BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter INCARCERATED reggae singer Buju Banton will do his first concert, upon release from prison, in Trinidad and Tobago. The announcement came yesterday from Jodian Ebanks, a member of the singer’s marketing team, at a media briefing held during the Love and Harmony Cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit vessel. According to Ebanks, the concert will be held... »
Ewan Palmer,Newsweek An airline crewmember has been arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle in 9 pounds of cocaine through New York’s John F Kennedy Airport by strapping it to his legs. Hugh Hall, crew member for Fly Jamaica Airways, arrived at the airport after flying in from Montego Bay, Jamaica, on March 17. The Jamaican citizen presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) o... »
Fifty-one-year-old Wayne Palmer is desperately hoping to make a breakthrough in life. Once a rising entertainer in Jamaica, Palmer has fallen on hard times to the point where he has considered suicide. The Maxfield Avenue, St Andrew resident says the only thing that keeps him from giving up are the fond memories of years past, when he was a budding singer. “I used to travel in and out of Jamaica a... »
BY SADE GARDNER Observer writer SHAGGY recently appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden and the Internet cannot stop buzzing about it. The show, aired on CBS on Wednesday, takes a humorous spin on the Russian investigation, which seeks to determine that country’s alleged involvement into the 2016 US elections in which Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton to become the 45th US Presid... »
Troy Ave says he is fighting for his life and it’s all because he has been keeping it real. Last year, the New York rapper came under fire from fans and even some of his rap peers like 50 Cent for hinting that he may take the witness stand in TaxStone’s nurder trial and snitch. Now we all know that snithing is frown in hip hop culture and in the streets it’s even a more serious offense, rega... »
Spice is the newest cast member of “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” and already she has gotten into a fight. Vh1 has released the trailer for season 7 of Love and Hip Hop : Atlanta showing a drama-filled season ahead with some new faces and some veterans. Spice and Erica Mena are among the new faces to join the Atlanta franchise of “Love and Hip Hop.” Already we are seeing both females getting into fig... »
Dancehall legend Flourgon has filed a $300 million lawsuit against Miley Cyrus for jacking his lyrics. According to the deejay, born Michael May, Miley stole his lyrics for her 2013 smash hit “We Can’t Stop” and that song helped her became a megastar. The suit was filed in a New York court on Tuesday of this week and the legendary Jamaican dancehall deejay is asking for an ambitious sum of US$300 ... »
Vybz Kartel will not be featured on XXXTentacion album. The Florida rapper reveals the tracklist for his debut album“?” which is set for release on March 16. Before he made the announcement on Monday, a leaked tracklist surfaced showing a song with Vybz Kartel titled “Through The Night.” A rep for Kartel confirmed with Urban Islandz that the song is a fake and he will not be featured on XXXTentaci... »
Serena Williams and Sean Paul hit the tennis court for some friendly competition. Serena Williams is back to playing professional tennis following her hiatus after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in September last year. The tennis legend had a rough pregnancy with several complications including blood clots, and was bed rest for six. On Thursday, she played her first compet... »
Vybz Kartel lost a ton of weight since going to prison and this how he keeps fit. Someone leaked a video showing the dancehall icon playing football at GP and let’s just say sports might not be a career alternative. Vybz Kartel famously gained on a ton of weight during his high profile trial in 2014. At the time, sources said that his weight gain was as a result of stress from the trial and subseq... »
Rick Ross is not on life support and is doing good in the hospital, at least that is what Fat Trel is saying. Ricky Rozay gave us all a scare when a story broke on Friday that he was hospitalized following a medical emergency at his home in Miami. Rick Rossreportedly had a hard time breathing and appears to be in a lot of pain when paramedics rushed to his home around 3:30 AM on Thursday. Someone ... »
Busy Signal gets down and dirty with his female costar in his new video “Can’t Get Enough.” The Warrior Films Ja-directed video features the Turf Boss and his lady putting on a show with some smooth sensual dance moves. Portions of the video were shot in black-and-white and the rest in color. Busy Signal says he came up with the video concept and that’s what the song is all about. Signal recently ... »
