Talkin Up with Empress

the new discussion show - Talk Up Yout' with hostess Empress continues on TVJ, dealing with issues that matter to young people, and therefore to the nation

Here Empress is on set during a recent taping.

Catch Talk Up Yout every Tuesday @ 6pm on TVJ, brought to you by National Bakery

Music & Fashion - The Pulse Passion

It took some time to get underway (what else is new) but a high-spirited night of entertainment helped top make up for the lag as singing sisters Tammi Chynn and Tessanne put on separate and joint stints at Kingston's Studio 38 on Friday night.

With DJs Jordan and Squeeze pacing the patrons on the dance floor, anxiety was finally releived as Tami took the stage and in her usual winning manner, delivered a spicy set that even saw her taking on a male patron in a dance sequence - all in the name of good fun of course.

It was then Tessanne's turn, and she immediately kicked into "Messenger" and her other compositions, including material from her newly released debut CD, In Between Words.

The two then took the stage together for a couple of moving duets.

The music was preceded by a fashion showcase featuring nine of the finalists in the Caribbean Model Search Petite Edition  TV show, wearing designs from the Mushroom(swimwear) Glam Culture and Flirt boutique.

Word, sound & Power: JARIA Reggae Night @ EMC

just a few highlights from Wednesday's latest in the reggae month series at the Edna Manley College, which featured new reggae missionaries Pentateuch, pop-reggae veterans Fab 5, Urising Roots Band and many more.

emcees Ibo Cooper and Denise "Isis" Miller

Donnie McClurkin 'ZIPS' into Jamaican radio

 The Donnie McClurkin Radio Program is set to debut this Sunday on local station ZIP 103 FM from 6a.m. to 8 a.m.  

Oceanic Tradewinds Inc, syndicator of Donnie’s radio program, has already begun discussions with local officials for what is being deemed a three-day anniversary celebration complete with praise and worship, educational/ motivational seminars, live concerts, health and well-being clinics, all integrated with competition from the kids and locals of the island that will all reflect the culture, talent and artistry of the country.   

 “I have always had a love affair with Jamaica and it is a dream come true that I can now minister and entertain each and every week to the beautiful people of that great island.  They should also know we are planning a big 5^th anniversary concert and we hope to bring the celebration to Jamaica,” says McClurkin.

 Besides playing the music that he loves, listeners will also hear the powerful spoken word presented by the man of God – sharing the good news with his new Jamaican extended family! 

And the multi-award winning singer-host says that by integrating ZIP FM listeners into his program, Jamaicans will have a significant presence in some of his weekly shows.

Chad Young, Managing Director of Zip FM says, “I am thrilled to be able to bring a program of this caliber to Jamaica. Gospel music lovers are going to love waking up on Sunday’s to Donnie’s program. He has the complete package of great guests, music, inspiration, and humor. His credibility and dedication to excellence in everything that he does insures that our listeners will get an incredible listening experience each and every weekend!”

Besides being one of the best-selling Gospel recording artists in the history of the genre selling millions of records, McClurkin (shown right) will be celebrating five years of hosting the most successful radio program ever in the Inspirational format.  In the USA, Donnie’s radio show airs in virtually every major city and is so highly rated that it even beats programming in more mass appeal formats like Hip-Hop and R& B.  The Donnie McClurkin Show airs daily on WBLS in New York City and is rated #1 in the highly coveted 25-54 age demographic.  According to WBLS/WLIB New York Operations Manager Skip Dillard, “Donnie is better than 95% of the DJ's that are trained, he is that good!”   This is significant because Donnie is not a trained on-air personality; he is the founder and senior pastor of Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, Long Island.

For people who want to get a sneak peak of Donnie’s radio program, you can visit www.donnieradio.com   

"Burning Illusions: The Riddim Decade

To hear the magazine's founders and editors tell it, before the advent of Riddim magazine, reggae coverage in Germany was confined to sundry fanzines and the occasional feature in mainstream music press, the latter mostly enamored with the similarly emergent punk rock and New wave scenes at the turn of the 1970s into the 80s.

The editors, Pete and Ellen (shown here flanking reggae artist Prophecy), are themselves longtime punkers, except that both also got bitten by the reggae bug - Ellen first, then Pete some time later. Their first visit to Jamaica cemented the love of the culture and since then they have been annual fixtures here and i Europe, interviewing artistes and persons of all stripes who are part of the diverse Jamaican musical tapestry.

The magazine itself came into being some ten years ago and soon established itself as the source of reliable current info on musical happenings, extensive features on both reggae veterans and rookies, and the gamut of album, single and concert reviews.

Ten years on and the pair were again in Jamaica, thanks to the beneficience of UWI Reggae Studies Unit's Carolyn Cooper(at left). In the opportune Reggae Month period, the Riddim team gave an oral retrospective of the medium to an appreciative audience at Studio 38, with the late-peak traffic providing a harsh counterpoint to the presentation inside.

