Well-renowned Jamaican television personality, Pepita Little aka Chica Pepita has been relieved of her duties as host of the popular Television Jamaica TVJ program, Intense.The curvaceous personality, who’s hosted the TVJ entertainment show over the last three years, was axed from Intense on Monday following an altercation with a fellow co-worker last week; leading to her departure.

Pepita made the surprising announcement in a press release issued via her official Facebook page on Monday night.”Last week at TVJ, I made an unfortunate decision and allowed my emotions to overpower my better judgement and reacted to a situation and got into an altercation with a fellow co-worker instead of walking away. It was an unfortunate choice that has caused me to lose a job that meant so much to me, but I have to take responsibility and learn from this and move forward,” Pepita explained.

via Pepita axed from Intense 

Twenty-nine-year-old Kurleen Nowickas has come a long way from St. Lucia, the tiny Eastern Caribbean island where she grew up. One of six siblings, she didn’t have a bed until she was 14. Higher education was a dream so remote that she didn’t consider it until high school.

Yet now she has a music degree from Western Oregon University, a modest West Salem apartment, a loving husband, and a rambunctious 6-year-old son. She has studied opera in Austria and sung in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

via Sunday Profile: Kurleen Nowickas.

Contrary to what some may think that our artistes are just for the hype and all for themselves, over the last two decades or so, an increasing number of reggae artistes have been giving back to the society by reaching out the needy and less fortunate.

Perhaps the most high-profiled is Orville Richard Burrell, aka Shaggy. This Grammy Award-winning reggae artiste is once again staging his Shaggy and Friends charity concert which unfolds on the grounds of Jamaica House on Friday, December 30, to raise funds for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.

via Artistes give back

Bedouin Soundclash is neither a stranger to Vancouver nor to cause.

In the past year, the trio from Kingston has been in the city for both the Winter Olympics and a benefit for Insite.

Thursday, the band will be back for RE*Generation, an organization to assist at-risk and homeless youth, for a concert presented by Virgin Mobile. At a time when many bands are covering their own behind, being cautious and calculating their career moves, Bedouin Soundclash is willing to appear reckless by actually taking a stand on social issues.

via Reggae for a cause.

International Reggae star Mr. Vegas is urging fellow musicians and music fans to sign the Save Foundation Reggae petition – an appeal to radio disc jockeys to include the music of classic or ‘foundation’ Reggae pioneers like Dennis Brown, Bob Marley, Culture, and Alton Ellis into their Island Hop-driven playlists. The online petition also makes an appeal to Jamaica’s current crop of producers, who have flooded radio with Hip Hop inspired beats instead of the island’s signature bass-heavy rhythms.

“Reggae music is like the heartbeat of Jamaican people and culture, and now it is barely played on popular radio stations anymore,” says Clifford ‘Mr. Vegas’ Smith. “Young people today have no idea who Cynthia Schloss or Hortense Ellis or Delroy Wilson are. These are people, who pioneered Reggae, who created a space for people like Sean Paul, and even Sean Kingston and Iyaz to be pop stars.

via Mr. Vegas asks Reggae fans to save genre’s foundation with new petition.

One of the definitive vocal groups of the 1960s, the band were at the forefront of the transition from ska to the slower, melodic rocksteady style.

Recorded for the legendary Studio One label, their best-known songs included Fattie Fattie and I’ve Got A Feeling.

Lead singer Leroy Sibbles said that Llewellyn had died of unknown causes at Kingston Public Hospital in Jamaica.

via ]Heptones star Barry Llewellyn dies.

International artistes of all genres have landed in Jamaica with the sole purpose of using Bob Marley-built Tuff Gong International Recording Studio on Marcus Garvey Drive in St Andrew.

So far this year, the list of artistes includes Flamingo from New Caledonia (South Pacific); Polish band Star Muffin Guard; Senegalese Meta Dia; American rock group End Of A Year; Haitian Louinel Jean; Stone Rock out of Sweden, Tom Elmhirst from London’s Hokeito Productions; China Harbour Engineeering Reggae Land Production from Spain and the BBC’s film crew that did a documentry on the historic recording site.

via Tuff Gong going strong.

One of New Zealand’s leading reggae bands will soon grace our city as they tour their brand new LP.

Eight-piece Maori ensemble Katchafire began as a Bob Marley tribute band in the late 90s until they began writing and recording their own material.

Vocalist Logan Bell said the band was looking forward to touring the west coast when he spoke to entertainment earlier this week.

via New Zealand’s best reggae headed for Bunbury.

Internationally acclaimed Dancehall/Reggae superstar, Busy Signal plans to start off the New Year with a bang as he aims to revitalize a perceivably dying genre.The artiste, whose real name is Reanno Gordon will unveil his all-Reggae album in February 2012, according to his manager, Shane Brown. Busy Signal’s been somewhat absent from the Dancehall scene in recent months a result of work done on the new album as well as a rigorous overseas touring schedule. One of his more recent singles was a remix of Kenny Roger’s classic song, The Gambler, which appeared on the VP Records produced, Reggae Gone Country compilation.

via Busy Signal to drop Reggae album in February

Prominent Dancehall/Reggae singjay, G Whizz, has vehemently denied rumors that his British visa was recently taken away.

The Life singer was reportedly denied a British visa ahead of an upcoming European tour. However, G Whizz insisted that these recent reports are all but lies.

G Whizz explained to the Jamaica STAR that the reason he wasn’t able to go to Europe was because of hesitancy on the part of the tour organizer.

via G Whizz denies having visa revoked