By N. Campbell Popcaan picked up four Your View Awards last weekend to earn the title of the night’s biggest winner. Meanwhile, his dancehall rival Alkaline, who went into the YVA with the most nominations, picked up only one trophy for Favourite Dancehall Artiste of The Year. Alkaline received seven nominations this year and Vybz Kartel didn’t get nominated because of some rule changes. Kartel’s ... »
Vybz Kartel won’t be getting any visits at GP anytime soon. Authorities have suspended all inmates visits at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston indefinitely. The move came after prison officials discovered two large underground holes at the prison and believed they were being dug by inmates who were trying to escape. Superintendent Ivan Randall, confirmed that the decision to h... »
BY FALON FOLKES Staff reporter [email protected] Mercury in cream can cause brain damage, kidney failure — officials THERE are crucial things that Jamaicans who engage in the act of skin bleaching, to acquire the perfect ‘browning’ shade, do not know — one of which can lead to body dysfunction, medical officials have said. What many ‘bleachers’ do not know is that... »
Rehabilitation of roadway from Harbour View to Port Antonio begins March Construction of the long-awaited Southern Coastal Highway looks ready to take off by the end of March, with an allocation of approximately $4 billion included in the 2018/19 budget. This comes exactly one year after Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, signed a US$326 million loan agreement with the China ... »
A massive police investigation is now ongoing at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, formerly known as the General Penitentiary (GP), in downtown Kingston, following the discovery of a tunnel at the facility. Information reaching Loop News is that the passage was found at the maximum security facility during an operation that was carried out by a police/military team on Friday. There has b... »
Vybz Kartel mother, Teresa Palmer, gave a rare interview recently. Kartel, whose government name is Adidja Palmer, is currently serving a life sentence for murder but his music and persona is still very influential in the Jamaican entertainment space. “What’s a party without Vybz Kartel music,” the incarcerated deejay said in a post on Instagram recently. In that case, he wasn’t just being braggad... »
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The impending visit of United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson to the island has sparked an online debate among Jamaicans, some of whom expressed little confidence that there will be a good outcome from the visit. Tillerson is to embark on his first major tour of Central and South America this week as a worried region watches Venezuela’s slide into crisis. He meet... »
Bounty Killer says he was inspired by Shaggy to donate 63 beds to two hospitals in Kingston. Last week, Shaggy announced that his annual benefit concert Shaggy and Friends raised $100 million for the Bustamante Hospital for Children. This week, Bounty Killer announced that he donated 60 beds to the Kingston Public Hospital and the Victoria Jubilee hospital. The dancehall legend says he felt the ne... »
Bounty Killer is lauding Shaggy for raising a whopping $100 million for the Bustamante Hospital for Children. The “Boombastic” deejay handed over the check last week to the hospital following a successful staging of his annual Shaggy and Friends concert. Last year, Shaggy and his Make a Difference Foundation, headed by his wife Rebecca Burrell, set out to raise $100 million for the Bustamante Hosp... »
Shaggy and Sting performed at the Super Bowl LII tailgate show on Sunday. The dancehall legend and Sting is hot off a performance at the Grammys a week ago and now they turned up at the 2018 Super Bowl 52 pre-game show to entertain fans. The duo released their new single “Don’t Make Me Wait” last month which is the first track from their upcoming joint album 44/876, due in April this year. Shaggy ... »
Bugle used his birthday to feed the homeless with the help of some celebrity friends. While most of us would relax and or party for our birthdays, Bugle got out of bed early on Tuesday with one mission on his mind, to feed the homeless on the streets of Kingston. The dancehall veteran did the same thing on Christmas Day last year where he saw the need to provide hot meals for of the most ignored m... »
Physical CDs are going extinct thanks to the robust online music streaming industry. Best Buy will stop the sale of CDs in its store starting July 1. The electronics retailer has already informed music publishing companies of the decision. This is just the beginning of the end of the compact disc era because Target is threatening to only pay publishers when a customer buys a CD which could further... »
by S. Leslie Damian Marley is deserving of his Grammy win on Sunday night and almost all of the reggae/dancehall community agrees. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley picked up his third Grammy award for Best Reggae Album at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Gardens on Sunday night. Reggae fans have been reacting with mixed feelings but an overwhelming number agrees that his album Stony Hill is... »
