News

congratulate Double Grammy winner Damian 'Junior Gong'Marley on the birth of his first child - his son Elijah.We wonder if he will grow up to continue in the musical tradition of his father, grandfather and uncles!

Foota Hype was reportedly held for questioning by the Constant Spring police earlier yesterday evening with regard to an assault incident that took place in the Cassava Piece community recently. A Cassava Piece resident was reportedly alleging that Foota Hype was among a group of men, at least one of whom was said to be a policeman, that stopped him then searched and beat him. Ironically, Foota Hype was apparently at the police station earlier this evening trying to get assistance to have his mother moved out of the community, when the resident turned up to make a report about the incident. He reportedly pointed out Foota Hype as one of his assailants, and the selector was arrested. When popular entertainment website...

Shots were fired at Mavado's upper St Andrew home early Tuesday morning, and although persons speculate that it may have been linked to a recent feud with Foota Hype, the selector has denied any involvement in the incident. Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Foota Hype said: "Mi woulda neva hurt Mavado. De only thing mi ave is dat mi nuh like how Mavado a move, so mi part ways wid him couple months earlier." And although they have been at odds, Mavado did not point any fingers at Foota Hype either. "Mi nah go seh a him cause mi neva see him, but him words dem ..." he told THE STAR. Despite their differences, Mavado said he spoke to Foota Hype on Monday evening before the incident occurred. At that time, they arranged to meet and...

Following the double shooting incidents in Armour Heights, Upper St. Andrew and Cassava Piece that has left popular sound system selector Foota Hype's mother Doreen fearing for her life and Mavado's sport utility Range Rover without a rear windscreen after it was sprayed with bullets, the Alliance singjay has finally broken his silence. Mavado whose real name is David Brooks said he can't say the devious act was carried out by his former friend Foota Hype as no one saw him so it would be unfair to state otherwise. However Mavado says the utterances he makes in the public arena does leaves a lot to the imagination. The Warlord's protégé continued citing that it was Foota's recent actions that cause him to start distancing himself...

TIVOLI Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who the US Department of State last week branded one of the world's most dangerous narco criminals, is the latest member of the Coke family to have made headlines for the wrong reason.The US Drug Enforcement Agency says Coke has inherited the reins of the notorious Shower Posse and has accused him of trafficking in cocaine, marijuana and arms. Read Indictment Coke, also known as 'The President' and 'Shortman', has lost his father, two brothers and a sister violently and now faces life imprisonment in a US penal facility. He is the adopted son of the late Jamaica Labour Party political enforcer and accused drug dealer, Lester Lloyd Coke, more popularly known as 'Jim Brown'...

It was herd that unknown men shot up the singer black range rover,back glass was shot out & tires..shots were herd in the area by residence & gun shots also reach far as his house had bullets in the walls..police came in early this morning investigating the matter at hand but the singer Movado is okay!

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) - Guyana has lifted a ban on Jamaican reggae artiste Mavado and will allow him to perform in the South American country later this month. Presidential Adviser Odigna Lumumba says the singer had been barred for a year and a half because of lyrics promoting gang violence and anti-gay sentiments. Jamaican cultural officials reportedly lobbied for the ban to be lifted last month when Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo visited the Caribbean island, but Lumumba declined to comment on the reason for the reversal. Lumumba said Friday that Mavado can perform in Guyana as scheduled on September 18 and 19.

Local artistes are contributing to the foreign exchange drain by registering thousands of songs overseas. Overseas registration is so prevalent that many artistes catalogue their entire discography with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) or the Performing Right Society (PRS) in the UK, instead of the Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) and the Jamaica Association of Composers and Authors and Publishers (JACAP). It results in royalties derived from local radio play and show performances being sent overseas. "Yes, we are losing foreign exchange," said Clevand Brownie who sits on the JAMMS and the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica boards. "A lot of artistes and writers generally do not have...

Jervis Constantine Clarke Aka “Spugy B” is a multitalented and humble youth out of Trench Town, “Rema”. He has been making his presence felt in the entertainment scene and his talent is uniquely jaw dropping, excitement packed and creativity is displayed in his every move. Jervis Constantine Darrel Clarke was born on the 7th of December 1983; he is the second of three brothers and three sisters and resides in Trench Town, Kingston, Jamaica. He started singing at the tender age of 5. He was inspired by his father and some of the artist in the music industry, such as, Buju Banton, Beenie man, Bob Marley and Sanchez. In august 2005 a fellow friend ‘Badd Indyan’ introduces Spugy B to a producer, Phil Mathias from ‘Revue Music’. This...

The year 1993 also saw the staging of the historic Sting musical confrontation between himself and nemesis Beenie Man. In the build-up to the show, Bounty Killer was not amused by Beenie's acts of lyrical piracy, at a time when they were both just taking hold of the cut-throat world of dancehall. Bounty Killer's victory at Sting confirmed him as the heir to Ninjaman's throne in the lyrical theatre of war, something he continues to prove to this day. His battle cry "peeeeeople dead" set off a slew of slangs and phrases that instantly caught on, and to this day, has become part of the Jamaican dialect - slangs such as "boung bang," "bullet!" and "connect!" Bounty Killer began to broaden his subject matter into streetwise...

