Entertainment August, 2008!

Mavado Finally On USA Soil

Fans eagerly awaiting his performance on Sunday, August 31st at Irie Jamboree!

Weather Outlook for Irie Jamboree: Sunny Skies, High 85 degrees, Low 63 degrees, NO RAIN! 

The long wait is over. After a one year wait, Dancehall dj, Mavado landed safely at JFK International airport in New York on Thursday, August 28th on an American Airline aircraft at 9:17pm. The DJ and his management team, cleared immigrations and customs at 9:45pm. He was said to be resting comfortably at a secret location in New York. "It has been a long wait for music fans in New York who will finally have the opportunity to see Mavado live in the Big Apple on Labor day Sunday, August 31 at Irie Jamboree. We worked hard with his management team over the past few months to make this happen and we look forward to him gracing the stage for his many loyal fans" was the message for the Irie Jamboree executive team this morning. Mavado (born David Constantine Brooks) in 1981 gave the world the critically acclaimed debut album Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, which includes hit singles "Fathers Prayer", "Cassava Piece Radio", "Sadness", "Gully Side", and "On The Go (Faster Than Bullet) which was dedicated to Olympic Gold medal winner Asafa Powell. Other confirmed acts include King Yellow, Beenieman, Alison Hinds, the "Queen of Soca," Coco Tea, Sizzla, Elephant Man and rising reggae stars Serani, Admiral Bailey, Bugle, DeMarco, Konshens, Tanya Mullings, Little Hero, RDX, Elvis D, Ragga Lox, Empire Isis, Benny Bwoy, Lushy Banton, Prestige and others. This year's festival will pay tribute to all Caribbean athletes who competed at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. A special Usain Bolt tent will be established at the event and will be appropriately dressed in Jamaican colors and used as one of the VIP suites. This effort of setting up the Usain Bolt tent will be supported by Digicel, one of the lead sponsors for Irie Jamboree. This follows on the close relationships between Usain, Digicel and Irie Jam Radio at the Reebok Grand Prix in late May when Usain first created pandemonium by smashing Asafa Powell's sprint record to become a contender for the title of the fastest man on earth. We will also work with sponsors Western Union, Pay-o-matic and Grace Kennedy to decorate the "Veronica Campbell-Brown" Media Tent which will honor our Olympic Queens at the event. The food court will also be re-named the "Caribbean Olympic Village" to honor all Caribbean athletes who competed at the Olympic Games this year. Irie Jamboree takes place this year on Labor Day Sunday, August 31, 2008 at Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, New York. For Irie Jamboree tickets, please call 888 IRIE NYC or visit iriejamboree.com
 

Entertainment August, 2008!

ICM Fest Voting Countdown!

August 2008!

Lovindeer to pen Olympic song

Lloyd Lovindeer, known for his humorous lyrics, said that Jamaica's outstanding performance in the recently concluded Olympics has inspired him to join other artistes by putting pen to paper. "I have to do it ... the athletes were magnificent, electrifying and, in the case of Usain Bolt, thunderous," said Lovindeer. He said Jamaicans can expect a song this week, and promises that it will be just as amazing as our athletes. "Jamaicans can expect the same vibe that would normally be in my songs," he said. Artistes Mavado, Derrick Harriott, Konshens and Elephant Man have already paid their tributes to our athletes in song. During the '70s, Lovindeer was a member of a vocal group called the Fabulous Flames, but had little success until he decided to go solo. His self-produced single Blinking Bus went to number one and paved the way for his career. In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert ravaged Jamaica and Lovindeer's track Wild Gilbert, in his trademark humorous style, went straight to number one and still remains his biggest hit. After Usain Bolt's first world- record run on May 31, in New York, he recorded a song titled Run Like The Wind. Lovindeer said he is not just an artiste who awaits occasions to make his music. "If you stop to think, I have a lot of number ones, such as Pocomania Day, Government Boops and Don't Bend Down," he said. "Lovindeer as a writer ... has captured the lyrics and he's very good at it," he added.
 

