The Government of Jamaica is to declare February Reggae Month, minister of information, culture, youth and sports, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, told guests at the launch of the Reggae Academy Awards last Tuesday at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.
“I really want to say to you that the Government will be announcing, at the highest level, a declaration of February as Reggae Month,” Grange said. “And it will be announced and presented in a manner that will impact not only in Jamaica but across the world.”
The inaugural staging of the Reggae Academy Awards ceremony, slated for Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, is being widely hailed within the local entertainment fraternity as the equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
An initiative of the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RIAJam), the gala affair will be the grand finalé to a week-long series of music industry activities. These include a road tour, stopping at six locations around the island - St Thomas, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Savanna-la-Mar, Clarendon and Kingston - as well as a number of symposia on the music industry. [...]
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Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta:
There was a Buffalo Soldier in the heart of America,
Stolen from Africa, brought to America,
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.
I mean it, when I analyze the stench -
To me it makes a lot of sense:
How the Dreadlock Rasta was the Buffalo Soldier,
And he was taken from Africa, brought to America,
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.
Said he was a Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta -
Buffalo Soldier in the heart of America. [...]
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A Reggae Film Festival featuring films that have reggae music as the subject, story line or content will be held in Kingston on February 15,16,17, 2008 to focus on film as an aspect of Jamaican music culture. This was announced today by Minister of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports with responsibility for Entertainment, Hon. Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, who said that her Ministry will be assisting the Reggae Film Festival to showcase some of the many documentaries, feature films and music videos being made that incorporate or highlight Jamaica’s unique reggae music.
The Film Festival will be a prelude to the Reggae Academy Awards being presented at that time by Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RIAJam) as well as a sidebar of the Global Reggae 2008 conference hosted by the UWI Institute of Caribbean Studies.
The REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL is organized by film maker and film festival organizer Barbara Blake Hannah in collaboration with ReggaeFilms.co, a UK-based online community and marketplace for films, books and music highlighting Jamaica’s reggae culture. Minister Grange says the REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL will give Jamaicans the opportunity to view some of the best of the hundreds of films made about and because of the world famous music of Jamaica, that not only reflect the wide interest in Jamaican music, but also bring tourists on vacation and income to members of the entertainment fraternity, as well as the nation.
“Most of the films about Jamaica are made by reggae lovers in countries outside Jamaica and we here at home have never seen them. There are also some Jamaican films that equally have never had local TV or cinema exposure. The REGGAE FILM FESTIVAL will showcase the best of these. There is certainly enough material of interest continually being produced to make this an annual event,” said Minister Grange. [...]
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The Bob Marley/Rita Marley Foundation’s global initiative, Africa Unite concert, will be held in Jamaica for the first time on February 23, 2008 at James Bond Beach, St Mary. It will be a combination of two events with a host of national and international artistes at which the feature documentary, Africa Unite, will make its Caribbean debut as part of the celebrations marking the anniversary of the birth of late Reggae superstar Robert Nesta Marley. The film, starring Rita Marley, Danny Glover, Angelique Kidjo, Lauryn Hill and the Marley children, is produced and directed by Stephanie Black of Life and Debt, H-2 Worker’s fame. It will be launched in February 2008 at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.
People’s Telecom will host the launch of the documentary which highlights the vision for African unity to which Bob Marley was devoted throughout his musical career. “We feel extremely honoured now in 2007 to be asked by Mrs Rita Marley to host Africa Unite in 2008,” stated Michael Dawson, CEO and co-founder of the Jamaican-owned telecommunications company.
“This is a perfect synergy between the Marley Foundation and People’s Telecom, as the company, from the outset, was founded on the principles of stalwarts like Marcus Garvey and His Imperial Majesty (Haile Selassie I), and influenced by the words of Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer,” Dawson added in a press release. [...]
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Veteran Reggae artistes Burning Spear, Toots & the Maytals and Sly & Robbie are among five Jamaican acts nominated in the Best Reggae Album category for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
Burning Spear got the nod for his set The Burning Spear Experience; Toots & the Maytals for Light Your Light, while rhythm twins Sly & Robbie were nominated for Anniversary.
