Cristy Barber, vice-president of marketing and promotions at VP Records said that the singer would begin touring with Nas and Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley come the end of the August on their Distant Relatives Tour.

The news broke yesterday while on set of his video for his second single Nah let you go, but the star of the month is not at all daunted by his growing schedule. Instead, the singer said he was happy for his success despite everything that has happened.

“Well you know it’s all good. I’m giving thanks and praises for life. Very happy about the tour coming up, naturally it’s all about music, so we haffi endorse it,” he said, adding that his focus right now was to get the album out.

On June 7, Gyptian was involved in a motorbike accident along Molynes Road in St Andrew, in which he sustained minor head and shoulder injuries. He released his fourth studio album Hold You a little over two weeks ago.

The album’s lead single of the same name entered the Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts on March 27 at No 78 and has risen steadily. According to billboard.com, the single currently sits at No 41, and has the greatest airplay and sales gain this week. So far, the song has peaked at number Four on Billboard’s ‘Heatseekers songs’ chart which maps this week’s most popular songs across all formats by new or developing artistes.

Icah Wilmot became the first local surfing champion after winning the Men’s Open event at the fourth renewal of the International MAKKA pro surfing tournament, which ended in Southaven, Yallahs, St Thomas yesterday. The victory was the second for Jamaican surfers out of three finals, after Akeem Taylor blew away his competition to win the junior category.

Icah Wilmot rides a wave in the Men’s Open during the fourth renewal of the International MAKKA pro surfing tournament at Southaven, Yallahs, St Thomas yesterday. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)  

The female title went to Barbados’ Chelsea Tauch.  Open champion Wilmot said he has tried desperately to win this event over the years, but has always fallen short.  “I’ve always come pretty close, but this time I just put my all in it and went out and surfed as best as I could,” he said.  “It’s a great experience to be the first Jamaican to win the title here, it’s a really great feeling,” he added. Wilmot, with 10.3 points, topped the Open event ahead of fellow Jamaicans Shane Simmonds with 8.5 points, and favourite Travis Ajay of the US into third with 6.6 points. Junior champion Taylor, also became the first local to win his events.  The youngster stated that the victory will significantly boost his confidence going into upcoming tounaments in Barbados and Trinidad, and will help to advance his surfing career.  “I had hoped the waves would be bigger, but I still went all the way, although they were small. But this will help me to do good in Barbados and Trinidad,” he said. Taylor won the event with 10.77 points, with Elisham Beckford second with 9.8 and Garren Pryce third with 9.5 points. In the women’s competition, the Bajan Tauch tallied 13.33 to sweep a strong field, including Jamaicans Imani Wilmot, into second with 5.73. The Barbadian said selecting good waves was the key to her victory.  “I love MAKKA pro and I love winning this event, but out there I got the right waves and I took them, so I was really happy with my performance,” she said.  Jamaica’s surfing president and local legend Anthony ‘Billy’ Wilmot said winning two events for the first time meant Jamaica was making a statement in the sport, “and we feel proud”, he said. The international tournament which hosted surfers from as far as Australia, the Phillipines, United States, Barbados and Trinidad, also received much media attention, which included live streaming on the internet courtesy of sponsor DEKAL wireless.  The event which was threatened by intermittent drizzle all afternoon, has continued to established itself as a growing calender event for the Southaven/Yallahs community, which turned out in droves to support the event.  The four-year-old competition was also higly endorsed by 20-year-old American female finalist Gillian Gensler. “This is definetly a great tournament and I will be coming back next year for sure, although I hope the waves will be a bit bigger. But the Jamaica Surfing Association and everyone has been very helpful and really nice… everyone here is now surfing and they are doing really well and they are going to get better,” she predicted. “Yes we are growing from strength to strenght and it feels good,” Wilmot concluded

Unconfirmed reports are that Lincoln “Sugar” Minott is dead.

Sources reported that the veteran reggae singer died from a heart attack in Jamaica late Saturday night.

Sugar Minott, who has contributed significantly to the development of reggae music through his Youthman Promotions, had earlier this year confirmed that he had been experiencing heart problems.

We send out condolences to the family of Mr Lincoln ‘Sugar’ Minott. May his soul rest in peace.

The St. Catherine Police Headquarters has named dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel as a “major person of interest”. However Vybz Kartel and his lawyers Valerie Neita-Robertson and Tom Tavares Finson are now on their way to the Police station.