MAVADO CONFIRMED FOR IRIE JAMBOREE 2k8

Dancehall hotshot, Mavado (born David Constantine Brooks) in 1981 and who was raised in an area known as "Cuba", a micro ghetto within the heart of Kingston, Jamaica's Cassava Piece community...the artiste who gave the dancehall world, the critically acclaimed debut album Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, which includes hit singles "Fathers Prayer", "Cassava Piece Radio", "Sadness", "Gully Side", and "On The Go (Faster Than Bullet) which was dedicated to Olympic Gold medal winner Asafa Powell, earlier today (Friday, Aug. 22nd) signed on the dotted line and is now officially confirmed for North America's premier reggae festival Irie Jamboree 2008. Other confirmed acts include King Yellow, Beenieman, Alison Hinds, the "Queen of Soca," Coco Tea, Sizzla, Elephant Man and rising reggae stars Serani, Admiral Bailey, Bugle, DeMarco, Konshens, Tanya Mullings, Little Hero, RDX, Elvis D, Ragga Lox, Empire Isis, Benny Bwoy, Lushy Banton, Prestige and others. A unique feature of this year's festival is that the entire event will be a tribute to all Caribbean athletes now competing at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. "Our company, and especially our radio division, Irie Jam Radio has a long history of participation in track & field athletics, and when we looked at the jaw-dropping, gravity-defying performances in Beijing, it was really the logical move to dedicate this year's festival to our athletes", Bobby Clarke, CEO of Irie Jam Radio commented. A special Usain Bolt tent will be established at the event and it will be appropriately dressed in Jamaican colors and used as one of the VIP suites. This effort of setting up the Usain Bolt tent will be supported by Digicel, one of the lead sponsors for Irie Jamboree. This follows on the close relationships between Usain, Digicel and Irie Jam Radio at the Reebok Grand Prix in late May when Usain first created pandemonium by smashing Asafa Powell's sprint record to become a contender for the title of the fastest man on earth. The organisers will also work with sponsors Western Union, Pay-o-matic and Grace Kennedy to decorate the "Veronica Campbell-Brown" Media Tent which will honor our Olympic Queens at the event. The food court will also be re-named the "Caribbean Olympic Village" to honor all Caribbean athletes who competed at the Olympic Games this year. Irie Jamboree is also expected to be a media feeding frenzy for international music press, with journalists coming from Japan, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and all across North America. Irie Jamboree takes place this year on Labor Day Sunday, August 31, 2008 at Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, New York.

For Irie Jamboree tickets, please call 888 IRIE NYC or visit iriejamboree.com
 

Richie puts patriotism where music is

Singer Richie Stephens is known for his snappy outfits, a number of those on show at the 2008 edition of his 'Take Me Away' concert in April. There was, however, one outfit that was not so much designed to impress with cut and colour, the black, green and gold already expressing his heart. Chances are, then, that when Stephens left for the United States last Wednesday morning he packed his Jamaica suit. Maybe it is the one he wears on the cover of his latest album, Come to Jamaica."As a concerned Jamaican each time I talk to people, especially abroad, there is this negativity that they have been absorbing about Jamaica," Stephens said. He will have a chance to dispel some of that negativity, performing at the high-profile Independence Ball in Manhattan, a Caribbean festival in Philadelphia, and Caribbean Day in the Shea Stadium in the New York Mets final day at the famed baseball ground. In the mix is also a United States launch of Come to Jamaica at the Club Sutra, Manhattan. Stephens explained that he had been doing the 'Islands in the Park' series, including performances in Florida, Washington, DC, New Jersey and New York. While the Come to Jamaica album is new, putting his patriotism into song isn't. Stephens said that "about eight years ago I did a song called Jamaica Land We Love. About two years after that that I did Come to Jamaica (the title song of the album). It was a song I had put down in my studio for several years". The song was used in the Cricket World Cup promotion, complete with a video, and after the bats and balls were put down Stephens met with Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett. "We managed to put together some things beneficial to us and we are doing some wonderful things in the world," Stephens said. An interview with 'Island Stylee' led to a guest speaker slot at the in-flight magazine's 10th anniversary awards function and Air Jamaica's involvement. In addition to the title song, a live version of the National Anthem (sung just after Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record), Circle Jamaica, Jamaican Sunshine, Negril and Caribbean People are on the 15-song CD. "I would like to start a trend, that I am promoting all that is positive about Jamaica in my music. I know there are positives, but they are not being sung about," Stephens said. "Terrible things are happening, but wonderful things are happening."
 

Reggae Artist Charged With Rape

A popular Reggae artist is behind bars in a North Carolina jail. Ripton Hylton, who is better known by his stage name Eek-A-Mouse, is facing Kidnapping, 2nd Degree Rape and Cocaine Possession charges.

