Jamaican made cars being exported to Turks and Caicos

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).

(via Go-Jamaica)

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.

Beenie 'corrects' Kartel

(via The Jamaica Star)

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".

Charly Black launches 'Fall In Love Again'

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.

Kartel's new Benz turns heads

(via The Jamaica Star)

Deejay Vybz Kartel made the talk of the town this week as he profiled his brand new 2010 S-Class Mercedes-Benz estimated to value over $12 million.

THE WEEKEND STAR visited the deejay recently in Kingston where he showcased his new ride. He was unwilling to disclose the amount he paid for the vehicle; however, several websites checked by THE WEEKEND STAR estimated the vehicle to be worth more than J$12 million. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of large luxury sedans produced by Mercedes-Benz, a German manufacturer of cars, buses, coaches and trucks.

The deejay, who got the Benz on Monday from Carland on Old Hope Road, disclosed to THE WEEKEND STAR that the vehicle is a dream to drive. When asked why he bought this particular car, Kartel said, "yuh know is a X6 (BMW) mi buy and me and Corey (Todd) a reason and sey the X6 too common. No deejay eva own a S-Class Benz. This Benz is the flagship of the Benz's line, meaning dis a di top, top Benz."

He added, "It do everything except fly, the body can raise, it just have the whole driving experience, is like yuh a drive pon air."

Since getting his new ride, however, Kartel says he has been reading a lot of rumours online that the car doesn't belong to him. Setting the record straight he said, "People a sey a nuh my Benz, so wha me a deejay fa? So dis is to all di haters dem weh sey is not mine. Hate to burst your bubble but it's mine, paid for and no car payments. This is not a made in Jamaica vehicle like wha other deejays have. Me not even haffi deejay fi buy dis, me coulda sell rum and get dis."

Kartel recently returned from a trip to Suriname where he said he performed to a crowd of over 20,000 patrons. "Suriname was crazy, Kartel owns South America, dem love mi like dem love football," he said. He also recently completed the video for the Duss medley and has a number of new singles just released and to be released soon.

Mr G pleased' with ever-growing attention surrounding his career

(via The Jamaica Star)

Veteran dancehall artiste Mr G has said he's "extremely pleased" with the ever-growing public attention surrounding his music career in recent times.

Since releasing the prophetic single, Before the Year Done (Mi waan fi rich), early last year, the crafty lyricist has seen his career skyrocket and has so far been able to maintain the hype.

He has also played lead role in a recent commercial for telecommunications giant Claro, in which his hit single, Swaggerific, was used as a special theme song to describe the network's status.

He said the advert has so far been significant in his bid for a stronger presence in the public domain.

"The advert has been very significant. What Claro has done now is place Mr G as a major brand in Jamaica, because they (Claro) are a major company. I'm very appreciative of that," he said.

Mr G, formerly Goofy, has been in the music business for more than a decade, and while he had enjoyed ample success under his former identity, the deejay believes he is now quickly matching up to his earlier days.

"I am extremely pleased with everything now. As an artiste, this is what I have been working for. My aim is to become the biggest artiste in the world," said Mr G.

The deejay said he's currently working on a medley video
for the singles Swaggerific and Beat Dem Bad. However, he's yet to release Touch Me This Way, which features former Rising Stars contestant Chrissy.

'The advert has been very significant. What Claro has done now is place Mr G as a major brand in Jamaica because they (Claro) are a major company ... '

Beenie Man drops 8 collabs with friends

(via The Jamaica Observer)

Deejay Beenie Man, buoyed by the success of his hit singles, Rum and Red Bull and I'm Okay, has tackled a new ambitious musical project which he hopes will help to re-define his legacy as a leader and innovator in the world of dancehall.

Beenie Man has enlisted the help of his superstar friends on the musical project he has dubbed Beenie Man and Friends and the result is eight great combination singles, each featuring Beenie Man, on a bouncy dancehall beat.

