Archive for January, 2010

Korexion hails from Trench Town, Jamaica and is increasingly becoming a voice of the people. His ability to capture and express the emotions and experiences of a generation makes him a rare and compelling artist destined for success.

His talents stem from being musically educated and inspired by some of Jamaica’s reggae pioneers; this is also due to being raised within a family whose traditions centered on and around the art of music.

His music is influenced by reggae, hip-hop and pop styles, which creates a musical myriad guaranteed to satisfy any listener. Korexion uses his love and talent for music to communicate his message to his audience.

Korexion – The Juno Award Winner is back for 2010 and wants all the girls in the world to ‘Link him!

In conjunction with his brother Dehlegate this Dynamic Duo bring the heat with their brand new single, ‘Link Me’.

Ground breaking, trendsetting music to infinity and beyond. Listen and download ‘Link Me’.

See more about Korexion at Myspace.

Krista Henry and Mel Cooke, Jamaica Gleaner

Performances are good for a night, but going on record is another thing entirely. Two performers, Cocoa Tea (who remade his Eighteen and Over with Buju Banton in the mid-1990s and on whose ‘Original Dancehall Jam Jam’ Banton has performed) and Anthony B have recorded songs calling for his release. Cocoa Tea has released Buju, using the melody and music of The Heptones’ Country Boy, while Anthony B has done Free Up The General for Truckback Records.

Cocoa Tea alludes to Buju Banton’s hit and album title Destiny when he sings “this couldn’t be your destiny”. He also pledges his loyalty (“no matter what they say/you’re still my friend anyway”) and goes as far as to say “for me you’re still innocent/all when them find you guilty”. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Joal Ryan

Is there nothing, or no one who can challenge Avatar? Well, other than Porky’s?

James Cameron’s box-office streamroller flattened the returning Mel Gibson to claim its seventh straight box-office win. One more, and it’ll tie three other films, including the aforementioned Porky’s, for the sixth-longest stay at No. 1.

Avatar grossed an estimated $30 million Friday-Sunday, and handily led Gibson’s Edge of Darkness ($17.1 million) and Kristen Bell’s When in Rome ($12.5 million). More details:

• Already the worldwide box-office champ, Avatar inched—well, yard-ed—ever closer to Titanic’s domestic record. Cameron’s new movie stands at $594.5 million; his old movie towers, for now, at $600.9 million.

• At the rate it’s going, look for Avatar to take Titanic’s domestic record by as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

• If Avatar ties and passes Porky’s, et. al, it’ll still have a ways to go match the longest box-office winning streaks: 15 straight weekends, held by, yes, Titanic; and, 16 overall weekends, held by E.T. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently news have been circulating on the world wide web on gossip sites that Angelina and Brad are breaking up. Well apparently that is a rumor as they have been spotted out together looking cuddly and happy in each others company.

According to our source: “This should shut up all those breakup rumors. At least for one news cycle.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie surfaced in public for the first time in more than a month, happily dining together at the Directors Guild of America Awards Saturday in L.A.

Pitt had been scheduled to present at the DGAs (his Inglourious Basterds helmer Quentin Tarantino is among the contenders), but Jolie’s appearance was completely unexpected. The cuddling couple shared a table with the director, and Jolie chuckled through Pitt’s light-hearted speech touting Tarantino as “a joy to work for and a joy to work with.” Read the rest of this entry »

Pikkie Head Records recording artist Dubkore is very happy with the response his latest music video is getting.

The music video which was done in support of his latest single titled Little Love Story has been getting a lot of rotation on television stations such as RETV, HYPE TV, CVM PLUS and NTV. His other music video which was done for an earlier single titled Verandah is also getting good support.

Dubkore is also doing well on radio as his singles Little Love Story, Madda Earth and Verandah are receiving good airplay on local radio stations such as IRIE FM, HITZ 92 FM, LINKZ FM, VYBZ FM and BESS FM.

Dubkore is currently busy in the studios completing his debut album which is slated to be released later this year.

By: Gillian Scott

Transformation is the new buzzword in Bottom Pen in Montego Bay, St. James, where several hundred metres of old zinc fences are being torn down and replaced with concrete walls, courtesy of the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP). Now, citizens are talking about transforming the name of the community as well.

The residents have pledged to change the name of the community from Bottom Pen to the more upscale Guango Meadows, as the zinc fence transformation project is triggering a different view, hope and vision for the community.

According to Ruddy Lindo, one man who has lived in Bottom Pen for all his more than 40 years on earth, “the name Bottom Pen no longer fits the community because of the new walls which have been built by CSJP. Instead we are looking at urgently changing the name to Guango Meadows because of the sense of pride which we are now feeling”.

Mr. Lindo said “We selected Guango Meadows because the area is blessed with a number of these trees which provide fabulous shade for us and when people are cool, they generally are peaceful and we want peace to be the hallmark of our community”.