Trumpeter Dizzy Moore is dead

TRUMPETER JOHNNY 'Dizzy' Moore, a founding member of the Skatalites band, died on Saturday at the age of 69. Moore succumbed to cancer at a friend's home, said musicologist. Herbie Miller, who knew the musician for more than 30 years. Moore had been ailing for some time and was recently discharged from hospital.Miller hailed Moore as the "most creative thinking musician of the ska period".Moore is the sixth member of the legendary band to die. Trombonist Don Drummond, keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, saxophonists Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso and Jerome 'Jah Jerry' Hinds predeceased him. The band, which formed in 1964, still tours with three surviving members: bassist Lloyd Brevette, drummer Lloyd Knibbs and saxophonist Lester Sterling. Moore was born in Kingston and got his musical training at the Alpha Boys School in St Andrew. Because of his choice of instrument, he was nicknamed 'Dizzy' after the great American trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie. Like Moore, McCook, Drummond and Sterling attended Alpha. Along with Alphonso, they formed the classic Skatalites horn section that played on enduring songs like, Freedom Sounds, Guns of Navarone, Confucius and Eastern Standard Time. The original band stayed together for just over one year, recording for various producers before splitting up. Moore went on to play at Studio One for producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd and at the rival Treasure Isle which was run by Arthur 'Duke' Reid. The Skatalites reformed in 1982 and have toured the United States and Europe many times, winning new fans and earning two Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album. Moore never figured for long in the revived band, reportedly due to differences with McCook. He toured the US with Bunny Wailer and recorded with new roots-reggae acts, such as Yami Bolo. In recent years, Moore became an in-demand source on early Jamaican pop music and life at Alpha during the 1940s. And in recent times received an OD for his contribution to the music industry. Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore is survived by his mother, four children and grandchildren.
 

Isaac Hayes Funeral Set For Monday

More than just music - Etana launches album and merchandise

BY NOW, fans would have known that Etana's debut album, The Strong One, is in stores, but what they may not have been privy to is that everyone can now have their own 'piece of the artiste'. On Sunday night, when the singer asked fans and guests to join her at Strawberry Hill for the official launch of The Strong One, there was more than just music in store. Bolstered by the idyllic surroundings and a warm reception, Etana, along with members of her management team, unveiled a line of novelty items, each emblazoned with her likeness. In the offing are coffee mugs, 'doggie' tags, T-shirts and student notebooks. A member of Etana's management team said these products were not necessarily introduced to boost album sales - which are doing "good" - but are part of a wider marketing package. "It's 'Brand Etana' and once it's representing her, everything else will fall into place," explains Kadine Reynolds, marketing manager, PCF Company Ltd, which is responsible for the items. "They're more of a keepsake, like having a piece of the artiste." With the artiste's popularity having no age limit, there is an item for everyone - the notebook seemingly the item of choice. With the new school term just around the corner, these items should be extremely popular, Reynolds tells The Gleaner. Though unsure of the price of the notebooks, she assures that they should be competitive. It was a five-year-old girl, who indirectly helped steer Etana, mother of one, onto the right path in terms of her music, so the singer plans to give back by visiting schools and offering not just her music, but words of inspiration. Etana, whose breakout hit, Wrong Address, explored the injustices suffered by persons living in the ghetto, at the hands of corporate employers, says her mission is to inspire children and create a foundation for the next generation, which includes her own son. The notebooks are available at Kingston Bookshops. Each Saturday, for this month, Etana will be conducting autograph-signing sessions at select stores. The album, which is being distributed by VP Records, contains tracks such as the popular Roots, I Am Not Afraid and her current hit, Warrior Love.
 

Gospel show closes Denbigh

It was a spiritual affair for the massive crowd which turned out at the Jamaica Broilers-sponsored Gospel Rama at Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show last Sunday night. The concert brought down the curtains on the 56th annual event. At 5 p.m., the venue was already jam-packed for the six o'clock start. Shelly Ann Watson was the first performer called to duty by MC Olecia Wedderburn. Watson did her last year Gospel Festival Song Year Of The Church. The May Pen gospel group, Vibes, was next and performed the song Beulah Land. The dreadlocked Ziggy Soul captivated the audience and had them singing along as he performed Genesis, Proverb and Sing It Out. The audience, however, got into the spirit of things with Robert and Genieve Bailey's one-hour performance with God Is Good, Salvation Medley, Clay and Preacher Man. Omari was able to get the crowd in a responsive mood when he did his new Kurt Riley-produced single Why. His other efforts Soldier, Tell Me A Who and Help held the momentum. Carlene Davis' one-hour set was very entertaining as she had the audience in the jam-packed venue in a dancing mood throughout her stint. Her repertoire included Stand Up And Tell Me, God Is, Amen and Never Give Up Jesus. There were big shouts from the audience during Grace Thriller's act as they performed Never Give Up Jesus, Too Much To Gain To Lose, Shady Green Pastures, Teardrops, Sunrise and I Surrender. DJ Nicholas introduction to the stage sent the audience into a frenzy. The top-flight gospel DJ went into a 'bag of goodies', which included Step Out, Back To The Owner, Pop Off The Word and No Drugs Down Here. His song Warrior created high energy as he had the audience dancing, jumping and waving rags.
 

Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, was found unconscious at his home, and rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on Sunday, August 10th. He was 65.   Along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes was one of the dominant black artists in the early 1970s.   Hayes, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, would have turned 66 on August 20.  The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says a family member found Hayes unresponsive near a treadmill on Sunday.  He was pronounced dead about an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis. The cause of death was not immediately known.  In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap.  His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show 'South Park'.