Yesterday, CNN Atlanta News reported that “Jamaican Dance Goes Global” featuring the a video from last year of Vybz Kartel & Popcaan’s chart-topping ‘Clarks’ song that was featured on an episode of ‘So You Think You Can Dance Canada,’ a dance reality show and competition that airs on CTV. Also featured was dancehall choreographer Jae Blaze, dancehall performer Skeritt and video clips from Youtube.
The 10,000 patrons who filled the Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, in Downtown Miami on Sunday, witnessed a sterling performance by embattled Reggae icon Buju Banton.
Buju was granted permission by a US Federal Court to perform at the concert in a bid to raise funds to cover his legal fees for his upcoming second trial for drug and firearm charges next month and the dreadlocked star performed as if his freedom depended on it.
From the moment the patrons heard the first strains of his opening salvo, pandemonium broke out in the Miami venue.
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and dark 'gentleman' shoes, the dreadlocked artiste pulled out all the stops, delivering a two-hour set that will leave the patrons who were lucky enough to witness it first hand, talking for a long time to come.
Opening with his hit Destiny, Buju seemed to be in a trance and he went on to mesmerise the adoring audience with hits from the past as well as songs from his latest album, Before The Dawn.
The singer was escorted inside the venue by federal agents who stood vigil around the backstage area and made sure that no unauthorised contact was made with the singer. He has been under house arrest since December when he was granted bail in a Tampa court.
But his 11-month incarceration and recent restrictions seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind as he gave the audience value for their money. Tickets were sold for US$53 prepaid and US$63 at the box office for general admission and US$100 prepaid and US$140 at the gate for VIP admission.
The concert was dubbed Before the Dawn Buju Banton and Friends, and his friends in the music industry were on hand to offer moral and musical support.
The artistes did combinations with Reggae diva Marcia Griffiths, Wayne Wonder and Steve McKnight but it was the entry of Stephen Marley, who had put up his Florida home as collateral for Banton to qualify for bail and his Marley sibling Junior Gong that brought out more cheers of approval.
A most touching moment was when he was joined by Gramps Morgan and the two performed their hit rendition of Psalms 23. The spirituality of the moment seemed to grip several members of the audience who broke out in tears as the two brothers in music chanted in their own inimitable style.
Reggae crooner Beres Hammond was absent but Banton never missed the opportunity to pay homage to a man he described as one of his mentors.
Banton's knock out punch was when he called his attorney David Oscar Markus on stage and thanked him for his efforts in defending him against his accusers.
"Don't watch nothing say him white. Him blacker than me and you," Banton said before hugging his lawyer and exiting the stage after his non-stop 120-minute performance.
A creditable offering came from veteran singer Freddy McGregor, whose Freedom resonated with the audience.
"Buju asked me to sing this one," McGregor quipped.
Wayne Wonder was also in the pink of form and Everton Blender was sublime with Ghetto People Song and Lift up Your Head.
The crowd also went wild for Shaggy and his sidekick Rayvon who had the ladies salivating. Sean Paul was joined on stage by Spragga Benz who reminded the audience that Rasta Run the World.
Nadine Sutherland and Tarrus Riley were not going to be left out and they too gave creditable stints to add to the momentous evening.
Rappers DJ Khaleed and Busta Rhymes flew on stage and upped the ante with their high- energy stint.
The proceedings were kicked off with a 90-minute chanting session from Ras Michael and the Nyahbingi Drummers who pronounced their desire to leave 'Mystery Babylon'.
The group of Rastafari elders was followed by Richie Loop who made sure nothing fell out of his 'cupp'.
All told the evening was a pleasurable one which went through without any untoward incident.
However the media representatives who covered the event were more than peeved when they were informed that they would be prohibited to photograph or film footage of more than the first song of each artiste's performance.
Photographing or filming Banton's performance was also strictly prohibited. The media was warned that failure to abide by the rule would result in them being thrown out of the venue.
The film crews and photographers were herded into a footage pit and quickly ushered out by stern faced security staff at the start of each performance.
The bitter taste in their mouths became less tolerable when members of the audience were seen capturing uninterrupted footage of the event with cellular phones and mini camcorders.
