Orlando Octave taking it higher
In 2008, he gave women of a darker hue a reason to smile. Darkie, an infectious reggae tune, sang the praises of women blessed with richer skin tones. It was a major hit and catapulted Orlando Octave, aka D Original Rudeboy, into the local spotlight. In 2009, he followed up with the R&B single Disconnected and the soca track Bruck Out An Roll, both of which blazed the airwaves, receiving commendable reviews.
KARMA: Taking chutney soca high
Affectionately called the prince of chutney, lead male vocalist of crossover band Karma, Ravi B is making waves for Carnival 2010 with his infectious song Drinka. Following hot on the heels of last year’s popular chutney Dularie Nanny which earned him second place in the National Chutney Soca Monarch, and his collaborative input in Jep Sting Naina, Ravi B, 29, is having another successful year, showing that he is getting better with age. Ravi B is taking part again in this year’s chutney soca competition and has his eyes set on taking the crown.
“One more dictionary! Unu see how me haffi buy one more dictionary fi me son? I don’t know why him caan stop lose tings!” This is the greeting from Audrey Reid, dictionary in hand, as she hurriedly alights her SUV, in an attempt to make up for lost time. The star of stage and screen is not typically late for appointments but this morning a meeting with her son’s teacher has delayed her arrival. Those who know her would not be surprised. Reid is a very committed mother of three, a fact which is underscored by her decision to join the cast of Passa Passa Daily, the latest comedic offering from Stages Productions. “I had other offers on the table but that would mean extended time away from my children. Passa Passa Daily presented an opportunity to remain at the top of my game while taking care of my family, so it was a win-win situation,” offers Reid.
Jah Cure is not the father of ten-month-old child
Singer Jah Cure is now requesting privacy following DNA test results that revealed that he is not the father of a child as was previously claimed.
The singer yesterday released a statement after getting the results of the paternity test on Tuesday.
There has been ongoing controversy on the Internet surrounding the paternity of the child in question. Rumours have been circulating that Jah Cure was not the father early into the babymother’s pregnancy and persisted up until recently.
Giant Panda leads the way of the new reggae
When Bob Marley wrote “Roots Rock Reggae” and “Punky Reggae Party,” he couldn’t have fully foreseen the cross-pollination that would so utterly transform the music he had helped to pioneer and the broader pop culture that would embrace it.
At the end of the 1970s, Marley was watching as the “punks” embraced reggae and its offshoot, dub, employing it as a basis for their own brand of working class art-rock, and crystallizing it with such timeless platters as the Clash’s “Sandinista!“ and the nascent efforts of Public Image Ltd. Marley offered his bemused approval. After all, anything was better than Eric Clapton’s white-bread take on “I Shot the Sheriff,” wasn’t it?
Before he signed with a major American record company and became the ‘Grammy Kid’, Shabba Ranks was king of the Jamaican dancehall circuit and he earned that title by racking up a number of hit songs in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Many of those songs (44 to be exact) are featured on Shabba Ranks: Reggae Legends, a four-CD box set which was released last Monday by Greensleeves Records. Most of the hits on it were produced by Bobby ‘Bobby Digital’
Ashley Martin speaks about Byron Lee, going solo and Jazz Fest
“I felt like my belly was ripping out,” was the passionate, teary-eyed recollection of Ashley Martin, female lead singer of Byron Lee & the Dragonaires as she revisited that Saturday in November 2008 when the Dragon was laid to rest.
“Nobody could understand why I was crying so much… but the Dragon was the closest thing to a father that I had ever known. Even when they told me he had died, I immediately went to the hospital to see for myself, just to get a last look at him.
‘Haffi mad it up’ says Sean Kingston of Coke Zero Concert
If recording artiste Sean Kingston has his way, this Saturday’s Coke Zero concert in Kingston will be “off the chain”. Speaking with Splash from his base in Florida, the singer — best known for his chart-topping hit, Beautiful Girls — says he will definitely be putting his all into the performance.
“Mi haffi mad it up!,” Sean states emphatically, easily interchanging his America accent with the Jamaican, a feature of the nearly 10-minute telephone conversation.
She might be based in Boston, Unites States (US), but Rochelle ‘CatEyes’ Farquharson is looking to take the Jamaican music scene by storm. The 23-year-old has been around music from the age of four when she began tagging along with her dad and mom, Edgiton and Michelle Farquharson, to Anchor Studios, owned by Gussie Clarke.
“I’ve been in the studio all my life. My dad has worked in the industry and he’s worked with Beenie Man, KC and Joe Joe of Jodeci and many others. But it was at age 14 that I started writing my own music with the help of my dad, and I told him that music is what I really wanted to do,” said CatEyes (who kept the nickname she was given in school).
Bringing a better vibe – Kingston has big plans for Jamaica concert
International hitmaker Sean Kingston, at only 19 years old, is a busy man. Months after the release of his sophomore album Tomorrow, the youngster is already moving on to his next, launching his own label and has his hands in a number of other ventures.
Rising to stardom in 1997 with his hit song Beautiful Girls, the Jamaican-American singer, like one of his latest hits, Fire Burning, is setting a scorching pace in the music business.