Expanding on the collaboration begun on the track Road to Zion on Marley’s 2005 album Welcome to Jamrock, Distant Relatives traces hip-hop’s roots to Africa via Jamaican dancehall and reggae, which explains why the fusion of rapper Nas’s blistering raps and reggae royal Marley’s compelling, world-weary deliveries sounds so natural. It’s thoughtful, sincere, weighty stuff, tackling subjects from African poverty to the diamond trade without sounding preachy or schmaltzy. Nas is at his best addressing “those who get left behind” on Strong Will Continue, while Marley has inherited his father Bob’s knack for simple phrases that hit home, notably Tribes At War’s “Everyone deserves to earn, every child deserves to learn”. An eclectic musical backdrop sounds more comfortable with reggae than acoustic guitars and pop, and Count Your Blessings’ lyrics celebrating “love and assurance, new health insurance” jar somewhat. But tunes as strong as the eerie, haunting Patience and troubled reggae Leaders (”They took our leaders and lynched them”) will prove difficult to deny. Distant Relatives releases on 5/18/2010. THIS IS A MUST HAVE ALBUM DONT SLEEP ON THIS ONE!

What a gwaan inna di entertainment industry. The US Embassy send out notice that some entertainers cannot board any flights to US as they are now in the process of revoking their visas. Yeah man Beenie Man, Aidonia, Bounty Killer, Ricky Trooper and Mavado are the artistes in question.
But the worst ting is dat we dont even know why dem a get revoke.  America really this vex over Dudus?

Citing health concerns, the attorney for reggae star Buju Banton wants his client moved out of the Pinellas County Jail where he has been since December.  David Markus, Banton’s attorney, filed an emergency motion for bond with the federal courts on Monday afternoon. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. this Friday. The motion says Buju Banton, born Mark Myrie, has lost 40 pounds and not been provided with a diet in accordance with his religious view. The 36-year-old, Jamaican-born singer is a Rastafarian, a religion that places importance on a vegetable and fruit based diet.  Last Thursday, Buju Banton was moved from jail’s general population area to a higher security section– a punishment for giving his food to another inmate. Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Tom Nestor said “The inmate handbook says you are not to be trading food or handing out food” as “Food is considered currency”. But since the move, Banton’s “physical and mental health has been rapidly deteriorating,” Markus said. The Grammy-nominated reggae artist is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, accused of participating with two associates in a drug deal in early December to buy cocaine from undercover federal agents in Sarasota. Banton did not seek a bond when he originally was incarcerated because of his immigration status. He is in the United States on an entertainer’s visa. If he is awarded a bond, he will be immediately taken to an immigration detention facility. The state’s two immigration detention facilities are in South Florida at least four hours from Tampa. U.S. marshals would have to transport Banton back and forth for hearings at Tampa’s federal courthouse, Markus said. Despite the distance, Banton and his attorney believe the move would be better for his health. “We need him to be treated humanely,” Markus said.

HUNDREDS of people are feared dead in Haiti after the Carribean island was hit by a powerful earthquake last night. The tremor hit just before 5pm local time about 10 miles southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s envoy to the US, said it was a “catastrophe of major proportions”. A hospital and other buildings in the capital were reported to have collapsed. A visiting US official said the sky in the city was”grey with dust” and he could hear screaming. Among the hundreds thought dead or buried under the rubble is a substantial number of United Nations personnel, after the UN headquarters on the island was flattened. The United Nations has a 9,000-strong peacekeeping force in Haiti, which has been there since a rebellion in 2004. Peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said other UN installations in the Caribbean nation were also seriously damaged.
The quake was quickly followed by major aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. Reporter Joseph Guyler Delva said: “Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing … it’s total chaos. “I saw people under the rubble, and people killed.”
A tsunami watch was in effect last night for Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas.
Henry Bahn, an official from the US Department of Agriculture, was walking to his hotel in Port-au-Prince when the ground began to shake. He said: “I just held on and bounced across the wall. Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out.

Reggae star Mark ‘Buju Banton’ Myrie has strongly denied any involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

Buju, who has been one of the standard bearers for reggae music for more than a decade, made the declaration through his legal representative yesterday as he prepared for his first day in court.

“My client says he is absolutely innocent of each of the allegations that the government has made,” attorney-at-law Herbert E. Walker III told THE STAR late yesterday.

Walker, who has been retained to represent Buju, said he was looking forward to the trial. “You can tell your readers that his defence team is working night and day to protect his interest as he vigorously and vehemently denies all of the allegations,” Walker added.

Buju has already spent five days in federal custody in the United States and remains in jail pending his court appearance today at a pre-trial detention hearing. This is when the US authorities will outline more details of the allegations against him and he will get a chance to apply for bail.

Already the authorities have claimed that they have audio and video footage of Buju and others making arrangements to purchase several kilograms of cocaine. But Walker said that will not prevent him from asking the court to release Buju on bail.

