Buju Banton out on bail

(via The Jamaica Observer)

Reggae artiste Buju Banton this afternoon walked out of the Pinellas County Jail in Tampa, Florida after he was granted bail in an immigration court. Banton has been in jail since December last year when he was arrested for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilogrammes of cocaine.

A member of his legal team, Marc Seitles, said the artiste was overjoyed that he gained some measure of freedom.

"Buju can’t wait to have a nice meal and sleep in his own bed,” Seitle said.

In September, Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was left pondering his fate after a 12-member jury could not reach a unanimous decision about his innocence or guilt.

He will be retried in February next year.

Banton met the conditions bail set by US magistrate Anthony Porcelli after his friend and son of Reggae King Bob Marley, Stephen Marley, put up his US$300,000 house as collateral.

Myrie will have to wear a tracking device and will be under 24-hour surveillance from a security company. He has also signed an extradition waiver and will not be allowed to leave the Middle District of Souther District of Florida until his trial begins.

He will only be allowed to visit a doctor and his lawyer.

Also he must submit himself to urine tests to prove that he is not using banned substances.

Chedda's life threatened?

(via The Jamaica Star)

Upcoming dancehall artiste Chedda claims that he is in fear for his life after receiving death threats.

The latest threat, he said, were received yesterday over the telephone as well as BlackBerry messages sent to his mobile.

Chedda, known for songs such as Fake Jeans Admit It, said the threats are coming as a result of an incident that occurred recently between T'Jean Bennett, a producer at UIM Records, and the deejay. As a result of the incident, Chedda said he had to seek medical attention at the Andrews Hospital, St Andrew.

According to the deejay, whose real name is Tyrello Johnson, 'bad blood' has been brewing between the two entities ever since he decided to distance himself from the group because of what he describes as a high level of unprofesssionalism. He said he thinks it is important that he informs the public and his fans as to what is happening.

"Dem a mek threat a call mi phone a seh a di wrong man mi attack and mi ago dead, mi ago get gunshot," Chedda told THE WEEKEND STAR yesterday. "Wi deh pon di road a promote di new song Bad Inna Gang. Mi a walk down one corridor wid a lady when mi see him and him look up and see me too. When him a pass mi im push di lady out a di way an thump mi inna di side a mi head. Wi deh deh a tussle fi a while until my manager see wah a gwaan an come a try get him offa me." He continued, "When him finally get him off, him draw one long knife and start run mi dung. Mi anuh steel man or nutten suh same time mi run off. Mi see one fire extinguisher pon di wall an a try tek it off fi defend miself and im cut offa mi and buss up di whole a mi finga. Im cut offa mi agen and mi affi kick im off mi fi get weh."

When contacted, Bennett said there was no truth to any of the accusations. "Mi nuh send no threat to Chedda no time. Mi and Andrew do everything fi Chedda. Mi nuh have no reason fi waan follow up Chedda."

He gave his account of the fight saying, "Mi see Chedda a walk down the hallway and when him see mi him middle the hallway so mi woulda haffi nudge him when mi a pass. Suh when dat happen now, same time mi grab him and a likkle tussle start. Him fren dem did deh round di corner and dem run come. Dem neva did a try part di fight, dem a tump afta me, but end up all a tump up Chedda too. Mi have mi knife pon mi an neva draw it, a when dem bring mi inna one room and pop off mi chain an fling it pon mi, mi back mi knife an dem run, him a try tek off the extinguisher an cut him hand an tell everybody seh mi stab him an cut him."

Bennett, known for his production work on the single, Fresh To Death, said that a meeting is being set up between himself, Chedda and Chedda's manager to quell the differences between the two.

The threats and attack Chedda said were reported to the Half-Way Tree and Cross Roads police stations, respectively.

Blood brothers hammer new video

(via The Jamaica Star)

If anyone has ever considered aiming a hammer at a woman, or anyone else for that matter, they might reconsider after seeing the scenario played out in Andrew and Wada Blood's newly released video,Di Hammer.

The video, which was shot over the weekend, shortly after the duo returned from the San Antonio Reggae Fest in Texas last week, depicts what a loving relationship versus an abusive one should look like. The video which begins with a statement from the duo, "It's every man's responsibility to love and protect all women. We strongly condemn violence against women", goes on to depict an actor who, coincidentally bears a striking resemblance to dancehall artiste, Bounty Killer, who allegedly struck his female companion with a hammer recently.

