the Claws - and More - set to come out for Sting 2014

The one-night reggae/dancehall show started by former "bad boy cop" Isaiah Laing has become a Boxing Day institution, courting and generating controversy, earning the ire of certain sectors of society even as others credit it for making their careers or, as Ninjaman has done in his inimitable style, credit themselves for making it (Bounti Killa has taken on that mantle as well).

Sting founder Isiah Laing "feeling it"

Reardless of who has made it, or been made, Sting has lasted three decades now and, with the continuing investment support of Joe Bodganovic, is set to conquer new audience markers, following last year's success on pay-per-view.

Laing has made no bones about it - what drives that success is the clashes - battles between DJs that are meant to be strictly lyrical, but have on more than one occasion , exploded into the physical (Vybz Kartel vs Ninjaman being a notable case in point).

At the recent pre-event media launch, Laing and Co. pitched the headline clash this year, sponsored by Trini-based energy drink Raptor, will be a rematch between budding clash king Kip Rich and contender-turned-champ Blak Ryno.

Ryno, said to be overseas on the occasion, was not on hand, which made it convenient for Kip Rich to spit a quick "teaser" in terms of what was going to happen when the two renew acquaintances tomorrow (or into the wee hours of Saturday more precisely).

There were the usual commendations from sponsor brand Raptor energy drink, distributed by  SM Jaleel, which joins tonic wine Magnum as title sponsors for dancehall's biggest night out

Kip Rich vs Blak Ryno (the latter having rumbled away with US$30,000) - in a prime event dubbed " the Raptor Rematch"

A lot of other acts are expected to square off during the night, and Sting will also go "one-drop" this year with a roots segment in the early heat of the night. there will also be an exposition of EDH - that's electro dancehall to  you uninitiated, with DJs Sky and Firestarter (working as THEM) spinning dub and dancehall classics with an EDM twist.

All in all, it should be a pretty hectic 12 hours or so at JamWorld in POrtmore come tomorrow.

The Sound of Jamaican Music: Social & Economic Research Conference

Having sat through varied presentations and a keynote address from Bank of Jamaica Governor Bryan Wynter, the audience at the opening of the UWI Social and Economic Sciences Conferenee wee in the mood for  some levity and, courtesy of legendary music man Ibo Cooper and some choice musical cohorts, they got even more than that. In the space of about an hour, the attendees (from various countries) were taken on a trip traversing the spectrum of Jamaican popular music, starting with mento and coming right through the advent of Bob Marley to the present dancehall daze. The presentation was well received and the compliments were still flowing the band's way well into the post-session cocktail hour. when "musicology" and sociology meet, everybody wins, or as Bob famously said, "one good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain."

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.