The family of Cedric Im Brooks would like to take the time to thank all his fans and well wishers for their out pouring of love and tremendous support in these real trying times. We would also like to take this time to keep all concerned abreast of his situation.
A former regular of Kemar McGregor’s No Doubt Records, Trelawny native Prestige makes a downright ENCHANTING brand of modern Roots Reggae music, but the attraction, at least for me, is his consistency.
-From Achis’ Reggae Blog Caribbean Music Academia
Elder in the music bizz, Mystic Bowie, has issued this statement about the nature of reggae music and Rasta livity in response to Buju B being an alleged cocaina cowboy. Him a drop some knowledge and some affirmations still, read it:
I love Virgo’s music… ’nuff said
I love Inner Circle!! And ever since I watched Rockers some years ago Garnett Silk has had to share my heart with late legend- Jacob ‘Killer’ Miller- whose 2 brothers are still part of Inner Circle!! Check out the dates for their world and American tour PLUS INNER CIRCLE VIDEO!!
Una Morgan is the sole female sibling of the Reggae band of this decade, Morgan Heritage. Despite having ten studio albums under her belt with her family band, having performed for stadium-sized audiences across the world, and having garnered much of the success and longevity that many artistes can only hope for, Una took a step back from the limelight in 2006.
ANTHONY-CRUZ-Youll-Think-Of-Me.mp3
ANTHONY CRUZ- Woman 24/7 7.mp3
ANTHONY-CRUZ-foolish-heart.mp3
ANTHONY-CRUZ-Only-the-Father1.mp3
Bio taken from Fiweh.com
Vybrant hails from the mystifying parish of St. Thomas, from the community of Yallahs where the love for music started to find its way in his young and restless life as he attended the Yallahs High School.
**DOWNLOAD** Walshy Fire 17th Annual Bob Marley Fest Mix (Black Chiney) and Poster for Tribute to Cedella Marley, Miami THIS WEEKEND!!!
New York: International reggae crooner Gramps Morgan, fresh from copping the prestigious “Album of the Year Award” for his debut solo disc “2 Sides of My Heart Vol.1″ at this year’s Excellence in Music Awards (EME) in Jamaica, has now secured a whopping 5 nominations for the 2010 International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWA) that will be staged on Sunday, May 2nd at the York College Performing Arts Center in Queens, New York.
Gramps’ nominations include: Best Song – Wash the Tears; Best Male Vocalist; Best Crossover Song – Therapy ft. India Arie; Best New Entertainer and Songwriter of the Year.
“I’m so excited and overwhelmed to have 5 nominations,” said Gramps. “Since I launched my solo career I have had a number of pleasant surprises and this is certainly one of them. It is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. I thank the fans and the media for the support and my management team for the hard work that they have put into my project so far.”
While in Jamaica, Gramps’ label Dada Son Entertainment and album distributor Tads International threw one of the hottest album launch parties the city has seen in a long time. Scores of celebrities, fans and industry tastemakers were treated to a very special duet performance with Gramps and Grammy winner India Arie.
Gramps’ current success comes on the heels of a whirlwind year in 2009 that included a major US tour with Arie and John Legend. In August 2009 he performed back to back, sold out events at the World famous Madison Square Gardens in New York and topped off the summer with a strong performance at Irie Jamboree, North America’s premier reggae festival. His debut album “Two Side of My Heart Vol 1″ had one of the strongest reggae debuts ever, racking up impressive sales in its first week. Then in October at Citi Field Stadium in New York City, home to the legendary New York Mets baseball team, he delivered a sizzling pre-game performance of his hit single “Don’t Cry for Jamaica” that warmed the hearts of thousands of baseball fans at the Mets vs. Houston Astros game.
For 2010, Gramps plans to remain focused on his core mission which is to heal the world with his music. Just last weekend he embarked on yet another first, taking the stage for two historic performances in Las Vegas, at the largest rugby event in North America, the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament.
(Source: Images Newsletter)
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(wikipedia)
To vote for Queen Ifrika and your other favorite artists in the IRAWMA visit http://www.irawma.com
When asked how she felt about her win, she responded, “I feel honored to have won this award and really want to thank all who voted for me. It does feel good to be recognized for your work.My team Zlink Entertainment and I have put in a lot of hard work over the last year and it feels like everything is coming together. This award is really encouraging to me.I think people are beginning to understand me more as an artist, and that’s all that I could ever ask for.”
STUDIO ONE TRIBUTE
A stunning Cherine took to the stage in tribute to Studio One and ignited the crowd with her soulful voice singing a rendition of the Studio One classic “The First Cut is the Deepest”. Cherine made an instant connection as she walked into the audience and performed up close and personal to their delight. ”It was so much fun. I didn’t feel pressured to sing the tune any particular way, so I just made it my own and I think the audience appreciated it.”
IT was early last week that Sizzla Kalonji received the call that hip hop mogul Damon Dash was in the island and needed to make that link. “Naturally, I opened up my house to him,” the Rastafarian artiste told Splash, in reference to his August Town-based studio/house, known as Judgement Yard.
