News

Beenie Man was diagnosed with a hip condition which required him to undergo corrective surgery to fix the problem. As a result of the surgery, Beenie Man will at home resting and taking a break from the music scene for a short period in order to facilitate the recovery process.

Air Jamaica is set to resume flights from London to Jamaica this summer. Flights to from London Heathrow to the Jamaican capital Kingston will operate three times a week from July. Air Jamaica previously operated Kingston flights from Heathrow until 2007. The Jamaican flag carrier has since merged with Caribbean Airlines and is now confident it can successfully compete for passengers with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic on flights from London to Jamaica. Large numbers of the Anglo-Jamaican community are expected to descend on the island next year as it celebrates 50 years of independence from Britain. Many Jamaicans will be flying in the opposite direction for the London 2012 Olympics, where the island’s athletics team are...

A question to all men: Would you remove your wife’s or girlfriend’s underwear from the clothesline or from the washer or dryer? I have asked this question quite a few times before and I never failed to get the same answer. As I finished typing the previous sentence, I decided to ask this question once more, in a desperate attempt to find a man who would do for his wife or girlfriend the same thing she usually does for him without giving it a thought. I asked the interviewee, “Would you take your girlfriend’s panties out of the washer for her?” To my surprise, he answered “Yes.” Finally! So then my second question to him was, “Would you take them off the clothesline outside?” He quickly responded with, “If the bush fence...

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board said it concluded its third review of a loan to Jamaica and approved the release of $49.3 million. The loan brings the amount released under the fund’s standby agreement with Jamaica to about $838 million, the IMF said today in an e-mailed statement. The fund’s board approved a 27-month loan agreement in February for $1.27 billion to help the island nation cope with the global economic downturn.

11 Jamaican nurses who work in the public health sector, along with their educators, will leave the island tomorrow for Cuba to obtain practical experience in the area of nephrology. The nurses will spend a week in Cuba, in an effort geared at strengthening Jamaica’s dialysis program. Source: Jamaica Observer

Jovan "Pretty Rick" Rouse was an MC otherwise known as the "mic man" for Tek 9 Sound. ReggaeMe has been informed that Pretty Ricky passed away while he was asleep last night. Cause of death appears to be an heart attack. ReggaeMe would like to send its condolences to the family of Pretty Ricky, Tek 9, Tek 9 Virgin Island, Tek 9 Europe, Gully Squad, UK Family and the entire clashing fraternity for the loss of a true Reggae & Dancehall music lover. Pretty Rick Viewing to be held This Friday January 14 at St Lukes Lutheran Church Located at 259 Washington Ave Bt Willoughby Ave and Dekalb Ave Brooklyn, Ny 11205 Begining at 2pm with Services proceeding at 7pm.

Reggae star Gyptian brought in the New Year in style as his smash hit "Hold You" was voted as the #2 song of the year on New York's WQHT HOT97. The rhythmic powerhouse in the top media market in the nation conducted a contest for listeners to vote for their favorite song of the year, and Gyptian was favored all the way to the number two spoon the Hot 97 Songs of the Year countdown, second only to Drake. This comes on the heels of Gyptian being ranked a top artist internationally and his single "Hold You" as one of the hottest songs of 2010 by numerous media outlets worldwide, capping off a stunning year for the artist and landing him everywhere from Billboard Magazine to the New York Times and in an upcoming piece in the Wall Street...

(AP) Jamaica's health minister is warning the public to take care when they prepare the popular but potentially deadly ackee fruit following an increase in poisoning cases. Minister Rudyard Spencer says 35 people have fallen ill since last month after eating unripened ackees, the country's national fruit. The red-skinned fruit with golden flesh produces a compound known as hypoglycin that can reach dangerous levels when it is picked too early and is not ripe. The toxin can cause a drop in blood sugar and vomiting, and, in rare cases, convulsions, coma and death. Spencer said in a statement Friday that all of the poisoning cases involved ackees cooked at home. He said that the ministry will bolster a public-education campaign on...

(AP) Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding is ordering government agencies to cooperate fully with an investigation into the proposed sale of Jamaica's interest in a luxury hotel. Golding says agencies must work with Jamaica's contractor general in a probe of the proposed divestment of Sandals Whitehouse Hotel in Westmoreland, a western parish of the island. The contractor general has said the government's divestment documents raise what it calls "significant questions of national import." In Parliament on Tuesday, Golding said Jamaican taxpayers will shoulder a substantial portion of the $120 million-plus that has been spent on a project that he says was "very badly executed." He says divestment would "minimize the losses."

(AP) Police in Jamaica say a motorist lost control of his car and crashed into a house where a wake was being held, killing four people and injuring three. Police Cpl. Natalie Lawrence says the driver of a Toyota Caldina swerved off the busy Bustamante Highway in Clarendon parish in southern Jamaica and slammed into a home where dozens of mourners were gathered before dawn Sunday. Lawrence says the three injured are being treated at a hospital, including the driver. She says the driver is under police guard as authorities investigate the crash.

