VIDEO: Kartel on his publicity stunts Controversial deejay Vybz Kartel has admitted that many of his actions are engineered to draw attention to himself and by extension his musical career. Speaking in reference to the bleaching of his skin, Kartel noted that “people are like sheep and I am the shepherd, they are easy to [...]
Kamla, Gypsy star in Chutney Soca From a Minister of Govern-ment performing extempo to a soca artiste serenading the Prime Minister with a classic reggae hit, the 2011 edition of the NLCB Chutney Soca Monarch final featured scintillating performances and energetic dance routines that captivated the massive audience at Skinner Park, San Fernando on Saturday [...]
Taking it lying down Like Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston rose from nowhere to superstardom seemingly overnight. Though he may not be in the Chris Brown or Ne-yo tax bracket, the Jamaican native has done pretty well for himself. Judging by his videos, one would assume that the baby-faced singer/rapper is a happy-go-lucky chap with a [...]
Reggae: A German perspective While it is important for us as a people to write our own history and tell of our experiences from our perspectives, we often make unflattering comments of outsiders who promote and highlight our music, unnecessarily and unfairly. The lack of acknowledgement of foreigners’ contribution to the development of our musical [...]
Makeda Dread, reggae’s ambassador to San Diego Makeda Dread ?won’t be performing at Monday’s Tribute to the Reggae Legends ?music marathon (formerly the Bob Marley Day Festival) ?at Valley View Casino Center ?(formerly the San Diego Sports Arena). ?But the festival — which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary with a 16-act lineup headlined by [...]
Jurors in reggae star’s drug case to resume deliberations Tuesday Federal jurors deliberated for about seven hours Friday without reaching a verdict in the drug conspiracy trial of Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton and will return Tuesday to continue their work. Banton, 37, faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of four drug [...]
Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton convicted in federal drug conspiracy case Reggae star Buju Banton won a Grammy a week ago for an album whose prophetic anthem is a song in which Banton proclaims he is wrongly convicted though God knows he is innocent. But on Tuesday a jury appeared to follow the advice of [...]
Buju Banton guilty on three counts Jamaica’s reggae superstar Buju Banton, real name Mark Myrie, has been found guilty of three cocaine related charges. A 12 member jury a short while ago delivered the verdict in the Sam M Gibbons building in Tampa which houses the United States Middle District Court, Florida Division. Buju was [...]
Beth Lesser’s unique book, Dancehall, covers the scantily-documented lives, fashion choices and hang outs of Jamaican Dancehall stars in the 1980s. The book is unique, in that it has the largesse to follow the careers of obscure yet worthy artists, who in some cases made little imprint outside Jamaica, and in others examples [as is [...]
About four years ago, the Jamaican label Greensleeves released a double-disc greatest-hits set called From Dubplate to Download: The Best of Greensleeves Records. The label’s been releasing music for decades now, and listening to the set felt like taking a crash course in 30 years of Jamaican anthems, from the the Wailing Souls’ slow, organic [...]