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New Dancehall Artiste “Checkdhat” Pierce His Eyes
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Contributed – Scenes during the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall audition in Trinidad and Tobago recently.
Trinibagonians made dancehall history recently when they became the first set of international talent to audition for Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall.
The studios at Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) in Port-of-Spain provided the perfect opportunity for the intermingling of two cultures as contestants put their best effort on show, hoping to join the ranks of Magnum Royalty in season eight which is set to premiere on TVJ in Jamaica and TV6 in Trinidad & Tobago on January 17, 2015.
“One thing that stood out during auditions is how pervasive the culture of dancehall is and the extent to which it has positively influenced upcoming talent in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean. We were anxious about the type of reception that our concept would get, but it wasn’t long before we were impressed at the crop of talent that came out,” said Mark Kenny, executive producer of the show.
Seemingly reflecting what is popular within dancehall circles, male contestants outnumbered their female competitors but that did not stop the ladies who came out armed with bold and entertaining selections. Smalls and Luscious were the female acts that stood out to judges Miss Kitty, Skatta Burrell and Professor Nuts.
brand’s influence
“We were thrilled with the talent in Trinidad last Saturday. The contestants came hard and we definitely found some worthy of the Magnum stage. Magnum is committed to deepening the brand’s influence across the Caribbean and what better way to do so than integrating our musical culture with our Caribbean neighbours in a positive way. We hope that Trinibagonians will support their own in the competition by watching on TV6 and voting each week come January 17,” said Sophia Bernard-Fairman, group brand manager, Fortified Wines & Liqueurs at J. Wray and Nephew Ltd.
Producer and Magnum judge Skatta Burrell was also impressed by the talent coming out of Trinidad. “I’m excited to hear new flavours of dancehall emerging which undeniably comes from a soca infusion,” he said.
Successful Trinibagonian contestants will fly to Jamaica early next year to be part of the 32 princes and princesses vying for lyrical greatness. Contestants who make it to the live show will be competing for a cash prize of J$1 million (equivalent of TT$50,000), in addition to a two-year contract with Star$truck Records, which will include providing assistance with the production of an EP, voice training and public relations.
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Progressive roots, culture and lovers rock label Nature’s Way Entertainment has released its first dancehall effort titled ‘Bubble For Me’, which was recorded by Queen Chevine and Curly Cash.
Bubble For Me was written and produced by Craig Brown, Cornelius Davis, Lesline Johnson and Garfield Cowan. Nature’s Way Entertainment is executive producer for the track.
Queen Chevine’s crisp vocal style blends with the crystal-clear sound of Curly’s vocal. Both compliment each other, whether in the studio or performing live.
With its friendly and catchy lyrics, Bubble For Me will enthuse and amuse you. It balances all the elements for a hit and is generating a huge buzz. A sure shot to watch, in the nightclubs or at a party, Bubble For Me will keep listeners going all night long.
The song is available on iTunes and YouTube and is distributed by VPAL. You can listen to the song by visiting the link http://youtu.be/ru1PhB3bd7k .
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File
Producer Justus Arison
The ultra-popular dancehall rhythm, High Life, featuring several dancehall heavyweights, was officially released on iTunes on Tuesday.
“The riddim itself is on the front page of reggae iTunes so that is a great look. The High Life riddim is getting some incredible play on radio across all stations,” producer Justus Arison of JA Productions said.
Arison is moving quickly towards radio promotion stateside. “I am just going into the North American part of the promotion with 99 Jams and Nikki Z on a station in Hartford, Connecticut, so we are turning things up to another level. Mavado has been posting videos of his lead single on Instagram and he has many hip hop fans in North America,” Arison added.
Four artistes have already shot videos for their individual singles, a development that will amp up promotion.
“Munga and I have released the video for our single, Ryno’s video for Side Chick will be released this weekend, Chi Ching shot his video for Up and Beenie Man did his Million Gal video last week so the promotion is about to hit another level,” Arison revealed.
The ice cream smooth rhythm is already providing the backdrop for party events and street dances all over the Corporate Area because of the great mix of heavyweight acts and superstars.
Dancehall superstar Mavado leads out the project with High Life, where he boasts about his international weed-smoking credentials which crisscrosses time zones and continents. Red-hot dancehall act Ishawna has the breakout hit on the rhythm with the emotionally charged Restraining Order, which seems to have taken a life of its own because of its delicious subtext and real-life references to the end of her high-profile relationship with popular selector Foota Hype.Beenie Man returns to his ‘gallis roots’ as he outlines his gallis credentials.
Gyptian complements the rhythm perfectly with All On Me. Blak Ryno channels his inner Sean Kingston (Make Up Your Mind) as he expresses his love for his Side Chick, while Singer J shows off the incredible range of his voice on Your Love. Chi Ching brings his humour and street credentials to Up. Mr Lexx impresses with Do Road, while Munga teams up with Arison himself for I Life.
