and key overseas markets. With a vast distribution network that consists of such major chains such as Tower, Wherehouse, Virgin, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, K-mart, Fye, and Barnes & Nobles, to name a few. K.E.S. also provides products to drug & food chains & (AAFES) Military outlets.

Fully versed in what it takes to create a hit tune; O’Neil Gray, was born into reggae royalty, being the oldest son of reggae icon Judy Mowatt, who is best known for her solo work “Black Woman,” “Working Wonders,” and “Love is Overdue” amongst others, as well as being a member of Bob Marley’s highly regarded backing group “I-Threes” together with Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths. Gray’s father Junior Gray was a giant in the industry, being the producer for such artist as Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, the Ska and Soca legend, as well as Dennis Brown, Cynthia Schloss, Boris Gardner and Arrow to name a few.

Icy Cold Entertainment founder, Janhoi Cole is also blessed with reggae’s royal blood lineage, being the younger brother of Gray; he is also the youngest son of Judy Mowatt, his father being Alan “Skills” Cole, who was Bob Marley’s business manger and personal friend. His astute business acumen dreamt up the Icy Cold concept, and he is currently investing in the artist Hawkman with the intention of releasing the album “Fulfillment” later this year on his Icy Cold Records I label.

The New York based music entertainment group which comprise three labels under the umbrella [Icy Cold Records I, II and III] have a series of releases ready to be unleashed on the market; Icy Cold Records II, will release the brother’s sister Yeshemabeth’s album “A New State of Mind” later this year, as well as new artist Alki Beulan and Judy Mowatt “Live” amongst others. Visit: http://icycoldentertainment.com for biographies and further information.

Media Contact:

ACM PR: A.C. McLean

TEL: 312 373 1778 (USA)

TEL: 0207 078 4335 (UK)

Electronic Mail: acm@acmpr.com

URL: http://www.acmpr.com

BUJU a buss the place again...

by Kevin Jackson for Eurweb

*International Reggae Star Buju Banton's Blazing "Magic City" Video Blows Up On World Wide Web

Gargamel Music, Inc. has announced that the breathtaking new video for “Magic City,” the lead single from Buju Banton’s highly anticipated album “Rasta Got Soul,” has been added into online rotation at AOLMUSIC.COM, MTV.COM, LAUNCH.COM and BLASTRO.COM, making the fervently sought-after clip available for immediate viewing by Buju’s fans in Africa, Asia, Europe and other parts of the Caribbean.

“I am extremely thankful to have such prestigious media outlets supporting me on my independent musical trod,” says Gargamel Music, Inc. CEO and artist, Buju Banton a.k.a. Gargamel. “It means so much to be able to deliver Jah works to my fans around the world.”

The “Magic City” 7” was released last month on Gargamel Music, Inc. (distributed by Fat Beats - www.fatbeats.com) and has received rave reviews from The Source and The Beat, which gave the single 5 out of 5 stars. The UK’s Touch magazine also gave the song 5 stars and called Buju’s Rasta Got Soul “the most exciting and enticing project in years.”

Meanwhile, the Banton has a steady slew of hits charting in Jamaica, Miami and New York, including “Haffi Get A Beating” featuring the legendary, late Peter Tosh and “Too Bloody” featuring singer Anthony Cruz. Both songs will be on the new album, due later on this year.

Catch Buju Banton performing live at the International Reggae Superstars Concert (internationalreggaesuperstars.com) in Toronto on June 26, the 8th Annual Reggae Carifest (reggaecarifest.com) in New York on July 10, Reggae on the River (reggaeontheriver.com) in Northern California on August 6 and Jamaican Gold (lareggaeclubs.com) in Los Angeles on August 7.

AKON @ SUMFEST

Akon Not Lonely On Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CVM Communications Group) - "Ghetto", "Locked Up" and now "Lonely" heralded the arrival of hip hip's newest "it" boy, Akon on the radio airwaves around the world. In Jamaica, his music has rocked the dancehall and moved the masses like few others before him.

Akon is therefore, a natural choice for Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest slated for July 17 - 23 in Montego Bay. With the support of leading sponsors, Red Stripe, b Mobile and Wata, the week long festival offers a variety of events and three venues in the resort city of Montego Bay.