Poet Robert(below) got the evening off to a fine start with some intense yet free-flowing verse, and roots artist Janine "Jah9" Cunningham was on hand to deliver her excellent track "Warning" a capella at the end. Media types and well-wishers gathered afterward to hear more, in private, from the pair who, with many other reggae mags folding, may be the "last book standing" in Europe. There's talk even of reviving the English-language version.

So, the cross-fertilization between Jamaica and Germany continues - as the mag's website (http://riddim.de) says "dance will never die"

Red bones Redux

Even before moving to its "new" digs on Argyle Road, Red Bones the Blues cafe had lived up to the musical side of its name, presenting an array of musical acts for the enjoyment of patrons and general public - from the Jamaica finals of the global Battle of the Bands to various jazz (World Music Players, Maurice Gordon), reggae (Rootz Underground) and, of course blues acts, Red Bones has become the go-to spot for live entertainment: a comfortable setting, good location and the over all vibes that one has come to expect. Her a just a few highlights of recent shows.

Lookin gabck at some ofthe great live monets shared at red Bones over the past few months

ELECTRO-TECH GOES FOR "GOLD"

Electro Tech Productions recently completed the installation of audio video works for the new Golden Eye Resorts in Orocabessa and to consult with the entertainment team there.

ElectroTech managing director Peter Shoucair says the deal came out of long-standing collaboration between his firm and the Chris Blackwell-held Island Outpost, of Goldeneye is one of the member properties. In addition to having previously designed and installed a state of the art lighting and video system for Reggae Explosion at the Island Village Jamaica in Ocho Rios, Electro Tech will also be upgrading lights for the Island Village main stage.

Goldeneye, on the north coast, is famed for having been home to James Bond author Ian Flemming, who, it is said, came to the property on a repeated basis and wrote all of the legendary spy novels there. It is now the site of an ultra high-end resort already enjoyed and sought after by the likes of US President Bill Clinton and Hollywood star Scarlett Johanssen.  The 52-acre estate now encompasses 23 units — 11 new beach cottages, six new lagoon suites, Fleming's original villa and the five villas built by Blackwell.

For Shoucair and ElectroTech, the commission is the latest in a long string of top-level assignments with international entities involved. These include the World Travel Awards, held at the Sandals Whitehouse property (the first time the annual awards has ever been held in Jamaica), the ABC Radio Networks Island Jam (2006 -09); the Jamaica 360 held at Grand Lido Braco and featuring well-known actor-comedian Eddie Griffin, hip-hop legends the Jungle Brothers and more; the SHAKTI Love Fest Jamaica charity event (October 2009) which featured multi-platinum artist Shaggy in Oct 2009. This event raised over 4M dollars for the Bustamante Hospital for Children, thanks to Shakti.

Shoucair and ElectroTech also help to build Jamaica’s reputation for world-class technical entertainment capabilities through their work on the  US Embassy’s popular Jazz on the Green Concert series (ElectroTech coordinated for three years), the installation and later upgrade of audio and light at the Rose Hall nightclub and their ongoing work with the likes of “happening” Kingston nightspot, Fiction. 

Art & Tones @ studio 38

sometimes really good things are reserved for a select few to enjoy. And so it was on Friday night (or technically, into Saturday morning), that reggae veteran, singer, bass maestro and songwriter Leroy "Heptones" Sibbles thrilled a small but appreciative crowd at Studio 38 on Trafalgar Road.

With no band, it was Leroy up close and personal and he made the very best of the occasion, getting "forwards" for hits like "Fatty Fatty" and "Why Did You Leave" among others.

Before Mr Heptones took the mic, the crowd got a little something extra from Bryan Art, a name the Studio 38 faithful may not have been familiar with, but one which they now certainly have an interest in as he laid down some of the classic rock n groove and roots-influenced tracks for the audience enjoyment.

The Spirit & the Riddim

After partaking in the festivities to mark the 15th Anniversary of Kingston watering hole The Deck (good food, the music of Andrew henry and others competing with the clack of pool balls smacking against each other), we then headed off to the Edna Manley College.

Professionals, music aficionados and others joined a raucous group of EMC students to winess the second of the reggae Month series of concerts hosted in the College Amphitheatre and presented by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JARIA). last week's session, featuring mento kings the Jolly Boys (who wrote the book on raucous and raunch), was still being talked about.

But it was sanctification this week (at least to  start) as Minister Carlene Davis and her group took the gathering to church, albeit maintaining a strong and very persuasive reggae beat in tracks such as "Healing Rain" .

After a welcome encore that saw hubby Tommy Cowan getting in on the act with a ironically faithful DJ rendition of Papa Levi's "Mi God, Mi King" it was time for the horns. Nambo Robinson and Idren workshop, including the visiting saxophonist Michael 'Bammie' Rose and unleashed a fusillade of ska classics that defied initial resistance and eventually had many in the fair-sized crowd rocking and skanking away.

EMC director and music vet Ibo Cooper and singer-disc jock-soon to be arts manager Heather "Brown Sugar" Grant shepherded the proceedings.

20TEN x 2?

Was Prince’s 20Ten inspired by Jamaican act?