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File
Producer Justus Arison
The ultra-popular dancehall rhythm, High Life, featuring several dancehall heavyweights, was officially released on iTunes on Tuesday.
“The riddim itself is on the front page of reggae iTunes so that is a great look. The High Life riddim is getting some incredible play on radio across all stations,” producer Justus Arison of JA Productions said.
Arison is moving quickly towards radio promotion stateside. “I am just going into the North American part of the promotion with 99 Jams and Nikki Z on a station in Hartford, Connecticut, so we are turning things up to another level. Mavado has been posting videos of his lead single on Instagram and he has many hip hop fans in North America,” Arison added.
Four artistes have already shot videos for their individual singles, a development that will amp up promotion.
“Munga and I have released the video for our single, Ryno’s video for Side Chick will be released this weekend, Chi Ching shot his video for Up and Beenie Man did his Million Gal video last week so the promotion is about to hit another level,” Arison revealed.
The ice cream smooth rhythm is already providing the backdrop for party events and street dances all over the Corporate Area because of the great mix of heavyweight acts and superstars.
Dancehall superstar Mavado leads out the project with High Life, where he boasts about his international weed-smoking credentials which crisscrosses time zones and continents. Red-hot dancehall act Ishawna has the breakout hit on the rhythm with the emotionally charged Restraining Order, which seems to have taken a life of its own because of its delicious subtext and real-life references to the end of her high-profile relationship with popular selector Foota Hype.Beenie Man returns to his ‘gallis roots’ as he outlines his gallis credentials.
Gyptian complements the rhythm perfectly with All On Me. Blak Ryno channels his inner Sean Kingston (Make Up Your Mind) as he expresses his love for his Side Chick, while Singer J shows off the incredible range of his voice on Your Love. Chi Ching brings his humour and street credentials to Up. Mr Lexx impresses with Do Road, while Munga teams up with Arison himself for I Life.
View the original article here
Adrian Frater, News Editor
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From left, Kingsley Cooper, chairman of the Entertainment Advisory Board in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Brian ‘Big Head’ Martin, the promoter of the International Dancehall Queen Contest, and Robert Russell, chairman of Summerfest Productions, the promoters of Reggae Sumfest, in discussion during Tuesday night’s launch of Dancehall Queen 2014. – Adrian Frater
Western Bureau:
Kingsley Cooper, chairman of the Entertainment Advisory Board in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, says the International Dancehall Queen Contest, staged in Montego Bay annually, is tailor-made for the government’s new Jamrock Summer – 90 Days, 90 Ways initiative, which is designed to boost both tourism and entertainment.
Cooper, the guest speaker at Tuesday night’s launch of the 18th renewal of the Big Head Promotions event, to be held at Pier One on August 2, says grassroots events like ‘Dancehall Queen’ are integral to the preservation of Jamaica’s culture.
“90 days of summer is designed to showcase a range of entertainment activities over the 90 days of summer,” said Cooper. “It has the capacity to boost tourism and other business-related spin-offs associated with entertainment, so ‘Dancehall Queen’ would fit perfectly into the concept.”
Commending the organiser for keeping the contest alive over so many years, Cooper spoke to the global appeal of Jamaica’s music as girls travel from all over the world annually to vie for the title.
Promoter Brian Martin, who started the contest to help expose talented inner-city dancers and has since taken it to over 40 countries, said he is not convinced that dancehall and its various spin-off activities are getting enough respect locally.
This year’s event, which will be streamed all over the world via the Internet, will see the winner walking away with a whopping J$1 million in cash and prizes. The second- and third-place finishers, as well as the winners of sectional awards, will also be handsomely rewarded.
“So far, we have had confirmation from more than 40 countries, to include newcomers Slovakia and South Africa and, as usual, we will be expecting the usual strong representation from Japan, Poland, the United States, and across the Caribbean,” said Martin.
In last year’s contest, Keja ‘Tall Up’ Christie, a student of the G.C Foster School of Physical Education, copped the coveted title. Brandi Watts, of the United States, was second; while Lillian Wamini, of Canada/Uganda, was third.
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Karrie Williams, Star Writer
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Mr Lexx
Nineties deejay sensation, Mr Lexx is claiming that artistes performed poorly on Dancehall Night of the recently concluded Reggae Sumfest 2014 festival, and declares that his return is needed to rescue what he calls a dying dancehall night.
“Yow, me deh ya a watch dancehall night and a watch the new crop of artistes and yow, I gotta come back. I gotta come show dem how to do it. I mean, the show was boring. Nobody performance stand out; nobody outfit stand out except for Mr Vegas an the platform shoes,” Mr Lexx complained.