Adidjah Palmer born January 7, 1975, better known as Vybz Kartel celebrates his birthday today. Since his initial introduction as a deejay in 2002, Kartel quickly established himself as one of the most domineering lyricist in Dancehall. In 2003, he nearly topped the Billboard Reggae Chart for the most singles sold, coming in second to Elephant Man. He has released five albums: Up 2 Di Time (Greensleeves; 2003); More Up 2 Di Time (Greensleeves; 2004); Timeless (Greensleeves; 2004); JMT (Greensleeves; 2006); and The Teacher’s Back (released independently; 2008). His latest album Pon Di Gaza, released in late September 2009, is his debut album on his newly established label Adidjahiem/Notnice Records.

Cops are searching for Carrie Dixon, 25, a suspect in a homicide around 5:30 a.m. on New Year's Day in the area of Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park in Queens. Dead is Dwayne Haughton, 29. Cops heard shots and found Haughton on the ground at 127th Street and 94th Avenue with gunshot wounds in his neck and chest. He was DOA at Jamaica Hospital. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline, 800-577-TIPS. You can also submit tips at nypdcrimestoppers.com or text them to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577.

According to Nielson Soundscan Nicki Minaj has just been certified platinum after six weeks on the shelf. In today's Hip Hop market is almost unheard of to go platinum this quickly. Pink Friday has made the statement that female rappers are a viable option in a male-dominated industry. Nicki Minaj Said;

T.I.'s wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle just scored a major victory in court, her drug possession case against her has been dismissed. The case was dropped because Tiny completed 24 sessions of a certified drug diversion program in Georgia. T.I. and Tameka were pulled over and arrested on Sunset Boulevard back in September. They were booked for possession of a controlled substance. The D.A. dropped the case against T.I. since he was already headed back to prison ... the arrest alone was enough to violate his federal probation.

Foxy Brown recently accused her former manager Bernadette Brennan of posing as her current manager and releasing "fake" news about her career, and she also took aim at Daddy Diggs, who runs Platinum Camp Productions, alleging he helped spread stories about a "fake" song in a bid to "get famous". The star threatened legal action against both Brennan and Diggs. Brennan spoke out about Brown's comments on monday, stating that she quits being foxy brown manager, accusing the star of indulging in "self-destructive behaviour" and threatening legal action of her own to recoup $100,000 from missed studio time. Brown is also burning bridges with New York City promoters, for failing to show up on time for performances. Most recently, the...

New York police have confirmed that a dancehall Promoter Bobby Genius who tried to break up a fight outside a Queens banquet hall is the city's first 2011 murder victim. Bobby tried to stop a fight between a guy and girl after the guy punch the female to the ground. The unidentified gunman shot and killed Dwayne "Bobby Genius" Haughton, 29, during the early hours of Saturday morning in the Richmond Hill section of Queens.

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the director what criteria define whether a patient should be institutionalized. "Well," said the director, "we fill up a bathtub and offer the patient a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket. Then we ask the patient to empty the bathtub." Okay, here is your test: 1. Would you use the spoon? 2. Would you use the teacup? 3. Would you use the bucket? "Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would choose the bucket, as it is larger than the spoon or the cup." "No!" answered the director. "A normal person would pull the plug."

Jamaican police have arrested a Canadian man after his wife's throat was slashed during a pre-Christmas getaway to the island. The Ontario teacher, 43 year old Paul Martin, is accused of slashing his wife's throat and leaving her for dead on a dirt road near a popular Jamaican resort. He has been denied bail. Paul Martin was charged with attempted murder and went to court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. The hearing was held in Falmouth, a coastal community near the resort of Montego Bay. Police said an argument ensued between the couple, and that they believe he

Rohan Marley, son of reggae superstar Bob Marley, got into the coffee business more than 10 years ago. Since then Rohan has overcome financial and bureaucratic hurdles to acquire the estate, produce 100% Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and start marketing it. Marley Blue Mountain is a fairly light roast, floral, chocolatey and earthy coffee with bright acidity. A 12 oz. package of Talkin' Blues Jamaica Blue Mountain Whole Bean Coffee costs $39.95 at marleycoffee.com. There are other types of coffee available, such as the One Love Whole Bean Organic Coffee, starting at $15.95 for a 12 oz. package. A portion of the proceeds from sales benefits Kicks for a Cause, which supports youth soccer.

(AP) Health officials in Jamaica say a dead baby found just outside the island's largest maternity hospital was not a patient there. The chairman for the South East Regional Health Authority is disputing a police account that a woman threw the newborn girl out the hospital's second-story window early Thursday. Lyttleton Shirley said Friday that no babies are missing from the maternity ward or the morgue at Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston. He said the hospital is auditing a list of all mothers discharged in recent days to help police with the investigation.