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Jamaica Dogsled Team is sending Newton Marshall to the pinnacle of world-class competitions, the 1,770-kilometre Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Among those rooting for the 26-year-old musher is Margaritaville icon Jimmy Buffet, who spends a lot of time in Jamaica and has been the team's primary sponsor since it was founded by a friend. FYI to those who snort at Marshall as a publicity stunt: last year he completed the 1,600-kilometre Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. Out of 29 mushers, the rookie placed a respectable 13th. Marshall, who lives in Jamaica's St. Anne Parish, said he is impatient to begin the Iditarod, which kicks off with a ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday. The competitive race begins Sunday...

(AP)Jamaica's reluctance to hand over an alleged crime boss is straining relations with the United States, which is questioning the Caribbean nation's reliability as an ally against drug trafficking. The two governments have been negotiating over Christopher "Dudus" Coke since the U.S. requested his extradition in August to face arms and drug trafficking charges in New York. The U.S. Justice Department calls him one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins. In a report Monday, the State Department suggested corruption could be holding up the extradition request. It noted Coke has ties to the governing Jamaica Labor Party and essentially controls the barricaded Tivoli Gardens neighborhood in west Kingston, the home...

Gyptian’s new single “Hold You” is featured on Ragga Ragga Ragga 2010 and will be release as a digital single on March 23. This new track from the soulful singjay has been burning up the airwaves in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Badgyal Ce'Cile, who celebrated her birthday last Wednesday, almost never got to see another one following an incident in St Ann last Friday night in which her BMW motor car was forced off the road by an errant trailer driver. The singer's luxury car was damaged when it broke through a stone wall as she tried to avoid being crushed by the trailer. The front end was damaged leaving the car 'wobbling'. The left fog light was broken, the tyres were damaged and there was also damage to the fender. However, the airbags did not deploy and the grateful singer isn't worried much about the damage. Ce'Cile explains that on Friday, she was in a hurry to get to Montego Bay, but got an early warning that she needed to slow down. "I got a...

Europe's largest economy, has blacklisted 11 dancehall albums between 2008 and January 2010 this year because of their homophobic and violent content. Albums by Sizzla, Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Capleton, TOK and Baby Cham are on this list, or "index", compiled by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM) Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien in German. The international gay lobby, in response, has petitioned the German government to ban shows and the sale of records by these artistes. Last year, Banton and Beenie Man were yanked from shows due to the lobby in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Source: Jamaica Observer

Thirty years ago, Lorenzo Carter was a suspected Jamaican drug smuggler carving out turf in Atlantic City during the Wild West days at the start of the town's casino era. One spring morning in 1980, say police, Carter walked up to a green Cadillac idling at a rundown intersection and opened fire with a handgun, killing a passenger also believed to be in the drug game. Everton Kelly, 26, and John Sessoms, 39, had been riddled with bullets as they sat in a car in front of a sandwich shop near Delaware and Atlantic Avenues in the city's Inlet section. Despite a warrant for Carter's arrest, the case file sat for decades, collecting dust in a cabinet at the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office. In January, a new countywide...

Born in the 80’s but wishing he was birthed in the 60’s, Oje "Protoje" Ollivierre is the fresh face with the freshest lyrical delivery, still having a feel of vintage reggae music but being a suitable update for the present time. Indeed, Marley’s mantra was to “free the people with music.” Protoje’s mantra is to free the people with art. Music – his appointed contribution to the artistic revolution - is only one of the many distinct art forms. He takes up the mantle of spokesperson for the Movement and represents the evident unity among a large group of talented musical, literary and visual artists who have silently and patiently developed under the radar and are about to march together into a new era of prosperity for all...