READ THE REST AT: http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=15951

SIZZLA & ANTHONY B

July12 June 28

WELCOME TO JAMROCK

Junior Gong ties father's record Entertainment

By Kevin Jackson Observer writer Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Junior Gong's Welcome To Jamrock single is spending its 14th week at number one on the New York Reggae chart. What is interesting about his accomplishment is that Gong's father, the late reggae icon Bob Marley, spent 14 weeks at number one on the same chart in 1980 with Could You Be Loved.

Junior Gong

Welcome To Jamrock which samples Ini Kamoze's 1984 hit World A Reggae Music, moves up to number 48 on this week's Billboard R&B Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

On that chart, the senior Marley peaked at number 19 with Exodus, the year before Jr Gong was born, 1977.

READ IT AT THE JAMAICA OBSERVER

Dancehall INNA Suriname too

Popular dancehall artiste gunned down in Suriname

by Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent

Monday, June 13, 2005

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Suriname’s most popular dancehall singer/performer ‘Papa Touwtjie’ (Johan Touwslager) was shot dead last week in an altercation with his two brothers.

The tragedy took place in Geyersvlijt on the outskirts of the capital Paramaribo.

It is alleged that the two elder brothers got involved in a quarrel with a younger sibling, which escalated and resulted in the shooting. According to eyewitnesses, the elder brothers chased after the younger one, when one of them, a security officer, fell to the ground and in a brawl lost his service revolver to the younger brother, who fired a couple of rounds at his assailants.

Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital. On arrival at the hospital, Papa Touwtjie was pronounced dead. His brother, who sustained gunshot wounds to the leg, was treated and warded at the medical facility.

So far no arrests have been made. The suspect fled the scene with the gun still in his possession.

In 1994, the now deceased artiste rose to fame with a cover version of Jamaica’s Terror Fabulous’ hit song ‘Gangster’, after serving time for petty crimes. He subsequently became a dancehall/reggae icon in Suriname and influenced a lot of young artist in the dancehall/reggae scene.

Some three weeks ago he released his latest CD and cemented an exclusive deal with a local retailer, reportedly the best contract any Surinamese artiste had ever closed with a reseller.

‘Papa T’, as he called himself lately, was extremely popular among the youth and underprivileged people in the Surinamese society. In his songs he took a stand against poverty, other social problems, the hardship in jail and real life and the judicial system, which he characterized as unjust and unfair to poor people.

The late artiste was often the centre of controversy with his protest songs, strong language and lyrics against the political establishment.

After the news of his death broke, scores of friends and fans came out to his home for a vigil.

Papa Touwtjie’s dream was to perform at Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica.

JAMAICAN CULTURE IN THE REST OF THE CARIBBEAN

An extract from a Trinidad newspaper article on in fighting in Trinidad and small island complexes etc.

Trinis talking down Trinis

Keith Smith

Tuesday, June 28th 2005

Now, as a man with a Grenadian father and, as a result, having grown up with any number of Grenadian foster-fathers-successful men, to boot-I should tell you that I don't know how "Grenadian" became a term of derision but you'd know that I'd be posturing, you knowing as well as I that that is another seta Trinidadian stupidness engendered, I suppose, by some mistaken sense of superiority over the "small islands" as if we big and, as if we don't work ourselves up into a curry goat stew fuming over how Jamaicans feel they better than us, more than ever now that their "culture" is well and truly in place here, half the youth at least into dancehall and things Rastafarian and, since the police sure to be listening, we'd better not go on 'bout the "happy herb" that ganja, supposedly-only supposedly, mind you-is.

read the article in its entirety at: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=85835068

{In the words of the immortal Sizzla Kalonji... "Rasta taking ova, and we got nuttin to fear..."}