“I have invited Damon to come to Jamaica on several occasions… I told him he should think of buying houses here, do some kind of investment in the island. After all, this is Jamaica and we are about music and playing our part in helping out the suffering people in our community…”
   Sizzla and Damon Dash hangs out at Judgement Yard. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood) |
“I couldn’t come to Jamaica without seeing Sizzla,” Dash interjected, adding that he had a lot of respect for Sizzla both as an artiste and on a personal level. “And I’m here to build on that positive energy,” the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records (with Jay-Z and Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke) declared.
The two go back musically and there is some history, but Dash’s visit to the island wasn’t really about music or any contract signing with the deejay, although they are currently in production for a music video for Sizzla’s soon-to-be-released single, Children Suffering. His Jamaican sojourn comes under the topic “other business”.
Dash, now that he has finally made the Jamaican connection, says he is enthralled by what he has seen, and his mission here is many and varied. Think documentaries, music videos and establishing a television network here in Jamaica.
“The wind blew me here,” Dash said with a boyish smile, but he wasn’t trying to be funny. “I pride myself on being an innovator and I want to come here first… before everybody else catches on and realises that Jamaica is the place to be,” he said.
“I have a lot of ideas that involve harnessing the synergy between sports and music. We want to do everybody — from Bob Marley to Lennox Lewis to Usain Bolt. It’s all about Jamaica,” explained Dash, who brought along an entire film crew and a female rock star as part of his entourage. He was also involved in filming the recently concluded Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Trelawny as this will form some of the content for his television network.
Dash’s forays into film, both under the Roc-A-Fella Films banner and later under the Dash Film banner, have resulted in at least one critically acclaimed film — The Woodsman starring Kevin Bacon and Mos Def — and another well-received film, Paid in Full, starring Mekhi Phifer.
In late 2004, Dash sold his interest in Roc-A-Fella to parent company Island Def Jam Records for $10 million, and founded the Dame Dash Music Group as a new venture with the senior record company. Dash sold his stake in Rocawear for $22 million to former partner, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
As a film-maker, he sees potential in Jamaica and is eager to capture the synergy between music and sport. Among the plans is a documentary on Usain Bolt, called Yellow Yams.
“I visited Bolt’s father and it was such a great experience. Actually, the deeper you go into Jamaica, the safer you feel and this is contrary to what you hear,” Damon Dash said.
He spoke with relish about sampling yellow yams straight from the senior Mr Bolt’s yam hill. “I’m not sure if it was the first time I was eating yellow yam, but it was the first time that I was actually aware of what I was eating,” he explained.
And another of his food discoveries in Jamaica was otaheti apples. “I never even knew this apple existed,” he said. “It is just great,” he enthused.
(Jamaicaobserver.com)
“The hype out of Jamaica is partly responsible for the demise of reggae,” Hewan-Lowe stated, “some of the best reggae is being produced by non-Jamaicans but there is a notion that if an artist is not from Jamaica they should not represent.”
Fewer and fewer recordings are deciding the best of the genre. Each year it seems a recurring debate about who other than a Marley could take the miniature gramophone, which represents excellence and achievement.
“If a Marley is nominated, it’s almost a guaranteed win,” David Katz, a British reggae insider said.
“Other artists will only have a chance if the Marleys stay out of the studio.”
Germany’s Adolf Hitler, France and the US taught the world about violence and sex, charged event organiser Tony Rebel in a plea to cleanse dancehall of explicit lyrics. Explicit dancehall, his argument suggested was not marketable in Europe and contributed to poor US sales in 2009.
“You can’t preach violence in music and expect the people of Germany to accept it. Because Hitler already show them what violence is. You cannot teach the French and the Americans about sex. A dem mek it,” Rebel who spoke at the recent launch of Rebel Salute stated.
The top deejays of 2009 were Mavado and Vybz Kartel whose explicit recordings and tribalised fans fuelled the ‘gully versus gaza’ divide. But Kartel and former mentor Bounty Killer also traded lyrical curses along with Flippa Mafia and Elephant Man. The music remained mainly underground but formed the subtext of poor sales in 2009: A year in which no dancehall artiste sold over 80,000 copies in the US market, according to Soundscan.
Rebel added: “What they love about us, is when them going through hardship and terrible times dem hear ‘don’t worry about a ting’. That is what they want…don’t apologise for endorsing and loving and support the real authentic side of Jamaica music.”
International reggae charts continue to be dominated by non Jamaican reggae artistes. For instance iTunes reggae charts in Japan, Germany and New Zealand, on January 1, had only one Jamaican-born artiste — Bob Marley — in the top ten, signalling to some pundits that Jamaica is losing influence on reggae.
Top sellers in the US market were Sean Paul’s Imperial Blaze (Atlantic Records), Matisyahu’s Light (Epic Records) and Reggae Gold (VP Records), which sold some 69,700, 56,700 and 40,000 respectively in North America. Conscious reggae group Morgan Heritage and dancehall producer-turned-singer Serani, made first week sales of 300 and 1,200 units respectively, but were still able to chart on Billboard.
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