Soca artiste Machel Montano recently launched his new album Heavenly. It features collaborations with Collie Buddz, Busy Signal, Chinese Laundry, Umi Marcano, and Len Boogsie Sharpe. Also on the album is the track Wild Antz which placed third in the 2009 Road March Competition while another track, Magic Drumz, played by the Phase 2 Steel Orchestra, placed second in the "Large Bands" category at the Panorama Finals steelpan competition at Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

Cherine Anderson makes Billboard debut on Michael Franti's Say Hey (I Love You) Cherine Anderson has joined a growing list of Jamaican performers who have been making moves on the Billboard charts in America within the past year. She is credited as a featured performer on Michael Franti and Spearhead's Say Hey (I Love You) single. The track moved from 43 to 25 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. It is also moving up Billboard's Pop 100, Adult Top 40 and Pop 100 Airplay charts. While this is the first ever Billboard chart entry for Anderson, it is Franti's third time on any Billboard listing. He had previously charted with two albums, namely Yell Fire and All Rebel Rockers. This is, however, Franti's first time on any Billboard...

Contagious the new album from singer Tarrus Riley is charting on popular online music store iTunes four days after its official release, signalling that the album could register on the Billboard charts next week. The album is currently number 7 and 10 on iTunes in Sweden and the US, respectively. However, it is too early for the album to register on the major music chart Billboard, as it is less than a week old. As usual iTunes reggae album charts are dominated by reggae icon Bob Marley, whose albums currently top 19 of the 22 countries listed on iTunes. Contagious is expected to surpass the chart success of previous albums due to the increased buzz Riley has received following his hit single, She's Royal, which was arguably the...

ReggaeMe would like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson one half of the outstanding dancehall production duo Steely & Clevie. Steelie passed away in a Long Island hospital earlier today.

Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson, of Steely and Clevie fame, is in critical condition at a New York hospital but the music fraternity has been praying for his recovery. Johnson is suffering from pneumonia having recovered from kidney compilations in December. Steely started his career as the original keyboard player with the Roots Radix Band which backed Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer and numerous other artistes both on tour and in the recording studio, and also played on a number of hit recordings for various producers in the 70s. Steely also played on a large number of hit recordings for various artistes. Noted as the pioneers of dancehall, but certainly not limited to this genre, Steely and Clevie have worked together for 30 years...

Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD (Kingston, Jamaica, January 26, 1932 – May 5, 2004) was a record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond. He received his nickname "Coxsone" at school: because of his teenage talent as a cricketer, his friends compared him to Alec Coxon, a member of the famous 1940s Yorkshire County Cricket Club team. Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, who has died of a heart attack aged 72, nurtured the career of nearly every internationally renowned reggae artist. He was one of the first to record local talent, and an integral force in the development of ska. Having been involved in the development of reggae for more than 50 years, his contribution to the...

More Buju Banton shows have been cancelled due to pressure from gay and lesbian activists in the United States. A short release from Live Nation Inc, the company that was putting on the shows, announced on Thursday that it has cancelled all previously scheduled concerts by Buju Banton. These include four shows that should have been held at House of Blues locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston and Dallas in October. The release also said that ticket refunds are available at the point of purchase. When pressed for the reason for the cancellation, Crystal Lafata, executive assistant in communications at Live Nation Inc, was very tight-lipped. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times: 'Buju Banton's October show draws...

LONDON, England (AP) - People who repeatedly download copyright-protected films and music could have their Internet connection cut off under proposed laws the British government unveiled yesterday to tackle illegal file-sharing. Treasury Minister Stephen Timms said that previous plans, which would only have restricted users' broadband speed, did not go far enough. That potential punishment remains under the new proposal, but is accompanied by the possibility of blocking offenders' access to download sites as well as banning them from the Internet altogether. Civil-rights groups and Internet service providers criticised the proposal as unnecessarily restricting users' rights without doing much to tackle online piracy. The...

Questions were raised when Elephant Man released a song called People, which is directed at Flippa Mafia and his 'money-throwing' ways. In the song, Elephant Man says: "People, unuh waan mi nil him?/ Unuh fi seh nil him/ A mi house, a mi business weh a running a dat a bun him/ Bout him a Mafia, da claffy yah/ People, unuh run him/ Bout yuh a dash weh money/ Yuh shoulda shame when a capture yuh madda capture piece a land pon the lane/ So wha happen to yuh babymother weh yuh lef a suffer/ All yuh sister weh live a Waterhouse inna di gutter/ She and yuh father a fight over dumpling and butter". Elephant Man goes further and accuses Flippa Mafia of 'informing' on several people so that he did not go to jail. He also calls Flippa...

Soca star Destra Garcia is pregnant and expects to deliver her baby sometime in January 2010. It will be the first child for her and the second for her boyfriend/manager/producer of the past nine years, Brian Morris. He is the father of a 13-year-old daughter who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Garcia, known for hits like Bonnie and Clyde, I Dare You and Carnival, said she had some "mixed emotions at first". The soca star, who is the face of Digicel in Trinidad and Tobago, said the news took her by surprise because there had been no morning sickness. Her stomach has only "just" started to show, she said. Contacted for a comment, sponsorship and PR manager for Digicel, Marita Laurent, extended congratulations to...