Sean Paul is now an independent artist after he and Atlantic Records ties this summer. For weeks there were rumors that the label has dropped the dancehall star after a 12-year relationship went sour. For the first time Sean Paul is opening up on the circumstances that lead to him leaving thelabel. Speaking with Billboard, SP says he felt like Atlantic staffs were too inexperience to work with. “I... »
Vybz Kartel will be behind bars for a very long time but could a new dancehall act take his place? A new breed of dancehall artists are popping that are changing up their images to look strikingly similar to the Worl’Boss. In recent weeks artists such as Alkaline and Gage are being accused of bootlegging Kartel’s look. But some artists are even pushing the controversy boundary even further in thei... »
ENTERTAINER Ninja Man, his son, and two other men will now have to wait until April 13, 2015 to be tried in Kingston’s Home Circuit Court for murder. The date was set when they appeared in court yesterday. The artiste, whose real name is Desmond Ballentyne, and son Janiel, are to be tried along with Seymour Samuels and Dennis Clayton. The four are facing the court for the March 16, 2009 gun ... »
Been a while since we’ve heard from dancehall veteran Spragga Benz, but he is back on the scene with a new video. Spragga Benz isn’t afraid of duppy or vampires in the video for his single “Duppy Nuh Frighten Vampire,” off his album Shotta Culture. The gritty dancehall single was produced by BoomTunes, Red Square and Jah Snowcone. Spragga Benz head the label Red Square. The dancehall icon was inst... »
Even from behind prison walls Vybz Kartel is still the hottest topic in dancehall. But there is a new rise of new dancehall acts that are altering their image to look like the incarcerated dancehall star. Gage is the latest deejay to change up his physical appearance to look like Vybz Kartel. Dancehall fans have been bashing the deejay on social media since he uploaded severalphotos on his Instagr... »
JAMAICANS have loved Dionne Warwick since the 1960s when she broke through with a number of classy songs for songwriters Burt Bacharach and David Lloyd. The singer recently released her latest album, Feels So Good, a 14-track set that hears her teaming with her contemporary Gladys Knight, as well as an all-star cast that includes Cyndi Lauper, Jamie Foxx, CeeLo Green, Ruben Studdart and Ziggy Mar... »
Entertainer Harry Belafonte, was among four cinematic veterans honoured on Saturday at the Governor’s Awards in Los Angeles, California. The others are: Maureen O’Hara, Hayao Miyazak and Jean-Claude Carriere. Belafonte was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his activism. The 87-year-old was a prominent civil rights campaigner and friend of Martin Luther King Jr, who he su... »
MACHEL Montano won the Soul Train Award for Best International Performance at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Friday evening. The diminutive singer won for Ministry of Road, making him the second Trinidadian to win the award in consecutive years. Singer Bunji Garlin won the 2013 award with Differentology. It was the third nomination for 39-year-old Montano who has been a dominant figure in soca mus... »
Mike Tyson claims he was sexually abused as a child. The 48-year-old retired boxer was snatched off the street when he was seven by an “old man”, who he never saw again after the shocking one-time incident. Speaking on SiriusXM’s Opie radio show, he said: “He snatched me off the street. I was a little kid … [he was an] old man. He bullied me, sexually abused me... »
JAMAICA-BORN contestant in The Voice, Anita Antoinette has soared to the top of the iTunes reggae 100 chart with Rude (The Voice Performance). The singer’s rendition of Magic!’s Rude surpassed the sales of UB40’s Red Red Wine, who holds the number two spot. In the number three spot is One Day by Matisyahu. Occupying positions four and five are Three Little Birds and Is This Love ... »
DANCEHALL artiste Kalado returned to the island earlier this week after being detained in a Florida jail for roughly two weeks. The entertainer, whose given name is Eton Gordon, was being held on suspicion of immigration fraud. “I have not gotten a chance to speak with him as yet, but I can confirm that he has returned to Jamaica. I am supposed to meet with him today [Friday] so I may have m... »
Richie Stephens continues to benefit internationally from the success of his latest project ‘Everybody Dance,’ which had its world premier on WorldStarHipHop earlier this month. The singer will headline the inaugural One Caribbean Festival, slated for Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill, Florida on December 13, alongside, Jamaican Sean Paul, Bunji Garlin, Fayann Lyons and Maxi Pr... »
