Tarrus looks to Hollywood show

(via The Jamaica Star)

Singer Tarrus Riley is not only excited about his upcoming Reggae Sumfest performance on Saturday night, but also about his upcoming performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

THE WEEKEND STAR recently spoke with the singer who, for the first time, will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl in California, a night after his Sumfest appearance.

The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre in Hollywood, California, used primarily for music performances. The Bowl has been the stage for historic performances from the likes of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Run DMC
, among a host of other music greats.

Riley will be performing alongside reggae greats Jimmy Cliff, as well as Sly and Robbie, at the event dubbed 'Reggae Night'.

He said: "It's a big deal for me, because of the audience that will be there and the place, the venue is like a stadium. Is big people perform there and, so far, I've heard that 15,000 tickets have been sold already." Riley will be in California for three days before jetting off to Europe for two weeks, then back to America to perform.

Before his touring, however, the singer is promising another great performance at Reggae Sumfest on International Night 2. "Expect the unexpected, I've been rehearsing and working hard, cause yuh know we come to give the people real music, the real deal so that people will get the message," he said.

It was prior to Sumfest last year that Riley released his third studio album, Contagious, that has spanned popular songs such as Love is Contagious, Start Anew, Life of a Gun among others. More recently, Riley released his song, Wildfire, as well as the video, which was directed Melissa Llewellyn and shot in Kingston.

Japanese Reggae?

(via The New York Times)

The Japanese have been making reggae almost as long as Jamaicans have been exporting it. This phenomenon could have started as early as the mid-’70s, when the film “The Harder They Come” grafted the crime drama to Kingston’s reggae scene and became an international cult classic. Or, more likely, it began sometime around 1979, when Bob Marley landed for the first time in the Land of the Rising Sun. Since then, the reggae scene in Japan has cycled through several styles and sub-subcultures, but only in recent years has one crucial aspect of its identity fully emerged: Finally, Japanese reggae stars are singing in Japanese.

Yes, the performers still punctuate their lyrics with Jamaican patois and channel dancehall reggae’s tinny, digital riddims. And Kingston remains a crucial pilgrimage destination. But in Japan, whose appetite for foreign forms and fashions is insatiable, Japanese reggae has passed the point where critics — like the author of a 2002 Vibe article who described Japanese dancehall enthusiasts as wannabes — can dismiss it as another cultural curiosity. “Japanese dancehall is becoming more and more Japanese,” says Marvin D. Sterling, an Indiana University anthropologist whose book “Babylon East: Perfoming Dancehall, Roots Reggae, and Rastafari in Japan” (Duke University Press, $23.95) came out last month.

As for the music? Much of it — while sonically similar to its Jamaican antecedents — is not bad, says Sterling. “They’re trying to do something different from what’s been given to them,” he says. “I see a lot of creativity in their music.” Sterling mentions bands like U-Dou & Platy in Okinawa, which incorporates the banjolike sanshin into their songs, and singers like Nanjaman, whose social concerns Sterling admires — if not the nationalism and homophobia that he inherited from some Jamaican musicians. Japanese practitioners, he says, often identify with reggae out of a shared sense of “blackness” — some channel anxieties over Western monoculturalism; others are of Korean descent and identify with the nationalist, anticolonial message of the genre. Still others are drawn to reggae’s messianic themes.

These days, the Japanese reggae scene is more rude boy — or even rapper — than rasta. A vibrant roots reggae scene flourished in beginning in the mid-’80s, but ebbed about a decade later. And there’s still a population of spiritual, ganja-smoking disciples of the Rastafari religion; they live mostly in Japan’s rural communities. But the scene is now dominated by dancehall — the pulsing, sweaty variant of the genre that centers on the D.J. clusters known as “sound systems.”

The current dancehall boom aligns with the success of Japanese performers abroad. Yokohama’s Mighty Crown won a 1999 sound system competition — a “sound clash” — in New York; the group now plays to tens of thousands in Jamaica, New York and hubs of the Jamaican diaspora in Canada and Germany. And in 2002, the Japanese reggae dancer Junko Kudo became the first non-Jamaican to win the Dancehall Queen contest in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Now, the largest contingent of international contestants there is Japanese. Kudo’s uniform has become something of a blueprint for Japanese reggae dancers: gold dreads, “Daisy Duke” cutoff shorts, knee-high socks.

