“I represent Jamaica. I love that. From long time I’ve been doing (it) since I’ve been swimming” – Sean Paul.
An ambassador of dancehall music, internationally acclaimed artiste Sean Paul has earned his award as the Gleaner’s Entertainer of the Year.
Passport changes worry Caribbean
`Life Needs the Caribbean. You Need a Passport.” That advertising slogan, posted at airports throughout the Caribbean, has this tourism-dependent area bracing for a hurricane-force blow.
For decades, U.S. citizens have escaped winter’s ravages for the white-sand beaches on a whim. When re-entering the United States, they have needed to show only a driver’s license or birth certificate. But post-Sept. 11 security concerns led Congress to pass a law requiring travelers entering the United States by air to carry passports. That provision takes effect Jan. 23.
Gritty hit reflects singer’s rough childhood
The lyrics to Ghetto Story, a haunting tale of growing up poor in the vividly violent streets of a Jamaican ghetto, were written from a surprising place: the grassy knoll of a lake deep in the suburbs of Southwest Miami-Dade, where ducks waddle by and the water laps softly against the grass.
Tarrus Riley sings in ‘Parables’
These days, Tarrus Riley is a busy man. With his 15-track album Parables, produced by Dean Fraser, released by VP Records for all of three weeks, he will be performing on the highly anticipated concert with Air Supply next weekend.
Reggae historian and Peter Tosh’s former manager, Copeland Forbes, has joined in efforts to prevent the auction of Tosh’s one-of-a-kind M-16 Stratocaster guitar, slated to be up for grabs by the highest bidder on eBay.
It was I who bought that guitar from a fan who custom-made it specially for Peter and brought it to the Franklyn Plaza Suite Hotel in Los Angeles, where Peter and his group, Word Sound and Power, were staying on our stop in Los Angeles when Tosh played the famous Greek Theatre during the Mama Africa World Tour of 1983.
Chico teams up with Lord Kossity for Booty Call
Dancehall artiste Chico has again teamed up with French dancehall rap artiste Lord Kossity. They collaborate on the track Booty Call, which has been earmarked as the first official release off Kossity’s sophomore album Danger Zone for Universal Music (France).
Bob Marley goes upmarket with clothing line
At Push Emporium, a hip boutique in downtown Los Angeles, a display is devoted to denim jeans ($220), military-style jackets ($310), T-shirts ($50) and other apparel from Tuff Gong Clothing. The new, pricey fashion line was inspired by an unlikely, populist source: reggae superstar Bob Marley.
Despite the Jamaican-born icon’s enduring popularity with everyone from political revolutionaries to college frat boys, Push owner Sally Daliege says it isn’t easy to sell consumers upscale clothing linked to the musician. “I know what they’re thinking,” says Ms. Daliege, whose store is currently stocked with $10,000 in Tuff Gong merchandise. “They’re thinking I can get this on Hollywood Boulevard for $10.’ “
Impending auction of Tosh’s M-16 guitar sparks controversy
The recent announcement of the impending auction of an M-16 Stratocaster guitar that belonged to late reggae icon Peter Tosh, has sparked controversy among his children, who say they were not informed of the intended sale of the instrument.
Jawara McIntosh, 26, the youngest son of the deceased artiste, told The Gleaner yesterday that the guitar belongs to the Tosh estate and it is his intention to recover items (including the guitar) that were previously thought lost.
Peter Tosh, No More Auction Block For Me
I wonder how many readers picked up on the nuanced punch line that opened Tanya Batson-Savage’s recent article Icon for sale. Ms Batson-Savage wrote: “A piece of reggae history will step on the cyberspace ‘auction block’ when Peter Tosh’s Stratocaster M-16 guitar is auctioned by the Flashpoint Film Festival.”
There is keen insight and pathos in the writer’s use of the phrase ‘auction block’, for it not only riffs on the slave auction block, but also announces the fact that like blacks of a not-too-distant past, another piece of our material national culture will most likely be sold to the highest bidder. Not that the bid will or won’t be high. What is more important is that such an artifact is beyond monetary value. For more than reasons that can be argued here, the auctioning of Tosh’s M-16 guitar is disappointing news.
Up until late 1984 when a young man named Noel Davy got very excited about a pre-programmed song he had found on a small Casio keyboard, it was actually musicians and not a glorified programmer who created the music for singers and deejays in Jamaican studios.