"This song was a track we did a long time ago and we recently changed some of the words. It is not about anyone in particular, but we want to say abuse is never a situation people should take lightly. As men and women, we always have people who will make us angry, but you have to know when enough is enough and walk away either from the situation until you calm down or from the relationship completely. Abuse is not something we condone and, with a recent incident, there were a lot of jokes
about abuse and how it was done. So we did the video and when some people saw it, even on youtube, that's when it really hit home to some fans about how serious any kind of abuse can be. As the song says, no one would want that done to people dem love," said the duo.

In addition, Andrew and Wada Blood's recent track, Irie, continues to climb the charts in the USA and Europe, receiving heavy rotation on television stations and websites. "Irie is a hit here, but people can't imagine how big it is abroad. When people overseas hear it, it just gives them this crazy vibe to juss jump and throw dem hands in the air and juss dance. So we want to say bless-up to the fans for the support and to look out for our album that we will be dropping in a short while," said Wada Blood.

Reggae Star Gregory Isaacs Dies at 59

Reggae singer Gregory Isaacs has died at his London home aged 59 after a lengthy battle with cancer. His family was with him until the end.

Best known for his 1982 hit, 'Night Nurse', Isaacs' smoother style of reggae epitomised the Lovers Rock sub-genre but he'd been recording since entering the Jamaican music scene in his teens. Isaacs' career began in the late 1960s and he later came to prominence in the following decade as a roots singer whose sufferer's songs gave him his first public recognition.

By the second half of the decade, Issacs' reputation as the Cool Ruler was sealed as his move into Lovers Rock overtook his roots material.

Isaacs had been diagnosed with liver cancer a year ago and the illness subsequently spread across the rest of his body.

His wife, Linda, said in a statement, "Gregory was well-loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the music they loved and enjoyed. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends."

A prolific recording artist, it is estimated that Issacs had released over 50 albums since the start of his career and his last album, 'Brand New Me,' was released in 2008.

Legal pot means big savings on law enforcement

Cash-strapped California would get some relief by legalizing pot, but the biggest boost would be thanks to massive law enforcement cuts, not new tax revenue, experts say.

The state's marijuana legalization initiative known as Proposition 19 goes to the polls on Nov. 2. And there's been a lot of talk about taxing it to rescue the state from its budget woes. But even legalization's top advocates say the drug won't be a financial cure-all.

"No one's promising that this is going to solve everything economically," said Quintin Mecke, spokesman for Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who was the lead sponsor on two earlier efforts to legalize marijuana.

Most of the financial benefit would actually come from budget cuts - which means job cuts -- according to a report from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C. The institute estimates that legalization could add $1.312 billion annually to California's coffers. But the forecast's breakdown calls for a savings of $960 million in law enforcement costs and an additional $352 million in tax revenue.

Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute who co-authored the study, said the majority of the cost savings would be a result of cuts to law enforcement personnel whose services would no longer be required. And axing police officers, prison guards, prosecutors and judges would hurt the job market, at least initially, he said.

Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, otherwise known as NORML, has a more optimistic take on potential tax revenue, but even he says it will be a very long time before the state sees any of those funds.

Gieringer said that taxes from medical marijuana total about $100 million annually, and that based on that, Prop 19 could bring in about $500 million in annual sales taxes for the state.

But that's going to take years to kick in, even if Prop 19 passes in November, he said. Local governments considering legalization will take some time to consider the benefits of additional tax revenue versus the threat of federal lawsuits, since the drug would still be illegal under federal law.

Gieringer added that medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996, but said it took another eight or nine years to spread across the state.

"I'm assuming that we're looking at a similar long term phase-in of Prop 19," he said. "It's going to be many years, if 19 passes, before it's going to take effect on the whole state."

TANTO BLACKS STABBED 3 TIMES - Allegedly attacked by tenant

(via The Jamaica Star)

Fast rising dancehall artiste Tanto Blacks was stabbed at least three times last Friday night, after he had an altercation with another man.

"A pure stab reach inna me back ... unno coulda hear seh Tanto Blacks dead," he told THE STAR.