Still, at spaces like Buenos and Harlem in Tokyo’s fashion-incubating Shibuya district, Club 24 in Yokohama and Metro in Kyoto, you won’t see too many dreadlocks. Sterling says dancehall fashions are urban but amorphous — kids will incorporate signifiers like the reggae colors of red, green and gold into boutique-bought outfits. Men wear athletic apparel, women aim mostly for tight-fitting but unrevealing, as most forms of reggae contain a conservative streak. “The ideal is anything goes,” says Sterling. “Within reason, anything goes.”

Elephant Man's team exploring options... after taxman seizes deejay's Benz

(via The Jamaican Star)

Attorneys for deejay Elephant Man are still looking into the entertainer's legal options concerning the millions he is said to owe in taxes.

On Tuesday, the colourful deejay made headlines when the Special Enforcement team at the Inland Revenue with assistance from the St Andrew police visited his residence and seized his Mercedes Benz.

As previously reported, the inland revenue department said the operation was aimed at seizing assets to settle million of dollars in unpaid taxes. According to Elephant Man's attorney Roderick Gordon, he was involved in internal meetings with the deejay and his management yesterday, going through all the paperwork and examining their options. Up until then the deejay's team had not been in contact with the tax office.

The Special Enforcement team at the Inland Revenue visited Elephant Man's popular Havendale home on Tuesday where they claimed to have found nothing of value, after which investigations led the team to a house off Hope Road, St Andrew, where a red convertible Mercedes Benz vehicle belonging to the deejay was seized.

Meris Haughton, the director of communications at the tax department, while declining to disclose the exact amount owed by Elephant Man, said his arrears are in the millions. Haughton explained that in cases like these, delinquent taxpayers have ten days to pay off their arrears or the confiscated asset will be auctioned. She said if the proceeds from the auction does not cover the debt, the taxpayer could face criminal or civil charges.

In March, the tax department had placed Elephant Man on a list of 50 high-profile delinquent taxpayers.

Elephant Man is known for songs such as Sweep, This is How We Do It featuring Bounty Killer and is expected to perform tonight at Reggae Sumfest, Dancehall night.

Dancehall artist Busy Signal’s music springs from his roots

(via The Toronto Star)

Kingston, Jamaica — “I still do gun songs and raw dancehall songs, but, at this point, I don’t need to do a gun song. After what Jamaica — and the world — has been through, I don’t need to sing another gun song my whole life.”

I’m in a famous recording studio at 23 Westminster Rd. interviewing Busy Signal, 28, a top dancehall artist, known for, among other things, the song Tic Toc, which made Rolling Stone’s list of best singles a couple years ago.

Busy Signal, born Reanno Gordon, spent his teen years in the garrison communities of Standpipe, Papine and Tivoli Gardens. He is grateful he’s been able to build a career as an artist.

He recently hooked up with reggae producer Shane Brown. His inclination to fuse genres and blend influences have given his recent work an eclectic, cross-over feel. This might be called The Difference of Busy. D.O.B. is the title of his new album on VP Records.

“Most a my music is from the people around me, the way I grew up, the way the system is, whatever we’re going through. We just try to make songs outta it for the people,’cos sometime the people want to say things they can’t say, or are not allowed to say.

“We, as artists, we really listen to the people. We are among the people. The people see us more than they see the MP. We can mix and mingle.

“What happened in Jamaica in the last two months, I’m so happy that has nothing to do with music. It has to do with corruption, the jacket an’ ties. Music don’t do these things. Politics do these things. Politics separate people.

“A political party divides people. A musical party unites them.”

Busy has lost fellow musicians to gun violence, but sees signs of change. Along with many Jamaicans, he is optimistic.

“I seen a lot of changes since what happened. It’s like a wake-up calll for all Jamaicans, especially in the dancehall.”

I ask him what he plans to play for Caribana, where he will play at the after-party. “This is a festival weekend. People come from all over to go to that Caribana thing. It’s just joy and people enjoying themselves, so I pick the songs that fit that. I just make sure people enjoy themselves. No fighting. No negative thing. I’m just trying to put out 100 per cent, so people will come to my party again, just like people come from all over to go to Caribana or to come to Quad.”

Ah, yes, Quad. The night before, I’d missed the reggae at the launch of Reggae Sumfest, a summer festival, so I ended up at a club called Quad, where I thought I would find real dancehall. What I found, instead, was a lot of dull hip-hop. Reggae gave birth to dancehall, which, in the U.S,, spawned hip hop. It appears the Jamaicans are importing it now.