MAVADO is featured on two songs for the soundtrack to the movie Beyond the Lights which is scheduled for release by the Relativity Music Group on November 11. The singjay collaborates with Trinidad-born born rapper Nicki Minaj on both tracks — Give it All to Me and C’mon Boy. Released last year, Give it All to Me is produced by JA Productions. It was a hit locally and did well on Carib... »
STRICTLY The Best, possibly the longest running compilation album in reggae, marks a milestone on November 25. VP Records will release Volumes 50 and 51 of the series. As usual, it showcases some of the most popular dancehall songs of the year as well as classic hits from the Queens, New York label’s vaults. Strictly The Best was first released in 1990. Volumes 1 and 2 featured hits from Fox... »
Mariah Carey has been confirmed as headline act for the 19th staging of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival, set for Januray 29-31 at Trelawny Stadium near Falmouth. This will mark Mariah’s first time performing in the Caribbean. Festival producer Walter Elmore noted that “welcoming Mariah Carey to Jamaica’s shores is truly exciting!” The Jazz and Blues Festival is the first festival i... »
TELECOMS company LIME signed dancehall artiste Konshens and former Miss Jamaica World (2006) Sara Lawrence as its newest brand ambassadors at Ribbiz at Barbican Centre in St Andrew, yesterday. Carlo Redwood, LIME’s vice-president of marketing, said signing was a “no-brainer”. “Konshens is popular with Jamaicans. He loves Jamaica and he’s very passionate about music an... »
Suge Knight and Katt Williams found themselves behind bars for allegedly snatching a female paparazzo camera. According to TMZ, the incident went down on September 5 outside a studio in Beverly Hills. The female photographer filed a police report. Suge Knight was picked up by cops in Las Vegas, while Katt Williams was arrested on Wednesday morning when he showed up in court for an assault case. Th... »
Barbara Gayle and Jerome Reynolds Gleaner Writers Former Miss Jamaica Universe and media personality, Yendi Phillipps, has filed for full custody of her child with dancehall entertainer, Chino, whose real name is Daniel McGregor. The application was filed in the Supreme Court this week by the law firm Nelson-Brown, Guy and Francis. Phillipps is asking the court to grant her custody, care and contr... »
Popcaan new album Where We Come From has been available since June but the dancehall deejay held an official album launch party last week in Kingston at the Triple Century Sports Bar & Grill. Lot’s of dancehall celebrities came out to support the former Portmore Empire deejay including Beenie Man, Sizzla Kalonji, Aidonia, Lady Saw, and his former nemesis Black Ryno. Popcaan gave a well receive... »
Kanye West could have banked $4.5 million in just over a week if he had inked a deal to perform in Las Vegas. The G.O.O.D. Music rapper was reportedly approached by Planet Hollywood to perform in Las Vegas for 9 days where he would be paid $500,000 per night. The deal would make Kanye West the highest performer on the Vegas strip, but the College Dropout rapper turned down the deal according to TM... »
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The rape trial of entertainer Elephant man has been pushed back to March 16, 2015. The date was set when the entertainer, whose real name is Oniel Bryan, appeared in the Home Circuit for trial today. The case could not start due to other ongoing cases. The artiste’s bail was extended. The 38-year-old artiste is charged with rape stemming from a January 2012 incident invo... »
Shaggy, the Jamaican reggae and dancehall superstar, has received one nomination for the 2014 Soul Train Awards. CENTRIC announced the list of nominations for the Soul Train Awards on Monday, with Chris Brown and Beyonce receiving the most nominations. Shaggy was nominated for Best International Performance, for his collaborative single “You Girl” with Ne-Yo. Shaggy noted that it was always a grea... »
Curtis Campbelll, Gleaner Writer Producer Markus Myrie (Buju Banton son) Following Forbes Magazine‘s recent announcement that no recording artiste, across all genres, has sold a million albums since the start of the year, members of the entertainment industry have shared their contingency plans for surviving in the broader market. Artiste manager Carlington Wilmot says reggae and dancehall m... »
JAMAICAN radio disc jock ZJ Wah Wa pleaded guilty to telemarketing fraud at a hearing in the Federal District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, yesterday. ZJ Wah Wa, given name Deon-ville O’Hara, is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. “Mr O’Hara entered a guilty plea, pursuant to the terms of a written plea agreement,&... »
AN Antiguan church minister is calling on authorities to put a ban on dancehall artiste Alkaline, who is scheduled to perform in that country on Saturday. According to the Antiguan Observer, Bishop Charlesworth Browne, head of Christian Ministries Church, said the artiste “will bring decadence and death” to the nation. The religious leader said he is prepared to call for a boycott of t... »
