Blakk Rasta, Asem perform at Face of Ghana Holland 2009 grand finale

Ghana’s reggae music sensation Blakk Rasta has flown out of the country to Amsterdam to perform at the 2009 Face of Ghana Holland pageant grand finale.

Blakk Rasta’s show follows a recent performance he did at Holland’s biggest reggae festival. Although the show had for long, been the preserve of Western artistes, Blakk Rasta was signed to test for what the African reggae fraternity had to offer.

Kingston: Trading Beach Chairs for Bar Stools

It was a steamy Saturday night in Kingston, Jamaica, and the Sky Bar was jammed with its usual weekend crowd: professionals in their 20s and 30s, by all appearances fit for the next flight to South Beach. Ladies in strappy stilettos and sundresses mixed with men in jeans and crisp blazers while the R & B-heavy soundtrack veered from Stevie Wonder to Ne-Yo and Kanye West.

Remakes, rests and a ‘Stern’ performance

After he recorded Every Nigger is a Star, Boris Gardiner used to perform the song regularly with his band, The Boris Gardiner Happening. He tells The Sunday Gleaner that people loved it and would dance to it.

These days, though, Gardiner no longer performs the song, the last occasion being at a concert in the now defunct Heineken Startime series.

Studio One court case a heavy load – Bob Andy

The law suit between singer/songwriter Keith ‘Bob Andy’ Anderson and the Clement Coxsone Dodd estate continues this month with the singer stating that it is “weighing him down”.

The court will determine whether royalties are due from Bob Andy’s Songbook, the classic Jamaican album which includes the blockbuster hit, I’ve Got to go Back Home.

1980 reggae movie ‘Rockers’ still has cult following

Reggae and a 30-year-old movie about its Jamaican culture has become popular with a new generation.

Inner Circle includes founding members Ian and Roger Lewis, who both appeared in the 1978 film “Rockers.”

“We didn’t know the reggae sounds was so popular there now, but the movie has become like an underground cult movie in Asia,” Ian Lewis told Lake Tahoe Action after arriving in the United States from the Far East last week. “Remember that ‘Rocky Horror (Picture) Show?’ It became like a cult. ‘Rockers’ movie is like that now in Vietnam and Singapore because younger kids, they like that culture.”

Kartel says…’GAZA BUTTONS NOT OURS’

Popular entertainer Vybz Kartel yesterday distanced himself and members of the Portmore Empire, from vendors who police clamped down on recently for selling Gaza buttons at school gates.

The deejay, in a release, blasted the barefaced vendors involve in the act.

“Vybz Kartel does not sanction or condone the selling of Gaza buttons with violent images and statements, especially to children and teenagers,” the deejay, born Adidja Palmer stated.

Marley heirs wage global war on trademark pirates

Coming to a store near you: Bob Marley video games, shoes … snowboards?

Heirs of the Jamaican reggae legend are plunging into the global trademark wars, seeking to enforce their exclusive rights to an image that has grown steadily in scope and appeal since the Jamaican superstar died of brain cancer in 1981 at age 36.

The pull of dancehall and reggae music

The London Film Festival, one of the most important film festivals in the world, was held last week. One of the highlights was a film called Made in Jamaica, which showcases the best of reggae and dancehall music. It also attempts to explain how reggae became a worldwide phenomenon.

The film begins with the death of dancehall artiste Gerald “Bogle” Levy. We see footage of him performing. We then hear of his death from a Jamaican newscast. The film shows government ministers, community leaders and musicians attending his funeral. And a eulogist intones, “We are a great people and we will be great again. Our music is what puts Jamaica on the map. It will not come from killing each other.”

Controversial reggae singer’s Ybor appearance irks gay community

Of all the places embattled Jamaican reggae artist Buju Banton could have landed, Mark Bias is surprised he will be playing Friday at the Cuban Club.

The venue, after all, is in Ybor City, where the GaYBOR District Coalition has grown into a powerful political and economic force that includes more than 100 businesses within the entertainment district.

Keeping the fire burning

When Sean Kingston takes the stage at Healy Auditorium at Natick High School on Sunday, the feeling will be familiar.

“I was in a rapping and singing contest at my school in Florida, and I came in first place,’’ he says with a hint of pride evident in his voice.