Tanto explained that he was stabbed after he had asked the man, who he said is his friend, to vacate a place he had rented to him. He said he rented the place to the man for a while now but recently gave him an eviction notice.

According to Tanto, the tenant was reluctant to leave and decided to stay despite being given adequate time to leave and identify somewhere else.

Tanto said last Friday, he confronted the man who showed no immediate sign of wanting to leave. He said he went into the house and began removing the blades from a window when he was stabbed in his back. "Him stab me up and then him run ... him stab me three times," Tanto said. "A 17 years me know this yute yah and him stab me inna mi back inna mi own place."

A report was made to the police and following investigations, the alleged assaulter was arrested and charged. The incident was confirmed by the investigating officer, Constable S Sewell from the Spanish Town Police Station. No immediate court date was given.

Tanto received treatment at the Spanish Town Hospital before getting additional treatment at a private medical practice. "Me alright inno ... me glad seh him deh a jail ... me no wah nothing happen to him," he told THE STAR.

Ryno in Police Custody

(via The Jamaica Star)

Deejay Blak Ryno was yesterday taken into police custody following an altercation with Corey Todd, a business partner
of Vybz Kartel, at a Corporate Area supermarket.

There are, however, conflicting stories concerning the physical altercation.

Speaking with THE STAR, Todd explained that he and his wife were in the supermarket shopping when his wife was approached by Ryno. Todd said, "he saw my wife in the store and came to her and said 'is yuh is Corey Todd wife?' She never said anything to him and he later came by the counter where I was cashing and said, 'why yuh nah play my music in da club'?"

According to Todd, Ryno stormed outside and returned with a knife. "He came up to me wid di knife and said '....yuh gonna dead'. He got in my face and I pushed him off. He pulled the knife and tried coming at me wid it. I jumped back and grabbed him by the neck and had him on the ground when the security came and he (Ryno) ran and left the knife." Todd said he sustained a minor cut to his back.

Todd and Kartel have partnered to bring 'Street Vybz Thursdays' to the Building in New Kingston. When asked about Ryno's accusation that his music wasn't being played in the Building Todd said, "Mi nuh know bout dat, it's up to the selectors what gets played, they play what's hot, and he has no hot songs."

In a press release sent to THE STAR yesterday, however, Ryno told a completely different story. According to the release, Ryno and his babymother were shopping at the supermarket when they were attacked by Todd.

The release states that Ryno was exiting the facility when he was confronted by Todd who immediately assumed an aggressive posture towards the artiste with the statement,'Go ....' and proceeded to shove him, further stating "Weh yuh ago do, you know how we thing set pon the Gaza."

The release stated, "Ryno, forced to defend himself, got into a physical altercation with the man but it was quickly brought under control by the store's security detailing. However, the melee did not end there as the irate man and his female companion, who were still inside the store, then turned on Ryno's babymother inflicting several blows to her in the process." The babymother reportedly suffered minor cuts and bruises.

The artiste in the release says he doesn't know why the man and his companion attacked him and his babymother.

Checks by THE STAR found that a report was submitted to the Half-Way Tree police, who have commenced their investigations.

When THE STAR went to the Half-Way Tree Police Station some time after 5 p.m. yesterday, both Todd and his wife were seen there.

Head of the station, Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight, was said to be unavailable but a police source who was seen speaking with Todd's wife said Blak Ryno was subsequently taken into custody following the altercation and may be charged.

"Yes, man, we have him, he's in there," the source said while pointing to a locked door to a room in which the artiste was reportedly being held.

The source then continued, "He is going to be charged, he cannot act like that."

This is the second incident in recent times that the deejay's name has been associated with. Selector Boom Boom was allegedly beaten at an Uptown Mondays dance in early September by persons who, he said, are affiliates of Ryno. Ryno later denied any involvement in the incident.

Todd, however, says he plans to attempt a ban on Ryno's music in the media. He said, "I'm calling for a ban on his music on radio and TV. I'm the second person he has attacked because of music. So I'm gonna call all the radio stations. I also plan to contact the US embassy, because I'm a US citizen and he attacked a US citizen."

Blak Ryno left the Kartel-led Portmore Empire earlier this year and has since changed his name to 'Ryno Di Stinga.'