“We need more entertainment. It’s entertainment; everybody a tek this ting too serious an di music dark. we need back happy music. we need performances and entertainment. Mi deh deh an a watch di whole crowd and I was saying, ‘dem need me, I gotta come back.”
Mr Lexx spoke to the Star during International Night II of the festival, held at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex, in Montego Bay on Saturday. Though he was not booked to perform this year, he was brought on as an accompanying act for reggae icon Beres Hammond’s daughter, The Wizard.
In the late 90s, Mr Lexx, then named Lexxus, swept the island with a wave of popular hits including, Ring Mi Cellie, Cook and Man A Nuh Yu Problem. Currently, he has been busy working on his own label, Jiggy House Productions, which has seen him working with fellow artistes Vybz Kartel, Cobra, Mr Vegas, Latty J and Dario.
The artiste also confirmed that he is working closely with the Wizard, towards the release of his latest studio album.
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Curtis Campbell, STAR Writer
Dancehall producer Notnice is gearing up to launch his dancehall publication called Faawud Magazine. The magazine is expected to focus on all Jamaican genres and will be available online and in print.
Notnice has no prior experience in media but disclosed that he is working with a team of professionals in order to make his dream into a reality.
“When I was going to school I got a producers magazine called Kotch and I was very much interested in the content and because of that I wanted to own my own magazine to show people what is going on in the world of dancehall,” he said.
A Faawud Magazine website is already available and persons who want to keep up with the progress of the project can log on to http://www.faawudmagazine.com. The magazine will draw attention to various aspects of the music industry through gossip via its Faawud Talk feature, disc jocks through its Faawud Selector feature and veteran musicians via its Faawud Veteran feature. In total each issue of Faawud Magazine will carry at least 10 separate features.
Another income
“I had already started to do interviews but the sponsors are taking a longer time to negotiate terms than I expected, so I will have to do over some interviews to make the content relevant and exclusive,” he said.
Notnice further said; “Music is not selling like it used to, so we have to venture into other things and it doesn’t hurt to have another income.”
The producer also told The STAR that he has no specific plans for this summer, as he is aiming to make an impact with his winter projects.
His relatively successful Boom Box rhythm which features BBC chart topping singles Suh Mi Like It by Spice and Bruk Out by Alkaline, still remains his main focus. According to the producer, he does not intend to flood the airwaves with music, because the practice can cause him to overshadow his own productions.
“I am trying to avoid killing projects with projects so I am pacing my releases. You see how successful the Boom Box rhythm is? It is still being played and is doing well in places like the UK and remember that Busta Rhymes was on the remix so that is a good look,” he said.
Notnice recently released the Devotion rhythm compilation which features Popcaan, Gramma Zone, Alkaline, Khago, Jahmeil, Jah Vinci among others. This compilation has already raised eyebrows in the international media as reggae artiste Jahmeil recently had his single, Real Father, played on US-based pop station MTV. Notnice is also promoting Alkaline’s party single Holiday Again.
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A PACKED house saw outstanding performances on Sunday’s closing night of the Caribbean Fever Irie Jamboree Music Festival.
The three-day event took place on Labour Day at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.A dancehall who’s who rocked the crowd — from Mr Easy who opened the show to Capleton who brought the curtains down.I-Octane followed Mr Easy, scoring well with his signature hit Say Boom, as well as My Life, No Love Inna Dem, and Gal A Gimmi Bun.Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley, joined by brothers Julian and Stephen, gave a rounded set which included Exodus, Set Up Shop, Road To Zion, It Was Written, Traffic Jam, and Shootout.Midway his set, he invited Irie Jamboree pitchman Bobby Clarke on stage. Clarke got down on his knees and proposed marriage to his lady Syn Dawkins who accepted.Appropriately, Gong segued into Affairs of The Heart as the couple sealed the moment with a kiss. For an encore, the Grammy winner performed the anthem Welcome to Jamrock.Making what was billed as her last performance as a dancehall artiste, Lady Saw was typically outrageous.She called on Beenie Man to do their hit song, Healing. Spragga Benz also joined her for an explicit stint that sent the crowd into a frenzy.The highlight of Saw’s performance was her delivery of the burlesque hit Heels On, which saw her bringing audience members on stage.Following her performance, DJ Chris Dubmaster presented Lady Saw with an Irie Jam Award for two decades of service to Jamaica’s music industry. Saw shared snippets of her soon-to-be-released gospel album before declaring, “God gave me a calling, but he didn’t give me a deadline.”Shabba Ranks delivered a workmanlike set that found favour with hardcore dancehall fans. He did favourites like Just Reality, Shine Eye Gal, Peanie Peanie, and Roots and Culture. He was also honoured by Irie Jam Radio.Appreciative fans held their cell phones and lighters aloft during Capleton’s 20-minute stay which saw him working an energetic medley with Shabba.Among the personalities in the ‘house’ were rapper Busta Rhymes, actor Malik Yoba and New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson.The preceding nights of Caribbean Fever Irie Jamboree Music Festival were dedicated to performers from the French and Eastern Caribbean.HOUSE RULES
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Simone MorganWednesday, September 04, 2013HOUSE RULES
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Friday, July 26, 2013 | 11:25 AMHOUSE RULES
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THE thousands of patrons attending Reggae Sumfest’s Dancehall Night at Catherine Hall in Montego, Bay St James, on Thursday, were treated to outstanding performances from Assassin, Lady Saw, Kiprich, Spice, and Bounty Killer.