“We can’t kill out the culture to buy into something else. We can’t sell out our soul and sell out the culture,” says Busy. “The producers play a big role in this. They are the directors. Artists and producers, we give the people these things. The moment fans start dictating to the producers, we become the fans and they are the artists. We don’t want them [these roles] to be reversed.

“We have to correct all a this thing what’s goin’ on right now. ’Cos a lotta watered down stuff is goin’ on in dancehall music. It’s going to the hip-hop side too much.”

Busy’s latest album draws on many influences. Among the original compositions, some of which remain fairly hardcore, he’s even got songs by Phil Collins and Lionel Richie. (One More Night set to a Jamaican beat is a definite improvement.)

It’s the reggae cuts that stand out.

“Gi’ me a likkle a di grades an’ pass me a Rizzla… aright den,” he sings on High Grade, against a reworking of the Stalag 17 riddim. A well known reggae beat.

Denise Jones, the producer who booked him into Caribana, asks if he’ll record a promo spot and he graciously agrees. He’s behind the glass. It’s suggested he do it a capella.

Busy’s pitch-perfect deep baritone fills the studio on the ultra-crisp sound system. He’s toasting in patois, rapping off the details of his gig around his trademark sound… “hott ed, hott ed, hott ed, Busssy.” The results are pure magic.

Ah, that’s what I came for! And I know now where it comes from.

Busy Signal will be appearing at Temperature De Festival, July 31, the after parade concert and party, featuring soca and reggae acts from the Caribbean. For an audio clip of his Big Yard recording, go to the star.com/caribana

Junior X Positive About Soon To Be Released Debut Album

(via The Jamaican Star)

Revolutionary Entertainment recording artiste Junior X is very excited about his soon to be released debut album.

Junior X says that the album which is tentatively titled Tha Soundtrack Of Life, will be very special.

"My debut album will be something special, the whole production team and I have put a lot of work into the project to make it extra special. After all it's my first album and I know the fans expect a very good album from me," said Junior X whose real name is Richard White.

Over the last six months Junior X has been in the studio working on the album with top producers and musicians like Sly and Robbie, Bobby Digital, Dean Frazer, Clive Hunt, Roy Francis, Demarco and Kirkle Dove. He has also done collaborations for the album with the likes of Gyptian and Queen Ifrica.

Dennis Livingston, CEO of Revolutionary Entertainment, the management and production company that Junior X is signed to, says that production work on the album should be completed by the end of July and should be released in September. He also stated that once the album is released, Junior X will be hitting the road to promote the album in the US and Europe.

Elephant Man's Benz Seized by Tax Authorities

(via The Jamaica Observer)

The Tax Administration Department yesterday seized a Mercedes Benz motor vehicle owned by popular entertainer Elephant Man, for the alleged non-payment of taxes.

The department's Special Enforcement Team, with the assistance of the police, and as part of their ongoing operations to clamp down on delinquent taxpayers, carried out the raid at a Hillview Crescent, St Andrew premises where the entertainer has an apartment.

The Tax Department, however, declined to confirm how much money was owed by the artiste, but said assets are seized when individuals/companies are 'chronically delinquent' in tax payments.

"...What I can disclose is that the Special Enforcement Team carried out an operation and seized assets of a taxpayer for non-payment of taxes," said Merris Haughton, the director of communication at the Tax Department.

Alaine launches new label, video

(via The Jamaica Star)

Reggae songstress Alaine launched the music video for her single, You Are Me, and her newly founded record label, 1Thirty1 Records at the Fiction Lounge on Friday night. The launch, hosted by Empress, saw friends and family of Alaine coming out to show their support.

Directed by Ras Shacc, the video was shot in Bull Bay at the Wickie Wackie Beach and along the Palisadoes Strip.

Before the showing of the video, hits from Alaine filled the air while her fans, friends and families mingled.

Alaine, the founder and brainchild of the label, picked the name from reading Psalms 131.

The music video is performance-based and shows Alaine along the picturesque beaches of Kingston and St Andrew. She interacts with members of a band and plays the piano
along the beach in parts of the video.

There are also some surfers featured in the video to symbolically represent overcoming life's problems. The waves in the ocean represent problems faced and the surfers going through the waves represent overcoming the problems.

"The song poured out of my soul. Just seeing everything that was happening in Jamaica at the time," said Alaine of her inspiration to write the song.