The process of obtaining the name change is not an easy one however as a number of approvals must be sought and obtained. The community members must first send a signed petition to the St. James Parish Council stating their intention to change the name of the community. In the interim, they must also get permission from the National Lands Agency as well as the Titles Offices, the Parish Council and then the Ministry of Works for final approval. Read the rest of this entry »

The next show to be held in the Negril One Love Reggae Concert winter series feature reggae royalty as it will be headlined by Julian Marley, who is a son of the late reggae icon Bob Marley. Like several of his siblings Julian has been involved with music from an early age, he plays several instruments such as the drums, keyboards, bass and guitar. He is also an accomplished vocalist.

Since he began his recording career in the 19 90s the talented Rastafarian singer has recorded and released three albums Lion In The Morning (1996), A Time And Place (2003) and the recently released Awake. Julian Marley tours and performs in many countries around the globe as he and his brothers Ziggy, Stephen, Damian and Kymani continue the legacy of their great father who is revered as the King Of Reggae worldwide.

The One Love Reggae Concert Series has been running every Tuesday night since November 17 2009, and has featured some top reggae superstars in the Industry including Tarrus Riley, Sanchez, Jah Cure, Queen Ifrica and Tanya Stephens. Read the rest of this entry »

Long before the Itals were a spark in their producer’s eye, Keith Porter recorded his first hit single, “Hitey Titey”, with the Westmorelites on the Studio One label in 1967. Around 1969, Keith became lead singer for a band named Soul Hermit, backed by Eugene Gray and Wignal Henry on guitars, Reginald Seewell/Nash on base and drums. They played in numerous entertainment sectors of Jamaica until Owen Sinclair put together a new band in 1971. Called Future Generation, the band was composed of Dalton James and Roy Hilton on drums, Devon Henry on keyboards, Eugene Gray, guitar, Scott on sax, and Keith on vocals. They performed at many hotels and nightclubs on the tourist circuit of Jamaica for X amount of years, singing all styles of music, American and Jamaican.

Tiring of the club scene around 1975, Keith ran into Ronnie Davis on Orange Street in Kingston and asked him who was auditioning. Ronnie gave him a cassette with a rhythm. “I was so happy with that rhythm I didn’t look any further,” says Keith. “In less than a week I had written Ina Dis Ya Time and came back to Kingston to record it for Lloyd Campbell’s SpiderMan label. Lloyd felt it needed some harmonies with my lead, so Ronnie and I both added harmony parts. There was no intention of forming a group called the Itals; the record first came out as Keith Porter. After the song was on its way to becoming a hit in Jamaica, we all went out to do some promotion. Lloyd, Ronnie, myself and Brian Thomas of RJR were sitting out back in the cantina, when Brian said ‘why not call them the Itals’, because now there was more than one person singing. Everyone liked that name. It sounded good, so all of a sudden, Itals was a group. It was never intentional. I’ve always wondered if the name was the result of Brian noticing how strict I was about the food I ate, strictly Ital.”
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Vocal trio the Mighty Diamonds were one of the most internationally popular reggae groups to emerge from the ’70s roots era. More accessible than many other roots outfits, the Diamonds boasted soulful, gorgeously pure harmonies and tight, catchy songwriting, much of it from within the group itself. They were devout Rastafarians, but balanced their spiritual and political messages with sweet romantic material, which gave them a more universal appeal than militant groups like Culture or Black Uhuru. Regardless of whether they were singing love songs or protest anthems, the Mighty Diamonds brought a startling emotional commitment to their best material, and their debut album, Right Time, still stands as one of roots reggae’s all-time classics.

The Mighty Diamonds were formed in 1969 in the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, also home to Bob Marley. From day one onward, their lineup consisted of founder and harmony singer Pat “Lloyd” Ferguson (aka Judge Diamond, the Judge), lead singer Donald Shaw (aka Tabby Diamond, the Prophet), and harmony singer Fitzroy Simpson (aka Bunny Diamond, the Jester). Their sweet sound and polished choreography were distinctly inspired by the Motown groups of the ’60s. During the early ’70s, they recorded for several producers, including Stranger Cole and Rupie Edwards, without much success. Finally, in 1973, they caught on at Byron Lee’s Dynamic Sounds studio and notched their first hit with “Shame and Pride.”
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In the wake of his 2006 album Love Is My Religion, which earned his fourth Grammy Award, Ziggy Marley shares his musical love with families – his own and the extended human family. Marley’s third solo release, Family Time, is produced with old friend Don Was and will be released this May on Marley’s independent Tuff Gong Worldwide label.

An easygoing journey of original tunes and a few covers, the album offers a full collection of family-oriented songs for those already familiar with Marley’s beloved work in the genre, and may serve to introduce today’s youngest generation to reggae. Highly listenable many times around, a quality that parents will appreciate, Family Time resonates with themes of love, responsibility, unity, freedom and fun (not to mention generosity – proceeds from the sale of Family Time will benefit Chepstowe Basic School in Port Antonio, Jamaica).

“I know how important music can be in a child’s growth and development, and in a parent’s connection with their children,” explains Marley, whose own brood recently grew to five. “This record represents my daily family life and is inspired by my three-year-old daughter Judah and baby Gideon. It was a joy to make and opened up new avenues in my creativity.”
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