Some stale but decent and somewhat interesting news out of TRINIDAD

Kelly is 'Dancehall Queen' 2005 Wayne Bowman Monday, May 23rd 2005

Kelly-Ann Simon dances her way to the title of Dancehall Queen of Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday at MOBS2, Chaguaramas, at the local leg of the international competition. Simon earned more than $10,000 in cash and prizes as well as a place in the Interna Kelly-Ann Simon of Morvant is the 2005 Dancehall Queen of Trinidad and Tobago. She beat five other competitors on Saturday at MOBS2, Chaguaramas to win the tile and more than $10,000 in cash and prizes as well as a place in the International Dancehall Queen competition in Montego Bay, Jamaica, later this year. Simon took the championship after three rounds of dancing during which the starting six were whittled down to two-Simon and Sapphire Thomas who was a favourite for the title. Read the rest here: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=79206056

Bob Marley as Forbes Billionaire

Bob Marley, Lee Chin on Forbes billionaires list

By YOLANDE GYLES, Freelance Writer

WHAT DO MICHAEL Lee Chin and Bob Marley have in common? Well, aside from the obvious - both are prominent Jamaican men - they have also both made leading business magazine, Forbes lists.

Lee Chin is currently ranked at number 243 among the richest persons in the world, while Marley is ninth on the list of top earning dead celebrities.

The 2005 list of the world's 691 billionaires on which Lee Chin is named was published by the magazine this week. Lee Chin's list is topped by Bill Gates, founder of computing software conglomerate Microsoft.

Meanwhile reggae legend Marley's ranking comes from 2004; the 2005 list is yet to be released.

Lee Chin ­ owner of local finance conglomerate National Commercial Bank (NCB), Trinidad and Tobago based Total Finance bank and one of Canada's leading mutual fund companies' AIC ­ is said by the magazine to have a total net worth of US $2.5 billion.

On the 2004 list he was ranked at number 216 with US$2.4 billion. He first entered the Forbes' World's Richest List in 2001 ranked at number 490 with a net worth of US$1 billion. In 2002, he jumped to number 413, with a net worth of US$ 1.1 billion and leapt again the following year to number 303 with a net worth of US$1.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Marley, 23 years after his death earned some US$7 million through the continued marketing of products bearing his image, sale of his music and endorsements. The list with Marley was topped by rock and roll musician Elvis Presley.

In 2003, Marley's estate made him significantly more money with US$9 million but his rank remained the same at number nine. In 2002, the second time the list was published, Marley was at number eight with earnings of US$10 million, while in 2001 he was two places higher at sixth with the same US$10 million in earnings.

Taken from The Star

Skyjuice

'Big Belly Skyjuice' draws big crowds as he selects us again

---

WALTER'S WORLD by WALTER BROWN

---

IT has been more than a quarter of a century and Skyjuice shows no sign of slowing down.
After a sold-out performance at the Crawl Club and the Somerset Cricket Club last Friday and Saturday nights respectively, "Big Belly Skyjuice", as his fans know him, is on top of his game.
"I love Bermuda and this is my fourth time here. I'm always touring and the only time I'm home is for special events like my birthday or other big events in Jamaica," he exclaimed.
During his whistle-stop visit, the veteran selector 'juggled' alongside sons of the soil After Dark on Friday and Magnum the following night.

Magnum's co-manager Kuane Smith hailed the event a resounding success and added: "The people weren't disappointed and we managed to appeal to the large cross-section of attendees on both nights. From the younger partygoers to the more mature crowd, everyone was happy and the feedback was most positive."

Touring hasn't jaded Metro Media's veteran selector, who has performed in venues ranging from 250 to 25,000.

"When I first started (performing) I was making ten (Jamaican) dollars a night, but I loved reggae music and have been doing it for 25 years now," he added.

When asked how he managed to carve his niche in dancehall, Skyjuice wasn't at a loss for words.
"I used to be a good dancer when I first started out and as time went on I started to play when it used to be just one turntable.

read rest here: Royal Gazette

Portmore Awards come to ... Daylight end

Portmore Awards come to ... Daylight end
published: Monday | June 20, 2005

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

CHAM

WESTERN BUREAU:

TERROR FABULOUS returned in good, if not outstanding, form at the 2005 staging of the Portmore Awards.