The director, who also directed Alaine's Love of a Lifetime and the Changes Medley video which Alaine is featured in said, "It was easy working with Alaine on the video, she's my church sistren and I know her parents. It was very comfortable working with her."

In attendance at the launch were some of the music industry's finest such as, Agent Sasco, Leftside, Tami Chynn, Tessane Chin, Wayne Marshall, Voicemail, Sophia Brown and QQ.

RT @cutiepie_bling Sex appeal,jim screechie,one day maddest riddims!!

Shout out to @cutiepie_bling !!! Enjoy the riddims.

Messing with Wayne Marshall's heart

(via The Gleaner)

Wayne Marshall is set to launch the video for his increasingly popular single
Messing With My Heart with a scorching hot four-minute feature that tells the story of the tune.

The video premiered on local TV last night, and Marshall said not since he did Marshall Town, his first chart-topping single, has he been as excited about a song.

The song sits sweetly on a Baby G-produced rhythm and tells a story Marshall contends is "a realistic situation which people can relate to".

"I went down to Jammy's studio, which incidentally is the first place I ever recorded, and the riddim was just bouncing in the studio. I jumped out with the first line and loved it, so I ran with it, and then developed the idea from there," said Marshall.

"I wanted to create a story which people would hear, connect with and think was real," he said.

Fast-forward through a freestyling session and Marshall's Messing With My Heart was penned and ready to record a day later.

Producer Baby G, the son of famous producer, King Jammy, said the rhythm and the song were made for each other.

According to Baby G, the rhythm was made in New York when he was "just vibing with some friends", but knew instantly that its beat and idea would make a perfect base for a wicked song.

"Every time I work with Wayne Marshall ... something spectacular happens. We have a bond that supersedes our work in music because we are real-life friends, and so our synergy when we come together to work is just mind-blowing," he said.

Real-life reference

Marshall laughed at the fact that the song had become so real to audiences that persons have asked if he and wife, Tami Chynn, were going through a rough patch.

"The lines between music and reality are blurred sometimes but as an artiste, you draw inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Everybody can rest assured the song isn't about me and Tami," Marshall laughed.

He took the song to friend and director Storm Salter, who is on the brink of releasing his first feature film, to turn Messing With My Heart into an epic video, which Salter has done.

"I wanted to create something that really made the song come alive and not leave people cheated. I realised that it would take more than just a regular video to do that, and we went to Storm because he has experience in making great short films and we know each other well and we feed off each other's creative energies very easily," Marshall said.

"I can't tell you too much, but just the way it was shot sets the stage for what is a hot video. It's almost like you're looking at everything unveil from the perspective of a fly on the wall."

Both Marshall and Baby G are optimistic about the song, which was officially released on iTunes on July 6.

"Good producers produce good music, and it is heart-warming to know that this song is getting such a good vibe because it isn't what's stereotypically enjoyed or expected from dancehall music," said Baby G.

Bounty goes on trial for ganja

(via The Jamaica Star)

Deejay Rodney 'Bounty Killer' Price, who was recently freed of assault charges, will still have to see more of the court, as he is to return there on September 27 when he will be tried on drug charges.

The deejay's matter was mentioned in court yesterday, however, it could not be tried at that time and a new date was set.

Price was arrested and charged in October after he was allegedly caught smoking ganja and was reportedly found with a small quantity of the substance. He was charged with smoking ganja and possession of ganja.

The allegations are that about 4:30 a.m. on October 4, the deejay was spotted along Grenada Way in New Kingston smoking a 'spliff'. He was accosted and searched and a small quantity of the drug was reportedly found in a plastic bag.

The deejay has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

I-Octane stamped his class over the weekend

(via The Jamaica Star)

There seems to be no stopping the conscious singjay I-Octane these days as he is all over the place - be it with his music videos or singles.

On Saturday, the conscious crusader's video for the hot single My Life enjoyed its world premiere on CVM TV. Since then there has been a steady buzz surrounding it.

Lose A Friend is now sitting in the number one position on the Toronto Radio Dubplate Top 10 Chart.

I-Octane could not be any happier about all this as he says, "for me it's the reward for putting good music out there. It shows that when you do songs that touch the heart of people it will always find a niche."

Last Friday morning at Digicel's Jus Bus summer promotions launch at Mandela Park in Half Way Tree, the singjay was a hit with his many fans there when he took the stage.

I-Octane is also billed to be one of the featured performers on the Digicel road shows which will be taking him across the island. Today, fans will see him making the first of those stops in Clarendon and Manchester.