"This is madness, we have footage and clips of all the billed artistes so what's the point? They should have informed us of this policy when we were seeking accreditation," one member of a film crew from the Netherlands said.
Business partner of Vybz Kartel and manager of the Building in New Kingston, Corey Todd, was held in custody for hours during a raid on the venue on Sunday night during the Kartel in Concert, Boxing Day Extravaganza.
Yesterday Todd said that he feels the Building was unjustly raided by the police for the second time in two weeks.
"We had a massive crowd Sunday night, people came out early and were waiting in line from 9:30 p.m. By 1 a.m., the police came and raided the club, they came in with guns drawn in the air and creating chaos," he said.
He further explained; "The police came to me and asked if I'm Corey Todd and took me into custody from 1 a.m to 6:30 a.m."
According to Todd, he was escorted to the New Kingston Police Post while the club was being raided, later moved to the Mobile Reserve and then to the Half-Way Tree Police Station.
He said he contacted his lawyers, Michael Dean and Michael Lorne, who accompanied him to the police station where his United States passport was taken from him. "I contacted the US Embassy and they said they can't do that," he said.
He also said that he asked the police and they couldn't say why he was being held or a reason for raiding the club.
Todd said that he he feels the police's action was an injustice. "They ran our patrons out for no reason. I don't blame the police force even though they didn't have a search warrant," he said.
He further said: "They didn't find anything again, they roughed up a few patrons, a young lady I heard was slapped in the face. A lot of patrons blamed a promoter from another event held that night."
Kartel, who was the main person billed for the event, was on his way to the venue when the raid was conducted. "I wasn't surprised that the police came to lock off the Building so early while all the other clubs in New Kingston were left unscathed, because I had received a call earlier on a private number from someone claiming that I dissed them and only one show can be staged on Boxing night."
According to Todd, they will be putting on a free concert at the Building next Wednesday to make it up to the fans who were present and didn't get the performances they were promised.
In the meantime, Todd says he plans to take legal action against the police for their actions. As for rumors that the police used tear gas during the raid, Todd says he is not sure that occurred but patrons were treated with "excessive force".
However, when THE STAR spoke to Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight, head of the Half-Way Tree police, he said that the police went to the location based on information received that there were illegal firearms, drugs, wanted men and other persons of interest at the location. He said the police will continue to follow leads.
"This entertainment location poses a serious security risk as the capacity is between around 1,500-2,000 and Sunday night over 8,000 persons were crammed inside with another 3,000 persons standing outside."
In the meantime, Knight said that two persons were taken in for questioning including Todd, while a female patron was arrested and charged with assaulting the police and calumnious language.
Below is a recording of an interview done on the popular radio show Ragashanti with Vybz Kartel and Corey Todd speaking about what happened on boxing day in The Building.
Rohan Marley, one of Bob Marley's many children, was maced and put in a headlock by an off-duty cop working at Voyeur on Saturday night -- and Rohan tells TMZ he plans on pressing charges.
Our photog only caught a couple of seconds of what went down (literally, you'll probably have to replay a few times). But a source tells us Marley -- who baby daddied five kids with Lauryn Hill -- mistook someone outside the club as a valet, and that person took offense.
We're told Marley and the guy traded words and eventually fought. Sources say an off-duty cop who works at the club maced all involved - eventually putting Marley in the chokehold.
Marley tells TMZ he was simply defending himself and feels the off-duty cop "went overboard." He says he'll look into pressing charges because he "can't just let this go."
Three motor cars made by Excel Motors Island Cruisers, located in Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland, being escorted on to the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal by the police, for the official export ceremony, Friday (December 10).
Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, has lauded Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jamaican firm, Excel Motors Island Cruisers, Patrick Marzouca, for his firm's success in manufacturing and exporting motorcars to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Speaking at the export ceremony at the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal on December 10, Samuda congratulated Marzouca and endorsed his resilience and determination, which made the project a success.
"The idea of a car manufacturing project was not a piped dream, but a reality and now to see that he has persevered against all the odds; with all these trials and tribulations, he has been able to obtain an order for the production of these vehicles. I want to commend you for your effort, Patrick, and I want to congratulate you for your sense of resilience and your determination to succeed," Samuda said.