Great minds, the maxim goes, think alike.

If that be the case then there may be some mental similitude between US rock/funk legend Prince and Jamaican artiste Bryan Art. It turns out that each artiste has a full-length CD by that title, and not only is the name similar, but the representation of the title, with its mix of numerical and verbal type, is pretty much identical.

Prince’s 20Ten was released on July 10, 2010 through his own NPG Records. In keeping with the star’s modus of bypassing conventional record label accounting and marketing, the album was offered as a free covermount with the UK Daily Mirror and Daily Record (Ireland) newspapers, and in Europe via the Het Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar publications. It was further released on July 22, 2010 with the German edition of  Rolling Stone magazine and in France through the Courier publication.

The album, the 33^rd studio album in his storied catalog, contains elements of funk, pop, rock and soul music, as is typical for Prince, who also has multiple credits as arranger, composer, producer and performer (playing most, if not all instruments and bringing in the occasional background vocalist).

Bryan Art’s 20Ten, his debut full-length was released on June 1, 2010, with an official album release held the following evening. It had a similar path to market as the Prince disc, coming out on the artist’s own Junction File label in conjunction with Jah Chin. As knowledgeable music fans have come to expect from Art, the disc combines his progressive take on lover’s rock (“Sweeter Love” “Only You”) along with the edgier social commentary of ‘Murda Dem A Play” (the remix features Queen Ifrica) and the upbeat, self-confidence anthem “Get It”.

According to reports, Prince revealed the name of his album when receiving a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 BET Music Awards. He told the Daily Mirror that he chose the title because, "I just think it's a year that really matters. These are very trying times." Bryan Art’s rationale for his title is quite similar, as he previously told the Gleaner "Things always seem like it will happen and it never happen because of procrastination and we just decided that now must be the time. Come what may now is when we are going to release the album. Now is when we going to step up our game. Now is decision time."   

Prince made arrangements to release 20Ten exclusively as a free CD add-on to European newspapers on July 10, 2010, including the UK's Daily Mirror, Scotland's Daily Record, and Belgium's Het Nieuwsblad, and on July 22, 2010 in France's Courrier International and the German edition of Rolling Stone.

Over 2.5 million copies were distributed by Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Record. Prince was featured in the publications, to which he granted his first interview in a British newspaper in over 10 years. The issue of the Mirror cost 65 pence; the album was not available as a  digital download or in retail stores. The publisher released that sales of the Daily Mirror increased by 334,000, and sales of The Daily Record increased by 45,000 copies on the day it included the album.

On October 8, Prince told French radio station Europe 1 that he was reportedly planning on releasing an updated edition of the album called 20Ten Deluxe. It is yet to materialize.

The matter of the similarity between the titles even made it onto Prince’s own online community, prince.org, where several fans have posted links to Bryan Art’s pages as well as reviews posted on online music sites.

For his part, the Jamaican, fresh off a well received appearance at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival, says he finds the coincidence interesting, even as he acknowledges the Minneapolis wonder’s stature as a musician. “We definitely know of his works, and we also take note of the fact that he incorporate the symbol that he used to use when he was breaking away from the record company.”

The Sound in the Space: Mapping Dancehall from Academia

The title of the book explicitly says "Dancehall" but the "early warm" courtesy of legendary sound system Stone Love was more of  a throwback to the earlier days when all genres freely contended, with selections from the likes of Stevie Wonder, The Stylistics, the Dells and in international version of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry". Taking place just ahead of Reggae Month (significant for the birthdays of both Marley and reggae Crown Prince Dennis Brown, the event took on added gravitas.

That and other famous reggae lines, would become something of a motif for the launch of "Dancehall: From Slave Ship To Ghetto" a new tome from University of the West Indies (UWI) Cultural Studies Lecturer Dr Sonja Stanley-Niaah, held Monday evening at the Rex Nettleford Hall on the campus.

Emcee Cordel Green, no stranger to the inner workings of Jamaican music, expertly guided the proceedings, even getting in a little deejaying himself, with the aid of the Stone Love selector, Wya. he als ogentle ribbed many of the attendees, including a "tardy with explanation" keynote speaker, Culture Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange.

One by one, Niaah's academic colleagues weighed in on the significance and meaning of the book and offered their congratulations and reflections on the author's progress through the scholarly ranks. the entertainment field was represented by "Action" singer Nadine Sutherland, herself presently a Student in the Cultural Studies programme and Jerome Hamilton, promoter, manager and chief exec of Headline Entertainment. Artiste-promoter Patrick 'Tony Rebel" Barrett was also in attendance, as was Stone Love progenitor Winston "Father Pow" Powell. (aka Wee Pow).

There was dancing from L'Acadco and and victuals from UWi's Pages Cafe. And of course, there was the book, and the author's own assessment. Niaah offered her acknowledgements after opening with a quasi-poetic piece defining herself in the contexts of the book and its multi-faceted subject, presenting herself as both clinical observer and unequivocal champion of the urban phenomenon which she chronicles.