The Digicel stage wasn't the only one that I-Octane stamped his class on over the weekend. He was also one of the performers on Ochi Invasion along with Beenie Man, Mavado and D'Angel.

The pace doesn't seem to be letting up for this artiste who is currently reigning supreme on the airwaves with singles such as My Life, Puff It, lose A Friend, Missing You, Thank You Father, Think A Little Time, and Mama You Alone.

The Great Dancehall Freeze-Out of 2010

When word spread on April 1 that the U.S. Embassy in Kingston was stripping dancehall stars Aidonia, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, and Mavado of their visas, many Jamaicans figured the news for a joke—just more fodder for Clovis, the Jamaica Observer cartoonist whose satirical barbs target trouble-prone musicians just as often as inept politicians. For the artists themselves, though, it was no laughing matter. "It was a big shock for us," says Lav Lawrence, Aidonia's brother/manager. "These are maybe four of the five top artists right now. They're ambassadors for the country."

As such, all four are remarkably problematic ambassadors: Each has come under great scrutiny at home and abroad for their controversial lyrics and what seems like a never-ending cycle of feuds with one another. Bounty Killer has racked up a litany of arrests over the years, adding one for allegedly assaulting his longtime girlfriend just days after the U.S. Embassy edict. Beenie Man was busted for marijuana possession Stateside in 2000. Aidonia and Mavado were both apprehended on gun charges in Jamaica in 2008. But no convictions have resulted from any of these crimes, in either country. That, and the timing of the revocations—just weeks after prominent Jamaican businessman Wayne Chen lost his own visa—has led many observers to conclude that the cancellations were de facto sanctions, prompted by the Jamaican government's dawdling on the U.S. request to extradite politically connected Kingston druglord Chistopher "Dudus" Coke, a debacle that steadily heightened tensions between the two countries for nearly a year before his capture in Kingston last week.

The U.S. initially requested the extradition of Coke, now awaiting trial in Manhattan federal prison, back in August 2009, charging the alleged leader of the Shower Posse (an international drug/crime ring with roots in 1980s Brooklyn) with conspiring to distribute marijuana and cocaine, and trafficking firearms between the U.S. and Jamaica. But it wasn't until mounting pressure forced Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding to cop to hiring a U.S. lobbying firm to run interference that he finally initiated extradition efforts, which culminated in the bloody, four-day siege of Coke's Tivoli Gardens neighborhood (a so-called garrison where the don dada holds more sway than the government) that claimed over 70 lives in mid-May. None of the newly barred dancehall artists were thought to be in any way involved in this dispute, but whatever the reason—some cite perceived ties to Coke, whose entertainment company stages Kingston's annual Champions in Action concert—those artists now remain sidelined from U.S. travel.

"Suddenly, the U.S. is saying, 'No matter if the Jamaican government or law enforcement gives you a clean bill of health to travel, we don't think you should fly,' " says Bobby Clarke, CEO of Irie Jam Media, which produces New York reggae fetes like the annual Irie Jamboree in Queens. "Which is a whole new policy. Somehow, the actions of the government have been linked to the entertainment industry."

Representative Yvette Clarke (no relation to Bobby), the Jamaican-American congresswoman whose district contains a heavily Caribbean swath of Central Brooklyn, says she has been assured by the U.S. State Department that the Coke flap has not impacted the issuing of visas to Jamaicans. (The U.S. Embassy itself does not publicly comment on individual visa cases.) Still, "There always is a certain extra scrutiny given to entertainers coming from the Caribbean region overall," she says. "We're not sure where that emanates from, but that's something my office is actively investigating."

It's not yet clear how, if it all, Coke's capture will impact dancehall artists' reception at the embassy. (Aidonia told the Voice earlier in the month he intended to reapply for his visa in July; Beenie Man, who stated his intent to regain his privileges in an April recording entitled "Visa," has a U.S. lawyer on the case, his management says.) But in the interim, 2010 is in jeopardy of becoming a lost year for reggae in the U.S. Summer is the genre's peak season: As temperatures spike, so generally does the amount of dancehall played at U.S. radio and in clubs. Beginning with May's "Best of the Best" concert in Miami and culminating in the orgy of New York–area events preceding the West Indian Day Parade on Eastern Parkway every Labor Day, a string of outdoor music festivals typically keeps all the usual suspects busy here. But to the ire of promoters, Beenie, Bounty, and company have joined what is an ever-growing group of dancehall scofflaws, including Sizzla, Busy Signal, Vybz Kartel, and Jah Cure, all barred from entering the U.S.