The other two nominees in the category are Stephen Marley for Mind Control, and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry for The End Of An American Dream.
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In 1973, a reggae group on the verge of breaking up released an album — its second that year — filled with militant anthems inspired by life in the Jamaican slums. It turned out to be Bob Marley’s big break. Burnin’ was the last album the reggae master released under the name “The Wailers,” and it featured the final performances of Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer with the group.
While the band was rhythmically tight, Marley dominates this album. Burnin’ covers a variety of topics and moods, from the militancy of “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff” to the heartfelt rage and poverty-induced despair of “Burnin’ and Lootin’.” The final track, the traditional “Rastaman Chant,” sounds a more redemptive note.
The political stridency of Burnin’ was informed by the slums where Marley lived. Rita Marley, his widow, sees the connection. “We were grown and raised in the ghetto, so we knew nothing more than a ghetto life,” she says. [...]
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Moretele Park was packed with music lovers who streamed to Mamelodi for the Tribute to SA Music Heroes Concert. Sunday was the 10th anniversary of the concert. Metro Police had their hands full sorting out traffic congestion and directing people where to park. Perhaps the most special performance of the day was when the late Lucky Dube’s band performed some of the reggae great’s songs.
Dube was shot dead during a botched hijacking earlier this year. Musician Letta Mbuli said that when she first heard Dube’s voice in the background she was saddened. “At first it did not sit well with me because I know the voice and I miss it,” she said. Mbuli said it was important to remember music heroes. “We should celebrate Dube’s life and others like him and just sing along. I hope other artists continue to perform these heroes’ songs to continue their memory,” she said. [...]
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St. Ann’s ‘beautiful girls’ are on alert to receive a ‘male’ order, gift-wrapped Christmas Day souvenir in the form of four-time Grammy Award nominated artiste Sean Kingston. Kingston will make his maiden call on the cruise ship capital, Ocho Rios, at the Turtle River Park under the umbrella of Tropical Vibes Promotions and Hard Rock Cafe. His supporting cast includes Fantan Mojah, D’Angel and ‘Busy Signal’.
It will be the 17-year-old Miami-born but Jamaican-rooted artiste’s debut performance in Jamaica, and he promises to take centre stage with “a unique sound and lots of energy”. Although he has never performed in Jamaica, technology has made it possible for Sean Kingston to be seen nationwide.
More Sean Kingston Images
His crossover appeal sounds nothing like hard-core reggae, but there is no cause for concern as he says he writes “feel good music, this type of music appeals to everyone”. Of note is the fact that he has accomplished the rare task of creating a new genre where rap, reggae, pop, doo-wop and remarkable songwriting all combine into something totally refreshing.
Inner Feelings
Already cognisant that the Jamaican audience is one of the hardest to impress, Kingston says he has no intention of giving way to any inner feelings of trepidation. He confidently told The Sunday Gleaner “I give 110 per cent every time I perform, so I am positive the people will enjoy the show.” [...]
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Tyrone Taylor, the reggae singer whose 1983 song Cottage in Negril is considered a classic, died on Saturday. Norman ‘Bull Puss’ Bryan, a close friend of Taylor’s, said Taylor died from prostate cancer in Kingston.
The St. Elizabeth-born Taylor, who was 50 years old, had fallen on hard times. He suffered two strokes in recent years and spoke openly of a substance abuse problem that derailed a promising career.
Taylor’s recording career began during the 1970s when he recorded several songs for top-flight producers like Winston ‘Niney’ Holness. But it was not until the early 1980s that he hit paydirt with Cottage in Negril.
The song, driven by Taylor’s soulful delivery and an infectious saxophone solo, was a homage to the West End resort town which became a hang-out for American hippies and college students in the 1970s.
Signature song
Cottage in Negril became his signature song, popping up on reggae compilations from European record companies. It made Taylor a minor star on that continent. [...]
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In it’s first week of release Shaggy’s latest Album titled Intoxication debuted at number 1 on the Billboard to Reggae Albums chart.
Other interesting albums on the charts include Ky-Mani Marley’s Radio, I Wayne’s Book of Life and Movado’s Gangsta For Life / The Symphony Of David Brooks.
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