The sprinter arched his arms over his head in the distinctive celebration made famous by double gold medal winning Mo Farah, after crossing the finish line. The Jamaican team of Bolt, Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater finished in a time of 36.84. Bolt received the baton with Jamaica already in the lead and [...]
Hero? Super Hero? How about just plain ol’ faster-than-anybody-ever Usain Bolt? Bolt, 25, did it again Thursday night, pulling away to another gold medal in the 200 meters with a 2012 world-best time of 19.32 seconds. via Usain Bolt does it again: gold in 200.
Damian “Junior Gong” Marley celebrates 50 years of Jamaican independence at the 20th annual Reggae Sum Fest in Montego Bay, Jamaica alongside Trey Songz, R. Kelly, Beenie Man, Shabba Ranks, Lady Saw, Tesanna Chin and many more. Damian “Junior Gong” Marley was in rare form on his 34th birthday while performing at the 20th annual [...]
Kerry Young was thrilled when she received an invitation to read at the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica late last month. After more than four decades living in Britain, she still calls Jamaica home. Pao, her first novel, inspired by her father, had been nominated for the 2012 Commonwealth Writers Prize. It revelled in her [...]
In commemoration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, the Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment section recognises 50 persons who made significant, yet unheralded, contributions to the country’s culture. This week we feature singer Rico Rodriquez. ‘HORNSMEN ’ dominated the early years of Jamaican music. Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Headley Bennett and Bobby Ellis [...]
Clarks shoes, ‘diamond’ socks and Kangol hats were dancehall vogue during the early 1980s when photographer Beth Lesser made frequent trips to Jamaica to cover the country’s post-Marley music scene. Lesser, who has written voraciously about dancehall’s formative years, continues that trend with Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall, her fourth book which will [...]
Sadiki’s single, produced by Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor, is a heartfelt cultural ballad with a twist – it describes the family bond between an ailing mother and her son, but at the same time, the song offers a thoughtful commentary on the current state of Jamaican culture. The title, “Mama,” refers in part to the [...]
Veteran dancehall artiste Snagga Puss, aka Di Herbal Man, is hoping to make a comeback to the local dancehall scene. According to the artiste, who also operates a herbal medicine production business, he feels he has become more conscious and better at his musical craft than ever before. Snagga Puss revealed that contrary to what [...]
For the first time in the history of the Reggae Film Festival, entries from the RBC Make a Film in 24 Hours Competition will be seen on local TV screens immediately after they are received at the close of the competition. Flow has partnered with the Reggae Film Festival and will broadcast the short film [...]
The 2012 staging of Western Consciousness is more than a month away but promoter Worrell King is already grinning from ear to ear as he has landed one of reggae’s premier acts, the dazzling crooner Beres Hammond. “Yeah, man … me have Beres … Beres sign,” an elated King told The Gleaner earlier this week. [...]