“It is a detention hearing and a sort of status update where the government will bring in all the evidence it has. It was set for last Friday but the government was not ready to proceed as they needed more time to get their evidence together,” said Walker.

presumption of detention

He noted that under US law, it is the defendant who has to prove that he should be granted bail because with the serious nature of the charge there is what is called, “a presumption of detention”.

“But the fact of the matter is the court still has to make an individual determination as to whether to grant bail. It is our position that he should be granted bail because he is innocent and is looking forward to establish that in a court of law.”

Buju is slated to appear in the US District Court in the Southern District of Florida at 10 this morning.

After today’s hearing, the artiste will return to court on December 28 for a removal hearing where the trial will be switched from the Middle District of Florida to the Southern District.

The affidavit, against Buju and his two alleged conspirators was initially filed in the Middle District.

In that affidavit a special agent with the US Drug Enforcement Administration alleged that Buju and two others knowingly and wilfully conspired to possess, with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

The co-accused were identified as Ian Thomas and James Mack who were allegedly arrested in a sting operation when they attempted to buy cocaine. A firearm was also reportedly taken from a vehicle driven by one of the men.

Buju, who was not on the scene at the time of the drug bust, was later arrested on charges of dealing in illegal drugs and could spend more than 20 years in a federal prison if he is found guilty.

MIAMI - Federal authorities say Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton attempted to buy cocaine from an undercover officer in Florida.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, has been in U.S. federal custody in Miami since Thursday. He faces a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

According to court documents, Banton and two others contacted a police informant last week about buying cocaine in Sarasota. Drug Enforcement Administration agents say Banton negotiated the purchase and was observed inspecting cocaine offered by the undercover officer.

The other men were arrested Thursday when they allegedly attempted to buy the drugs.

An e-mail to Banton’s independent record label was not immediately returned Monday.

Dancehall icon Pliers of the famous dancehall duo Chaka Demus and Pliers recently recorded and released his second solo album titled Sex & Religion. The album was released early last month on his Bonner Production imprint, through Zojack World Wide and is available on leading internet download sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Raphsody it will be released on CD early next year. The fourteen-track album features production work from Pliers, Sly and Robby, Mikey Bennett and Jack Stereo and features guest appearances from Richie Spice, Spanner Banner, Chaka Demus and Bascom X.

The first single from the album titled Sweet Memories was released two weeks ago and is already receiving heavy rotation on radio stations such as IRIE FM, HITZ 92 FM and RJR 94 FM. The supporting music video for the single was shot two weeks ago, at several locations across the north coast under the guidance of topflight music video director Asha McHail. The music video was released to local television stations earlier this week.

Sean Paul took home the award for Best Reggae Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards, held on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The Best Reggae Artist catagory was a first this year for the award show. Nominees for the 2009 Soul Train Best Reggae Artist Award included Mavado, Serani, Tarrus Riley, and Ziggy Marley.

The Far East Rulers will create history yet again when they perform for the first time alongside renowned sound system King Stur Gav at Irish and Chin’s “Reeewind” on Saturday, October 3 in New York.
This will be a night of straight “rub-a-dub” and could pose a big challenge for Mighty Crown, who is typically viewed as a competitive sound.
For this session, Mighty Crown will have to maintain a harmonious disposition, while delivering straight “Rub-a-dub” music. All the while, “The Far East Rulers” will have to work hard to convince the more senior members of the audience of their ability to play in this unique setting.
To properly prepare for this event, Mighty Crown will feature Koji, their ace selector credited for his extensive knowledge of foundation music. Hailed by leaders like U-Roy and Tony Screw, Koji thrives as a foundation selector. Since confirmed for this date, Mighty Crown has been diligently going through their music catalogue to draw tunes fit for the event.
King Stur Gav is happy to return to New York. The one-and-only sound will take center stage on Saturday, October 3 and provide dancehall fans with a genuine “Rub-a-dub” experience. The name King Stur Gav speaks for itself. The sound has a remarkable history that dates back to the mid 70’s. Created by the pioneer deejay U-Roy, the sound catapulted to success as a traveling sound system that boasted some of the industry’s top deejays including Josey Wales, Brigadier Jerry, Charlie Chaplin and Ranking Joe to name a few.
Clearly, King Stur Gav served as a Deejay academy, offering some of the best microphone talent of the era. Through the academy, all of the sound’s disciples were able to take their teacher’s style to the forefront of Reggae music. King Stur Gav’s commitment to entertainment and dedication to cultural music instead of slackness has continued to make the sound a unique driving force.
Both King Stur Gav and Mighty Crown will shine at “Reeewind,” giving fans a taste of history, with a modern day twist.