A deadly 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday, collapsing buildings, shattering major bridges and highways across a long strip of the country, and sending tsunami warnings along the Pacific basin. The Associated Press quoted Mrs. Bachelet as saying that a huge wave had swept into a populated area in Robinson Crusoe Island, 410 miles off the Chilean coast, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there. Those reports bore out early fears that a major tsunami was on its way across the Pacific, and the first hemispherewide tsunami warning since 1964 was issued all along the basin, according to monitors in Hawaii. Source: Nytimes.com

Deejay Black Rhyno, yesterday confirmed reports that he has severed ties with the Vybz Kartel-led Portmore Empire. The deejay, whose real name is Romane Anderson, is most known for his track Bike Back on Russian's Strip Club Riddim, and is said to be one of the Empire's biggest money makers, outside of the self-proclaimed Gaza president, Kartel. However, Rhyno has dismissed reports that his split with the Empire has anything to do with money. "I know it has been said that there has been some money issues with me and the Empire, but I want to state clearly that it has absolutely nothing to do with money," the deejay said. Source: Jamaica Observer

1.Mavado - Hope And Pray ZJ Chrome Last Week: 4 | Weeks On Chart: 31 2.Busy Signal - One More Night VP Last Week: 1 | Weeks On Chart: 14 3.Alborosie w/ David Hines - Stepping Out Greensleeves Last Week: 13 | Weeks On Chart: 9 4.Mr. Vegas - Gallis VP Last Week: 9 | Weeks On Chart: 15 5.Mr. Vegas - I Am Blessed VP Last Week: 12 | Weeks On Chart: 54 6.Queen Ifrica - Lioness On The Rise VP Last Week: 45 | Weeks On Chart: 52 7.Serani - No Games Phase One / Universal Republic Last Week: 3 | Weeks On Chart: 83 8.Beres Hammond - Feel Good VP Last Week: 6 | Weeks On Chart: 81 9.Alborosie - Kingston Town Forward Last Week: 95 | Weeks On Chart: 6 10.Sanchez - Longing To Come Home VP Last Week...

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, ImageNation Cinema Foundation and the Film Society of Lincoln Center present a Black History Month celebration of reggae music and culture, with the New York Premiere of RiseUp, at the Walter Reade Theater. RiseUp is a cinematic journey into the heart of Jamaica,†where artists fight to rise up from obscurity and write themselves into music history. Directed by Luciano Blotta, RiseUp features reggae legends Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and many rising stars including Turbulence. Recently awarded the Best Music Documentary at the AFI/Discovery Silverdocs Festival, some are calling RiseUp the Jamaican-music version of "Hoop Dreams" and the best reggae film since...

(Ms. RAINE INC): Love him or hate him, Vybz Kartel’s influence in Dancehall is undeniable—a masterful wordsmith, captivating entertainment icon, and insightful businessman known just as much for his lyrical genius as he is for his much publicized scandals. Nearly everything he does is a guaranteed success – and a fullfledged controversy. On February 26th, his recording label Adidjahiem Records, in partnership with notable Reggae label Tads Records, will release Pon Di Gaza 2.0, a re-release of last year’s digital Pon Di Gaza album, with a bonus disc of the deejay’s latest hit singles, include the current #1 hit “Life We Living.” Pon Di Gaza 2.0 is Vybz Kartel’s first physical album in nearly four years. Like Pon Di Gaza...

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- Authorities in Jamaica are investigating a doctor who has been accused of performing an illegal abortion on a 13-year-old girl. Police spokesman Karl Angell says the unidentified doctor faces charges including procuring abortion, procuring drug for an abortion and child endangerment. Police have not said how far along the pregnancy was, but abortions at any term are illegal in Jamaica, even if prosecution is rare. Angel said Friday that a woman whose son allegedly got the girl pregnant faces similar charges. Her son's age has not been released. The doctor is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. He was arrested in rural Trelawny parish last week.

The Ragga Muffins Festival in Oakland has removed reggae artiste Capleton from their February 20th event, after organizers decided the singer`s `anti-gay lyrics` would be inappropriate for the event. Festival co-producer Moss Jacobs also cancelled Capleton`s appearances at the upcoming Long Beach and San Diego events. Capleton`s manager, Claudette Kemp, has denied that her client supports the murder of homosexuals and says that many of the singer`s lyrics are in fact based on the Bible. Ragga Muffins Performances on Saturday, February 20: Shaggy Don Carlos Frankie Paul Yellowman Big Youth Gramps Morgan Ken Boothe Lloyd Brown Bajah &the Dry Eye Crew Mystic Roots Band Yellow Wall Dub Squad plus more artists...