Spice, who had promised a jaw-dropping set, delivered, but not without incident.The artiste, who appeared on stage in a plastic cocoon, was sent tumbling from her 13-inch stilettos, moments into her set.“These 13-inch heels are hard to manage uno unzip me outa da ting ya,” she chuckled, as she picked up herself and continued her show.Dressed in a silver and white jump-suit, the saucy artiste proved to her fans she was a well-rounded entertainer.“Mi have a surprise fi uno. Make mi go fi him. Officer uno gimmi two minutes wid him, please,” she said.Moments later, a handcuffed Vybz Kartel look-alike appeared as the audience went into a frenzy. They performed Ramping Shop.Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is currently incarcerated on a murder rap.Spice’s stunt had even members of the media attention as they all huddle closer to the stage for a closer look.Displaying his lyrical prowess, Assassin — who also uses the moniker Agent Sasco — captivated his audience during his 20-minute set.He delivered well received tracks including Talk How Mi feel, Tek Weh Yuh Self, and Don’t make me hold you.“Since I got my three kids, I see things differently. I am more mature. Parenting is more difficult when I was growing up as technology has increased. Back in the days, we used to read a lot of books but now our kids are exposed to all type of negativity via the Internet and TV,” he said, before reeling off the lyrics to Mi Late, Nutten At All Dem Can Do We, Hand to Mouth and Almighty Protect Me.Lady Saw, Queen of the Dancehall, was in a no-nonsense mood. She threw lyrical blows at her musical rivals as well her estranged spouse.“From mi an’ mi man mash up, dem a act like dem know what under mi clothes,” she said before spitting the lyrics to songs like Wa Do Some Gal, If Di Man Lef and Mr Shortcomings.She could do no wrong with tracks Mi Beat Dat Already, Chat to Mi Back, and Two Man Mi Have.The crowd got wilder when the entertainer requested her pair of stilettos. Joined by her dancers, Lady Saw also invited a male patron from the audience.The ‘guests’ onstage put on a provocative and seductive show as Saw sang Heels On.“This is my last Sumfest experience, as it is time for me to take a run as the Lord is calling me. See you again when I am doing gospel music. It is going to be great,” she said before exiting the stage.“Lady Saw has once again proved why she is the queen of the dancehall. However, I think that she is taking the break-up with her spouse terribly. Naturally, she is bitter. All of this bitterness is highlighted in her performance and I really do hope she will find her happiness again. I know whatever genre of music she chooses she will be well supported,” said Kandise Smith, a female patron.Kiprich had a rib-tickling set. While performing the lyrics to Ugly So, he invited a pint-size male onstage to dance with a large-bodied fluffy’ female. The audience was delighted.Kippo, as he is oftentimes called, was in a clashing mood. This time his ‘rival’ was a fellow deejay.“Officer, come here for a second,” he said. Moments later, he was joined onstage by a policeman.Eyes were glued to the stage, the artiste and lawman traded lyrical blows at each other.He left the stage with his fans wanting more.Gothic artiste Tommy Lee, with fiery-red contact lens, gave what some patrons described as a frightening and ‘creepy’ set.Although, many complained about his ‘demonic’ appearance, he was well received by sections of the crowd who sang to Watch Dem, Psycho, and Spartan Solider.At the break of dawn, Bounty Killer and members of his Alliance clan appeared and delivered a great set for headliner I-Octane, who closed the show.Other memorable moments came from Aidonia, I Wayne, RDX, QQ and Popcaan.Sumfest continues with International Night II tonight.Lady Saw in performance at Reggae Sumfest’s Dancehall Night at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, St James, on Thursday. (PHOTOS: JOSEPH WELLINGTON)(L-R) This Vbyz Kartel lookalike who performed with Spice was quite a hit with the fans. Spice delivered an entertaining set.Kiprich and Assassin in action.(L-R) Aidonia shows he is up to the task. QQ dances up a storm during his set.View the original article here
Entertainment
Friday, July 26, 2013 | 11:25 AMHOUSE RULES
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Thursday, July 25, 2013 | 9:54 AMHOUSE RULES
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Thursday, July 25, 2013 | 9:58 PMHOUSE RULES
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