Calgary Reggae Festival on its seventh staging Harsh winters and ice hockey come readily to mind when the Canadian city of Calgary comes up, but promoters of the Calgary Reggae Festival (CRF) are pushing to make their annual show a marquee event. The seventh staging of the CRF is scheduled for August 19-21 at the [...]
No sabotage at Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall finals Executive producer of Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall, Mark Kenny, says he is very disappointed with the way the issue surrounding an incident with runner-up Reggae Queen has evolved, but maintains that the competition will continue to unearth authentic Jamaican talent and try to [...]
Reggae Sumfest moves ahead despite challenges The promoters of Reggae Sumfest, Summerfest Promotions, has indicated that despite the challenges facing the event, the annual festival will take place from July 18-24 at Catherine Hall, St James. The organisers are also appealing to stakeholders to work with them in finding creative solutions to the challenges to [...]
Rado, producer of Mavado’s Gal Over Gun, shot Everton Minott, the producer of the popular Mavado song, Gal Over Gun, has become the third person in the entertainment industry to be shot in the same week. Minott, who is better known as Rado, was reportedly shot in Spanish Town last night and has been admitted [...]
Damian Marley and Nas Explore Their Roots on Distant Relatives The history of Africa is long and complex; professors, N.G.O. workers, and United Nations employees devote their lives’ work on just one region. But Nas, poet laureate of the Queensbridge Projects, and Damian Jr. Gong Marley, Bob Marley’s youngest son, didn’t let the immensity of [...]
Jah Cure goes techno with Never Say Never Producer, Rick Warren, has remixed Jah Cure’s recent hit, Never Say Never, with a Techno flavour. The reggae version of the song was released in February of this year on the Stonehenge Riddim and was the first single of that compilation. The Stonehenge rhythm also features artistes [...]
Reggae gig opens up Cote d’Ivoire’s ‘Rasta Village’ With its wooden shacks on a beach shaded by palm trees, Cote d’Ivoire’s “Rasta Village” could be anywhere in West Africa — if it wasn’t for all the dreadlocks, Ethiopian flags and murals of the Lion of Judah. Last weekend, the villagers in Cote d’Ivoire’s Rastafarian colony, [...]
Jamaica: Commonwealth of Hate In November 2004, the international watchdog group Human Rights Watch issued a devastating report that cited Jamaica as the most virulently anti-gay bigoted nation in the Western Hemisphere. The report, aptly and grimly titled “Hated to Death,” exposed the pervasive homophobia that both drives and permeates the former British crown colony [...]
Dancehall Music’s Catharsis Clyde McKenzie wrote an excellent piece in last week’s Sunday Observer, and it goes without saying, I endorse his main prescriptions for correcting the dire predicament in which the Jamaican music industry finds itself presently. As it regards the issue of self-regulation, I wish to go a step further than my colleague [...]
Jimmy Cliff: reggae rebel He is still celebrated for his role as headstrong country boy Ivan Martin in the iconic Jamaican film The Harder They Come. And as it turns out, Jimmy Cliff is just as determined as the character he played over 30 years ago. The reggae veteran, who shot to international stardom with [...]