The 30-year-old from Crown Heights marries Jamaican reggae, hip hop and rap to the religious ecstasy of the Hasidim to great effect: He currently has three of the top ten albums on the iTunes reggae charts. His latest album, "Light," topped reggae charts for over 10 weeks, an unheard-of Caucasian crossover into traditionally carribbean cultural territory.

Federal authorities will not pursue charges against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell, the unarmed bridegroom who died in a hail of police bullets outside a Queens strip club hours before his wedding, officials said yesterday. Prosecutors said there was "insufficient evidence" that Bell's civil rights were violated when undercover officers unloaded on a car carrying Bell and two friends on a Jamaica street in November 2006. Three of the five officers involved were tried and acquitted in 2008, including Michael Oliver, who police said reloaded while firing 31 of the 50 shots that filled the vehicle and surrounding streets. The other two cops were never indicted. Bitterly disappointed, Bell's...

1.Busy Signal - One More Night VP Last Week: 2 | Weeks On Chart: 13 2.Jah Cure(w/ Phyllisia) - Call On Me Danger Zone / SoBe Last Week: 26 | Weeks On Chart: 40 3.Serani - No Games Phase One / Universal Republic Last Week: 39 | Weeks On Chart: 82 4.Mavado - Hope And Pray ZJ Chrome Last Week: 1 | Weeks On Chart: 30 5.Gappy Ranks - Heaven In Her Eyes Greensleeves / VP Last Week: 21 | Weeks On Chart: 16 6.Beres Hammond - Feel Good VP Last Week: 6 | Weeks On Chart: 80 7.Gyptian - Hold Yuh Fire Unit / VP Last Week: 5 | Weeks On Chart: 4 8.Nas & Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley - As We Enter Tuff Gong / The Island Def Jam Last Week: 40 | Weeks On Chart: 3 9.Mr. Vegas - Gallis VP Last Week: 3 | Weeks On...

"I know everybody is gonna take this wrong," Jay-Z told MTV on Saturday at the annual 2 Kings dinner during NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, "We Are the World, I love it, and I understand the point and think it's great. But I think We Are the World is like [Michael Jackson's] Thriller to me. I don't ever wanna see it touched." He continued, "I'm a fan of music. I know the plight and everything that's going on in Haiti. ... So I appreciate the efforts and everything, but We Are the World is [musically] untouchable like Thriller is untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it's gonna be untouchable." Source: USA Today

Clive "Tenor Saw" Bright was born in Kingston, Jamaica, February 11, 1966. Tenor Saw was a prominent dancehall singer in the 1980s, and one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring the Alarm" on the "Stalag 17" riddim. Tenor Saw was raised in the Payne Avenue district of West Kingston. His first single, "Roll Call" was recorded in 1984 for George Phang's Powerhouse label, on the "Queen Majesty" rhythm. He moved on, with his friend Nitty Gritty, to work with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion sound system and label, having hits in Jamaica with "Lots of Sign", "Pumpkin Belly", "Run Come Call Me", and "Fever". His most successful single, however, was "Ring the...

Arriving in Vancouver on Thursday, February 11, 2010, Jamaica’s Errol Kerr made the trek from the airport to the athlete’s village. As the only athlete from Jamaica to qualify for any sport, he would be his nation’s sole representative for the 2010 Winter Olympics. In late January, International Ski Federation (FIS) officials notified the Jamaica Ski Federation that Errol Kerr met the governing body’s criteria that qualified him among the top 32 skier cross athletes in the world to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Kerr qualified to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics based on his worldwide ranking and points earned from competition in FIS- sanctioned events. Since December 2009, he has participated in ski...