And so, after Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and the Marleys, the list of marquee names capable of drawing festival-size crowds is strikingly short. (Buju Banton's recent arrest on federal drug-trafficking charges doesn't help, either). Jammins Entertainment's Brooklyn Music Festival, headlined last year by Beenie, Bounty, and Mavado, will rely on rappers B.O.B. and Fabolous (along with a suddenly-back-in-action Shaggy) this July 4. Irie Jam's Clarke has cancelled two events planned for this summer; he says he'll scale back the climactic Irie Jamboree, held annually on the Sunday before Labor Day, citing both the depleted talent pool and a "damper on the overall mood" caused by turbulence in Jamaica.

Vybz Kartel Ft. Russian - Jeans 'N Fitted

Vybz Kartel flexes his powers of influence when it comes to fashion once again with the followup of his immensely popular 'Clarks' with his new single 'Jeans 'N Fitted'. Will it be able to reach the same level of success? Only time will tell.

Paris Hilton detained in South Africa on allegations of possessing marijuana

US socialite Paris Hilton has appeared in a South African court following her arrest after a World Cup game.

Ms Hilton was arrested in Port Elizabeth after the Netherlands' defeat of Brazil in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

She appeared at a special court set up to process cases during the World Cup on Friday evening.

Reports suggest that she was arrested for possessing marijuana but the court hearing went ahead behind closed doors.

Ms Hilton is the great-granddaughter of the founder of the Hilton hotel chain.

In 2007 a US court sentenced her to 45 days in prison for drunk and reckless driving.

After serving 25 days in jail she told US talk show host Larry King that she had re-evaluated her life and wanted to do more charity work and less partying.

Drake donates $2 Million... to help Mavado build learning centre in Cassava Piece

(Via The Jamaica Star)

When THE WEEKEND STAR spoke with Mavado's manager Julian Jones-Griffith he explained that two weeks ago Drake donated US$25,000 (JA$2.15 million) towards the building of the library. The popular rapper shot the video for his latest single Find Our Love in Jamaica in April. The rapper also visited the island prior to that for vacation.

Jones-Griffith explained: "Basically Mavado and Drake shot some scenes in Cassava Piece and struck up an immediate rapport with the people there. He thought they showed him a lot of love and he was very down to earth with them and wanted to do something positive."

The idea for the learning center which includes a computer lab and a library, according to Jones-Griffith, was one Mavado had plans for so Drake decided to assist the project.

When THE WEEKEND STAR spoke to Drake he commented: "I had a great time when I was in Jamaica and the people of Cassava Piece showed me a lot of love. I just wanted to show back some love by helping out with Mavado's project on the Gullyside. It's a very positive move and something I am very happy to be a part of. Education is the key to life so to be able to assist in that process is very fulfilling."

Two weeks ago Drake gave Mavado his contribution and since then construction has started in Cassava Piece. Jones-Griffith added: "Obviously it's going to take more than what Drake gave so Mavado has contributed to it and pledges to put more towards it." Tentatively the name for the library is 'Drake and Mavado Peace Center'.

Mavado said: "I was born and grow inna Cassava Piece so mi always a look to impact di community in a positive way. We recently helped create peace between rival communities dat is going good, so we want to do sumpten new. We have been planning it for a while, when Drake was here it came up an he wanted to do sumpten to help and we mek di arrangements."

He added: "We're grateful for his contribution, it's a great gesture, he is not even a Jamaican, so for him to do dis and help build a foundation of knowledge and learning in our community is, yuh nuh, appreciated. Odda successful Jamaicans should tek a leaf out of Drake's book and gi back to di communities from weh dem born and grow."

For Mavado and his team they are looking to Corporate Jamaica to assist in the project. Jones-Griffith said: "We're reaching out to Corporate Jamaica which is always talking about transforming the garrison so it's time for them to put their money where their mouth is. LIME has already pledged to give us free Internet connection and we appreciate that."

The learning centre will be free of cost to persons from Cassava Piece as Jones-Griffith explained: "It's a community project not a business venture. People from the community are contributing to it from the ground up and are very happy about it."

Mavado has turned a peaceful leaf of late with a number of socially-conscious musical releases of late including: Messiah, Change Right Now and Can't Believe.