REGGAE NEWS & SITE UPDATES 2008-I
all items of the first quarter of 2008 (January, February & March)
Old News
Popular gangsta style entertainer Mavado was offered bail on his charges of intentional shooting and illegal possession. Please read the full Radio Jamaica article here.
Tonight the final Black Star Wednesday evening will be celebrated at Bitterzoet, Amsterdam. Live band Rootical Transformation will enhance the vibes and Black Star Sound's own singjays Brother Marcus and Lady K-Wida will be there as well as MiShell and of course selector Den-Den. Come and support!
New dates and flyers added, one cancellation. New dates include various soundsystem nights and the March 27th Sugar Minott, Big Youth and Mighty Diamonds package show has been cancelled.
Norman Stolzoff, autor of the acclaimed book Wake The Town And Tell The People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica, has been shooting footage for his upcoming film on dancehall culture named Louder Than Words, to be released in 2009. Please read the full Jamaica Gleaner article here.
The 27th Intenational Reggae And World Muisc Awards show will be held at New York's Apollo theater on May 4th. Your votes are welcome at IRAWMA's website.
Just after singer Ali Campbell left UB40, keyboard player Michael Virtue now also throws the towel. He is dissapointed by the band's management and finances. Please read the full Press Association article here.
The upcoming Weinstein biopic and the Scorsese documentary are clashing. Scorsese does not want to release a competing project and so it seems the Weinstein's project will have to do without Bob's original music. Please read the full andPOP article here.
As we speak production on an upcoming documentary about the rocksteady era is on the way. Get Rock to Rocksteady: the Roots of Reggae will feature many of the original artists and there will be a special reunion concert April 19th. Please read the full Jamaica Gleaner article here.
New dates and flyers added.
Legendary radio deejay and producer Mikey Dread has passed this saturday the 15th of March. Just last week he declared in an interview that he was still hopeful but the brain tumor still got the best of him. Please read the full Jamaica Observer article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Jah Cure, Eddy Grant and the line-ups for several regular nights.
Cocoa Tea has recorded a tribute to American democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The track will be released later this week by US based VP Records. Please read the full Associated Press article here.
A feature film on the life of Bob Marley is in the works and scheduled to be released in 2009. The movie will be based on Rita Marley's 2004 biography "No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley". The project involves the Weinstein brothers, screenwriter Lizzie Borden and director Rudy Langlais. Please read the full The Guardian article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Beef and of course the line-ups for several regular nights.
Ivory Coast's reggaestar Tiken Jah Fakoly will be given the first ever Freemuse award as announced on Music Freedom Day, March 3rd. Freemuse is an independent international organisation which advocates freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide. The organisation with worldwide members is based in Denmark. Please read the full Freemuse article here.
Last Sunday night the first ever Reggae Academy Awards ceremony was held. For a review and a complete list of winners, please read the full Jamaica Gleaner article here.
Holland finally boasts it's first official dancehall Queen. Saturday evening February 23 saw a thrilling finale between Clementine and Hershey in Amsterdam's Paradiso venue during a JamRock party. After an extra finale round Hershey came out on top and was crowned. She will represent Holland in the upcoming European Dancehall Queen Competition in Italy. Please read this Dutch Parool article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include UB40 and Lee Perry.
World renowned producer Joe Gibbs passed away on the evening of Thursday February 21st of a heart attack. He was only 65 and will be missed greatly. The only "article" from the Jamaican online "press" I have been able to find is the following..., please read this Jamaica Observer article here.
A new site for reggae videos was recently launched and is called ReggaeVidz.com. Here you can watch and upload your own reggae videos, clips, interviews, etcetera... Take a peek and enjoy. The permalink can be found under Other Reggae Links on our LINKS page.
New dates and flyers added.
Suspected of burning down a house in December of last year leaving sixteen homeless, Lutan Fyah is currently out on bail. Please read the full Radio Jamaica article here, and for Lutan's view on things read the full Jamaica Observer article here.