He indicated that the government was totally committed to the manufacturing sector, recognizing that only through expansion of productive activity that the country is going to get out of its economic difficulties.
"Here before us today is an example of someone that has not only had the tenacity and the stick-to-itiveness to pursue against the odds and the difficulty of finding the capital necessary to keep the entire business running, but one who has triumphed," Samuda said.
He added that, having driven one of the vehicles, it appeared that the integrity of the equipment is without doubt. He, however, encouraged Marzouca to reconsider the branding of the product, and consider using the Jamaica brand which, he said, was critical for a new product.
"I believe that Jamaica has the kind of name and reputation that will assist the product and drive its quality,"Samuda advised.He assured Marzouca that funding to move his business to a higher level was available through the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the ExIm Bank, and made a commitment to assist him to increase profitability.
A former Minister of Development, Dr. Paul Robertson, in congratulating Marzouca, said that the vehicles demonstrated 'some real Jamaican engineering', and great export potential and prospects for developing and expanding a niche product for Jamaica.
Excel Motors Limited, the only car manufacturing company in Jamaica, was officially launched in 2003 with vehicles boasting fiberglass chassis and 1.5 litre Japanese-made engines.
A new Beenie Man song entitled Father God Help Them has been creating quite a stir in the dancehall as many have deemed it as a diss song for fellow deejay Vybz Kartel.
The song has been getting plenty of listenership on the video sharing website, Youtube and has been attracting numerous comments from listeners. In the song, Beenie Man sings, "change mi skin colour that me naw do ... you see the freak thing, that me nah do ...".
In another line, he sings, "a fight over style weh mi grandma mek/Oh awoww!, yuh no hear nothing yet/before Clarks a beat, man a wear Gator crep,".
However, Beenie Man's manager, 'Blue', told THE STAR in a telephone interview yesterday that the song is not a diss song as many are making it out to be, but it is actually "a correction" to an earlier song which Vybz Kartel did on the same rhythm. "It's not really a disrespect and him no diss Kartel, ano disrespect," Blue explained.
He said Beenie is simply trying to defend the honour of dancehall music and protect it and its pioneers as he merely disagreed with some of the things Kartel said in his song in regards to the 'styles' he claims he created.
In Vybz Kartel's song, 'Dancehall Hero', Kartel apparently refers to himself as the 'big man' in dancehall whom every other artiste wants to emulate as he is the trend-setter. In that song, Kartel says, "the whole a dem a watch the teach" and says "every style me mek dem want one ... call up me name just fi get a forward,". In another line Kartel deejays, "me no memba no dj bwoy, dem si down pon me name like back pocket rag ... Vybz Kartel mek the whole a dem a mad,".
Contacted yesterday, Vybz Kartel seemed unconcerned about Beenie's new song. "Heard about it, never heard it, not interested," he said.
Asked if he had a brewing feud with Beenie Man he replied, "the only thing I have brewing is Street Vybz rum at the factory".
Dancehall artiste Desmond 'Charly Black' Mendize recently launched the video for one of his latest singles, Fall In Love Again.
The video launch which took place in the United States saw fans, family, friends and well wishers of Charly Black all coming out in support of the artiste.
The video which was shot in New York was directed by Kalechi Noel of overseas based Kaon Multimedia Inc., with production work from Nigel Angus.
The song is produced by Troytan of Troytan Music on his Compassion rhythm, is a love song that sees the deejay singing in an effort to woo a beautiful female who was previously involved in an abusive relationship and set her mind that she will never fall in love again.
Fall In Love is just one of several singles the ex-disc jock has recently recorded in past months, as he is also featured on Seanizzle's Split Personality rhythm with Me Nuh Fraid, which is currently enjoying airplay on radio stations islandwide.
The artiste who made his entrance into the music scene in 2007 says, "This is probably the best music video I've ever done in terms of quality and all. From you look on it you can see that it is a masterpiece."
According to Black, upon his return to Jamaica next week, it will be work as usual as he prepares for the upcoming festive season as well as the shows he is booked to perform on.
Charly Black, who works closely with Coppershot Productions, is known for hit songs such as, Rich This Year, Money Dreamer and Nuh New Fren.
