Beenie ‘runs’ Trelawny Self-styled King of the Dancehall Beenie Man delivered a majestic performance in front of a jam-packed audience at the Hague Agricultural Show Ground, Trelawny, at the sixth annual staging of the reggae music festival dubbed the Trelawny Family Fun Day hosted by top flight chanter Anthony B New Year’s night.

Bhutooism: Our new ideology The new Jamaica that we were told about before and after Independence is dying. It is being gormandised by the shoots of ‘bhutooism’ that seek to destroy all that our ancestors toiled and sacrificed for. The new Jamaica was going to be an example to the world of how all classes [...]

Payola on the increase, say music industry sources No pay,no airplay It’s hard to prove and those who get involved are extremely tight-lipped, but music industry sources say payola, an old unethical pay-to-play or publish scheme involving the media, is on the rise. So pervasive is payola that many producers, artistes, and artistes’ managers believe [...]

First World Music at King’s House With acts like Third World, given their longevity (32 years) and the attendant depth of their catalogue, everybody more or less has “their” song; the one tune from the repertoire that they just have to hear.

Police chief takes rap to rock slum crime A police chief who led a commando-style anti-crime team that has left a trail of bodies is hitting the airwaves with a rap song that pledges to restore law and order in Jamaica. “People of Jamaica, listen to this: The law is here to serve and protect, [...]

King Yellowman From rags to records He was deserted by his parents, scorned at stage shows, chased away by pro-ducers, banned from the airwaves and developed skin cancer. A doctor even told him he would live only three years more. That was in 1983.

‘Black Kissinger’ producers seek J’can investment The action film Black Kissinger has already managed to capture the interest of Hollywood investors but the film’s producer, Carlton Grant of Zed Jamaica Limited, is hopeful that the project’s cost will be split evenly between local and international interests.

Reggae: Globalisation in reverse Noted Jamaican musicologist, Dermot Husssey has observed reggae music’s global penetration as one of Jamaica’s greatest victories. Describing the music’s global reach as “globalisation in reverse”, he contends that this is a feat that only superpowers like Britain and America have matched. “The penetration of reggae globally, is one of Jamaica’s [...]

Jamaica’s most powerful export I spent last week in St. Lucia. This week I am in Dominica. The first thing that always strikes me when I travel east is how much Jamaican culture has penetrated these islands: particularly our music – and Rastafarianism. Reggae music blasts from every bus and maxi-taxi, and there seem to [...]

Patriotism strong at ‘Welcome To Jamrock’ When ‘The Gargamel’ Buju Banton gutturally crooned Our Father on the rhythm to Murderer at Cinema 2, New Kingston, on Saturday night, he was accompanied by his back-up singers plus thousands of ‘Gargalites’. Stone Love, with Geefus and Iceberg at the controls, delivered songs as diverse as Baby Cham’s [...]