The show held at the Caymanas Football Field in Portmore, St. Catherine, also saw awards being handed out to Macka Diamond, Professor Nuts and Gregory Isaacs. Billed headliners Sizzla, Anthony B and Beenie Man did not perform, but the 'unbilled' Baby Cham sparkled and two of an abbreviated 'Magnificent 7', Turbulence and Ghandi, were also in especially good form.

The show ended with a command from MC Nuffy to "pull up" at 5:20 a.m. yesterday morning, as an audience that had stuck through a long programme drifted away.

The event pulled out enough people to fill a little over a third of the football field, with some choosing to stand a bit back from the bulk of the crowd. And it pulled out pride from Nuffy who was also the promoter.

"Look pon me nice, decent show. Me feel nice yu know. A de firs' time me a put on a band show," he said. The band for the entire show was Live Wya.

In the relatively early going, Trapper John with his encouragement to work ("how it a go when you an' Mista Lazy a par"), Mikeylous ("it sticky ova farin an' it sticky dung a yard"), Benito with his searing description of "where I live" and Derrick Parker's Bus De Appeal were among those who hit the right note with the audience.

Read the rest at the Gleaner: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050620/ent/ent1.html

Excellent Article on reggae from Village Voice

Reggae's Return to Roots
Just in time for summer, the Jamaican crossover pendulum swings consciously back
by Baz Dreisinger
May 26th, 2005 4:03 PM

For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. As it is in physics, so it goes in Jamaica—where songs ever oscillate from the joys of Jah to the pleasures of pum-pum. Reggae's recent Billboard strides—i.e., dancehall ambassadors Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and Wayne Wonder—have privileged the latter. The task fell on their lockless heads: Make it known that contemporary reggae need not look or sound like your father's reggae; we can even steep in sexy, electronic vibrations more than acoustic, Rastaman ones.

But the pendulum has swung back. This summer's sound—old stereotypes about reggae as beach music, not fit for the less-than-irie winter months, make reggae crossover a warm-weather sport—is looking like a return to roots. It began in Jamaica last year: A Rastafarian-reggae renaissance led by a spate of young, conscious artists turned the dancehall into a tuneful house of worship, where the songs earning the most forwards were brimming with righteous indignation or sweet and nice as fresh cane.

Two such tunes have migrated to our airwaves; the artists behind them are front-runners for the poster child post that Sean Paul has momentarily abdicated. Damian "Junior Gong" Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock," off his much anticipated album due in August, suggests that the youngest Marley might be the best one yet. Over a haunting sample of Ini Kamoze's "World-a-Music," Marley unleashes stunningly incisive lyrics about the hardcore Jamaica that Sandals-loving tourists, "on di beach wid a few club sodas," never see. Never mind that this Marley grew up far from his father's tenement yard; his tune is a brilliant marriage of old-school music and new-school vocals, a roots ethos and a dancehall vibe—which is just what Junior Gong represents: not a simulation of his father's sound but a vibrant updating of it.

rest at: http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0522,dreisinger,64433,22.html

Buju fighting to have ganja convictions overturned

Buju fighting to have ganja convictions overturned

By BARBARA GAYLE, Staff Reporter

POPULAR ENTERTAINER MARK 'Buju Banton' Myrie is pursuing his legal battle in the Court of Appeal to have his convictions for possession of ganja and cultivating ganja overturned.

He was convicted in the Corporate Area Criminal Court on March 26. Resident Magistrate Kissock Laing fined Myrie $3,000 for possession of ganja and $6, 000 for cultivating ganja or 30 days imprisonment.

Attorney-at-law Christopher Dunkley, who represented Myrie at the trial had asked RM Laing not to record the convictions because they could affect Myrie's travel arrangements. He said then that Myrie had certain contracts to fulfill abroad.

Dunkley even cited an instance where another popular reggae entertainer, Jepther 'Luciano' McClymoth was fined for ganja but no conviction was recorded.