"No other artiste in the business has ever tried anything like this before. I am writing, arranging and co-producing every song on the riddim, and I am also performing on every song on the riddim," a proud Beenie Man said. "The only thing I haven't done is build the riddim, that was done by Danny Browne."

The project features the talents of artistes such as Khago, D'Angel, Ding Dong, Fambo, Deva Bratt, Kantana, Versatile, Cee Gee and Laden.

"I plan to shoot a video for the single called Time of My Life with D'Angel, and a medley video with all the others, I already have the concept in my head, it is going to be sick," he said, laughing.

This audacious project grew from an idea that Beenie Man had years ago, but he got the raging fever last month and within a week, and a couple of urgent Blackberry pings and messages, he had pulled the critical elements together.

"It is something I had always wanted to do, but I just didn't have the courage to do it at the time. So I just sat down and did it and it all came together. Right now, ah MD time now, Gaza done gone across the world already, now ah MD time," Beenie Man said.

Interestingly, he has been trying to convince one-time nemesis and new-found friend Bounty Killer to participate in the project, but Beenie claims the "logistics of getting him to voice the song is hard".

"Ah mi friend still, but is too much drama to get him to actually voice. Serani voice already, Mavado said he will voice, but I cannot wait on them. In fact, it is up to Bounty, Elephant and Kartel if they want to be on it, mi reach out to them already," he said.

This is a project that is close to his heart, his DNA is embedded in the rhythm itself as his son, Marco Dean lends his voice to the instrumental.

"Marco Dean is on the version, so is not really a song, he is not ready for that yet," he said.

Beenie Man has put a lot of effort into trying to recruit the best and brightest stars in dancehall to put their weight behind the project, but even with the mixed results, he waves off the disappointment as only he can.

"If dem did give me a riddim, mi woulda voice pon it already...mi have my pride," he said.

In the meantime, the project has already been released and the artiste says it is getting excellent rotation on radio.

Beenie Man is scheduled to leave the island today for a two-week tour of the African continent, which will see him performing in the cities of Freetown, Sierra Leone as well as Johanessburg and Cape Town in South Africa.

He returns to the island on December 1, after which he is set to do a three-city swing through Canada.

Fantan returns to Downsound

(via The Jamaica Star)

Like the prodigal son, Fantan Mojah says he has returned to Downsound Records.

Fantan, whose real name is Owen Moncrieffe, left the Downsound Records family in 2006 after a public split in which he relieved the company of all his booking duties. But now the artiste says he is ready to rekindle a good relationship
with the company.

"A nuh decide fi return, a good sheep neva stray very far from the flock. We set a foundation, so we a go back go set it pon a bigger level. Fantan have a career weh mi need help wid it. Me and Downsound have a chemistry," said the artiste, who recently completed a two-month European tour.

This time around, Fantan says the partnership will be better.

"We have a lot of experience in the business and we know how to approach it now. Mi come back to Downsound with the skill weh mi build up a road," he said, noting that he will be managed and booked by the record company but he also has an outside booking agent.

CEO of Downsound Records, Joseph Bogdanovich, said he believes Fantan is sincere with his decision to return.

"He has a different point of view and actively wants to come back. I think it's more a businesslike and he's certainly learned a lot about the business. I hope he has got to be more responsible and will honour contracts and deliver what he's supposed to. I think maturity is the difference," Bogdanovich told THE STAR.

In the same breath, Bogdanovich also lauded Fantan's work, saying: "I've always liked Fantan. He's very confident and he delivers a superior stage show. He loves to entertain and people love him."

Since the reunion, Fantan has already done a few songs with Downsound Records. One of them is Call My Name.

"I think he has a hit record with this if people accept him and play his record," Bogdanovich said.

Fantan also has another song with Downsound Records called Been Through The Fire. He said he is also working on an album that he hopes to release by early next year.

In addition, Fantan says he is actively promoting Richie Melody, an artiste from his own Macka Tree label.