Farmer Goes Brave: From Trinidad To Jamaica And Beyond

Farmer’s first release for Trinidad Carnival 2009, “Belly Dancer,” is rolling off the tongues of many fete-goers during his recent performances in Trinidad. “Belly Dancer” is currently the only soca song on the music charts in Jamaica, reaching the Riddim Jamaica Top 10 last week.

His video for “Belly Dancer,” directed by TNT’s most in-demand creative consultant Lee Aleong, premiered on Jamaica’s acclaimed entertainment show, Entertainment Report or ER on Television Jamaica (TVJ), last week Friday.

What a Revelation!

A year ago, Delroy Roberts was struggling to get his Inspire Records off the ground by shopping the fledgling company’s debut album to reluctant distributors. Now, that album, Revelation, by singer Little Hero, is sitting pretty atop Billboard Magazine’s Reggae Chart.

Produced by Roberts, Revelation entered the chart at number one in its first week, removing UB40′s Greatest Hits. The Top 10 also includes touted albums by Heavy D and Stephen Marley.

Going back to his roots: Reggae Reggae Sauce star Levi Roots

The hunt for the Eastern Counties’ most enterprising family is on with Barclays Local Business and Levi Roots.

Dragon’s Den winner and Reggae Reggae Sauce entrepreneur, Levi Roots, has teamed up with Barclays Local Business to hunt for the Eastern Counties’ leading family businesses.

ini seeks perfect Jamaican sound

Having conquered Ghana and much of Africa with his music, African dancehall artiste, Samini, is aiming to conquer the rest of the world, but not before he arms himself with the essential musical knowledge he intends to find in the homeland of reggae.

This African dancehall or rag-life (as it is sometimes called) sound is a fusion of reggae music and hip-life, a relatively new genre that began in the mid-1990s by an artiste known as Reggie Rockstone. Rockstone experimented with the fusion of the indigenous Ghanaian hi-life with hip hop, hence hip-life.

Tarrus Riley says ‘Start Anew’ not for father

Musician Tarrus Riley’s song, Start Anew, that addresses domestic abuse has had tongues wagging in the streets since the court case of his father, singer Jimmy Riley, made headlines last week. Riley, however, has denied claims that the song is about his father.

On Wednesday during C-Sharp’s concert in Oakton Park, Half-Way Tree, Tarrus Riley addressed the issue saying that there is no direct family connection in his song, Start Anew.

Caribbean islands slammed with double financial hit

A year ago, tourists lined up to eat at Conch Fritters, a downtown restaurant here known for its blackened grouper, conch chowder and other local specialties. Yet, on a recent midweek night last month, tourists were scattered among just a few tables.

Across the bridge on pricey Paradise Island, honeymooner Kim Sessa of St. Louis says she and her husband watched TV in their room rather than sip $13 cocktails in an empty bar at the sprawling Atlantis resort.

Chi Ching says no wedding bling

Dancer and artiste, Radion ‘Chi Ching Ching’ Beckford is still a bachelor, despite rumour that the entertainer tied the knot with an American woman.

Rumours are that Chi Ching recently married a woman so he could obtain a United States visa.

Sly and Robbie interview: Sly and Rabbie

Sly Dunbar, one half of the legendary Riddim Twins, Sly and Robbie, is singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to me.

I’ve asked him what he makes of Robert Burns, considering the duo are heading to Glasgow to headline a Jamaican Burns Night at Celtic Connections. The idea behind the evening is to explore, through music and West Indian grub, what might have been had Burns gone to Jamaica, as he had planned to, in 1786 to work as a bookkeeper on a sugar plantation. The success of the Kilmarnock Edition of his poems kept him from setting sail from Greenock, but it’s a difficult, morally complex part of the bard’s history that has only been discussed in recent years.

‘Rikers Island’ a reggae rocker of prison blues

Going to ‘farin’, which in the 1990s automatically translated into going to the United States, is the dream of many a Jamaican in search of a better standard of living. And that ‘farin’, for many of the many, means New York, New York (“The city is so big they named it twice,” deejay Josey Wales chortled).

However, while the Statue of Liberty and Times Square are the landmarks immigrants look forward to seeing, often the ‘hustlers’ end up in prison. And Rikers Island, the huge prison facility in the East River, becomes the secluded ‘home away from home’.

A Reggae ‘Queen’ is crowned

When Queen Ifrica came out blazing in 2007 with a firestorm of scorching melodies, she hoped her inspired composi-tions would set alight the proverbial walls of Jericho and secure for her a place in reggae’s kingdom and in the hearts of the people.

Hailed as the “Fyah Mumma”, this outspoken and confident Rastafarian queen has marked a commanding start to her musical reign.