The two very popular dancehall artists have been questioned by the police regarding a photograph published on the front page of the Star, on which they were seen holding illegal high caliber guns. Please read the full Carib World News article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Lutan Fyah & Jah Mason, Bounty Killer, Israel Vibration, Alpha Blondy and the line-ups for several regular nights.
After delivering his Rolling Stones documentary recently renowned director Martin Scorsese has commited to a new documentary on Bob Marley. Ziggy Marley will co-produce and the release is set for 2010. Please read the full New Zealand Herald article here.
Stephen Marley won his sixth Grammy-award yesterday (sunday) evening. It is his first Grammy-award as a performing solo artist. Please read the full Jamaica Gleaner article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Chaka Demus & and the line-ups for several regular nights.
Amsterdam's main source for reggae and dancehall CD's, DVD's and vinyl, the legendary Boudisque shop in the Haringpakkerssteeg will quit soon. The final day will be 29 March. After more than thirty-five years Boudisque has become an iconic store and it will be greatly missed by the Amsterdam massive. Please read this Dutch Parool article here.
The first three sections (Dutch Sounds & Selectors, Dutch Reggae Artists and Reggae Festivals) of our links page have been cleaned up.
US based VP Records has proposed to buy the Greensleeves Records & Publishing and it's catalogue from the Zest Group. Zest seems willing but needs approval from it's shareholders. Artists fear a monopoly on the rise. Please read the full Jamaica Observer article here or the article with comments, here.
New dates and flyers added. A new date for your one-drop agenda is the 27th of March. The Melkweg will put on a show with Sugar Minott, Big Youth and the Mighty Diamonds.
UB40's lead singer has been part of the tight group since their first steps in the music bizz in the late 1970's. Please read the full Reuters UK article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Sean Kingston, Reggae Recipe & the Upsessions, and the line-ups for several regular nights.
Ever heard about that woman who would go into a fit everytime she heard Sean Paul's hit Temperature? She was recently operated and declared cured. Please read the full PR-inside article here.
Came across this wonderful piece of well informed journalism about Jamaican vinyl. Please read the full Guardian Unlimited article here.
Since some weeks the Dutch have their own Official Dutch Reggae Dancehall Chart. You can access the chart through Danny 'Ovadoze' Pepperseed's Myspace blog. Or you can check the latest chart (week 3) here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include Junior Kelly, Swatch International Sound Sysytem, selecter Tony Matterhorn and the Beatbusters.
Popular dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel was arrested for indecent behaviour after his performance at the Amnesia Club in Ocho Rios, on Saturday the 12th. After ignoring numerous warnings by the police Vybz Kartel continued using strong language and now has to defend his outings in court on February 5. Please read the full Radio Jamaica article here.
The nominees for the first ever Reggae Academy Awards, set for February 24, have been announced. The awards are for 21 different categories of reggae, dancehall and gospel music. Please check the extensive list from the Jamaica Observer here.
After pleading guilty before the Half Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court on thursday January 10, Sizzla was fined $100 for posession of ganja. This conviction will be recorded on his his criminal record and will thus maybe make it harder for Sizzla to perform abroad. Please read the full Jamaica Observer article here.
New dates and flyers added. New dates include line-ups for several regular nights, ska evenings and the official Dutch Dancehall Queen Contest.
The newly formed Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica has stated that thousands of original albums and recordings have gone missing from the original JBC building in Kingston. Please read the full China View article here, or read the article from the Press Association here.
Prophecy's tribute song to Lucky Dube (who was recently murdered) will be released officially in a collaboration between SABC (South-African Broadcasting Company) and Prophecy's label Jah Birth. It will be accompanied by the recently shot documentary about Dube's life in reggae, featuring Dube's son Thokozani. Please read the full GigWise.com article here.
In a recent economic treaty between the EU and Caribbean countries all obstacles for Jamaicans and other caribbean entertainers concerning performances in Europe have been lifted. Please read the full Dutch language Mondiaal Nieuws article here.