However, RM Laing said while he knew Myrie to make significant contributions to the reggae industry, until the decriminalisation of ganja, the court's hands were tied. He added that the court had to take into consideration the amount of drugs involved.

read rest at:The Star

Foxy Brown and SIZZLA KALONJI

"The last album, Broken Silence, I did the reggae and hip-hop," she recalled. "My parents are Trinidadian, and that's my culture. I wanted to incorporate dancehall, reggae and soca into hip-hop. The powers that be at Def Jam weren't having it. I said, 'Screw y'all, I'm doing it anyway.' I did ['Oh Yeah']. [For this album] Jay said, 'You're the only one that can do that, let's stick with that.' "

Fox's first single is called "Come Fly With Me" and features dancehall legend Sizzla.

"I wanted to go to the left," Brown said. "Everybody expected a radio-friendly record, or a pop record, or a gutter record. ['Come Fly With Me'], it's rock, dancehall, hip-hop — you can't classify this record. Sizzla is one of my best friends, and he's the hottest artist in Jamaica right now. My brother did the beat. When I first heard the beat, I didn't understand it because there were so many things going on. And Sizzla just started 'Come flyyy with me.' I was like, 'That's it. Go in the studio, go do it.' I came with 'Nana got a new drop top. Come ride with me.' "

Black Roses is due August 23.

read the full story here: http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1503703/20050607/foxy_brown.jhtml?headlines=true

I wonder if the Black Roses song is a cover of Barrington Levy's Black Roses???

Reggae Duality and Dichotomy

Lloyd Parks in demand to do 'specials' for sounds in Europe His 1970-2004 collection officially on the market

Basil Walters, Observer staff reporter Friday, June 17, 2005

PArks. normally an artiste would hang around studios looking for a job to do specials. they come to me

An interesting paradox in the music business is that on the one hand, many name-brand acts in Jamaica are not prominent in Europe, long regarded as reggae's biggest market. On the other hand, there are scores of home-grown reggae artistes about whom very little is heard here at home, but who in Europe are regarded as icons.

How does one explain that in Jamaica, recording "specials" (exclusive records for sound clashes), are dominated by the hardcore dancehall acts, while a Lloyd Parks of old-school vintage is one of the most sought after Jamaican artistes when it comes to the recording of "specials" in Europe?

"What's been happening to me now, I find that a lot of sound systems from France, Germany and all over the place have been coming to me to do specials," Parks told Splash.

"What probably triggered it off is that I did a special for a sound named Sound Quake, the top sound in Germany and they used it to win a sound clash," said the veteran bandleader, singer, and songwriter.

Read rest at: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/
20050616T210000-0500_82509_OBS_LLOYD_PARKS_IN_DEMAND_TO_DO__
SPECIALS__FOR_SOUNDS_IN_EUROPE_.asp

MTV ready to take on Caribbean Music

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

MTV to launch Caribbean music network
CARIBBEAN MUSIC MAY be about to get another big break on the international scene, as Tempo, a new cable television network dedicated to Caribbean music and culture, will be launched by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc.
taken from THE STAR(Jamaica Local Tabloid)
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Here ladies and gentlemen is another example of Caribbean insecurity, the Caribbean rejoices while another multinational whores us out. We need North American initiatives for us to believe or pursuits are warranted and relevant. I was quite fine with REtv, HypeTV, Music+, but noooooo we had to add this, I long for the day when a Caribbean initiative makes it on its own, why couldn't we "boots up"(boost) our own local stations instead of now possibly casting them into oblivion. My prayers to all local Tv I hope they can stave off the foreigners...

Dancehall underpressure

iTunes exec wants nothing to do with J'can musicians

Written by jamaica-gleaner.com

June 08, 2005

Britain's popular black newspaper, The Voice, recently broke news about a manager at Apple's iTunes online music retail shop who admitted that he wants nothing to do with Jamaican musicians. His response to an email from dancehall deejay Buju Banton's public relations team was blunt and to the point as he stated "Please remove me from any list having to do with this artist or any Jamaican artist actually." Many in Jamaica's music industry are naturally angered by this statement, as it comes from an individual who should be unbiased and objective given the position he holds. Email forwards about this incident are making their way all over the Web, so there may be more to come yet. Check The Voice online at http://www.voice-online.net/. http://www.voice-online.net/content.php?show=6788&type=1 http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050608/business/business6.html