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Newsletter Detail
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FURTHER ON IN THE NEWS # 21 2005
RIP BOGLE
Following the death of the dancehall icon Gerald Levy aka Mr Bogle, the dancehall scene took a beating and the dancers for varied reasons had to refrain from venturing out. The result was that several of the weekly dancing events held in Kingston ceased.
Passa Passa the weekly Wednesday night affair held in Tivoli Gardens West Kingston however, was the only regular dance spot that kept the fire blazing. The main characters of the musical fulljoyment are Swatch Sound, dancers Jermain Squad, Ding Dong, Sample 6, Medusa (The Vegabond) and the visiting Japanese dryland tourists who mingle and participation the new dance moves being executed.
Bogle will be sorely missed as his extravagance and ability to originate dances.
Not only did Bogle write songs; he created vibes through spontaneity and loved to dance. Towards the end of his premature demise he began to record some catchy dancehall numbers that triggered off a different hype in the dancehall.
The dancer was well respected in the dancehall industry. This was proved in the several events following his passing which were documented for instance the Nine Night held on Black roses corner where he hung out on a daily basis with several artists and sounds passing through. Available now on DV403.
The funeral of Mr Bogle was a spectacle to behold not your normal occasion of mourning but rather an event packed with incident and action. Available now DD DV405.
BUJU PETITION
Buju Banton whose 1992 dancehall hit 'Bogle' catapulted Mr Bogle's name into the international dancehall circuit, was recently granted a waiver enabling him to travel to the US, after a year long restriction following a ban imposed by the US government.
Buju whose highly anticipated album 'Rasta Got Soul' is said to be released this year, thanked the 5000+ people for their support in signing to lift the ban on Buju petition. He commented that "The past year has been full of struggle and strife....but it was the fans who kept me hopeful through it all" he went onto say that he promises to repay the fans "with a bounty of positive, uplifting heartical roots music."
SOME BIG LONG GUN....
Sizzla Kalonji was arrested twice in three months recently, the first altercation with the law came from using profanity at East Fest 2004 whilst on stage going lyric for lyric with Beenie Man. After finishing his performance Sizzla was arrested by Police, detained overnight before appearing in front of the Judge who sentenced him to 15 days in jail for his loose use of Jamaican patois.
Sizzla was actually later released from prison pending an appeal.
Three months later and Sizzla again found himself on the wrong side of the law, on this occasion for a series of high calibre firearms found under a 'fowl coup'(chicken pen) in his Judgement yard communal base.
Judgement yard it needs to be explained is although Sizzla's base, accommodates over 30 plus families over several acres of land, that is owned by Sizzla, hence when the weapons were found he was one of the 33 persons detained for questioning because he owns the land. Catch Sizzla addressing the situation on Dv341, Dv442.
However he has denied any knowledge of the weapons and was released by the police with no further questions.
There has been a rumour circulating that Sizzla has signed to mainstream record label Def Jam. He currently has a combination track that is being well received on the mix tape scene in New York with US female rapper Foxy Brown entitled 'Come fly with me'.
However a Def Jam A&R director was reported to have recently said that "we love him, he is incredible,....I am sure we will be doing more work with him on other projects"
STUDIO ONE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
In celebration of the foundation record labels 50th Anniversary a hoist of artists from both vintage and the modern realms of reggae music converged on Mas Camp Kingston to perform and pay respects to one of the founders of the music.
Original DJ or MC King Stitt, Derrick Harriot, Marcia Griffiths, Ken Boothe, Tanice Morrison, The Silvertones, Capleton and the hard working Fantom Mojah, to name a few.
Stalwart performances by the Mighty Diamonds. Bongo Herman and three of Bob Marley's sons made the show a night to remember.
A superb set was delivered by Marcia Griffiths who seems to get sweeter and sweeter like vintage wine, however the show was stolen by versatile Marley brothers, who all brought back inevitable comparisons with their world famous father.
Stephen Marley the innovative producer sang most of his father's studio one hits, opening with Soul Rebel, followed by brother Julian who gave the audience the enlightening 'Systems' and Damien the youngest of the three giving the patrons tracks of his last gold album 'Halfway Tree' but putting a original twist on still searching by riding a ska riddim.
The biggest forward was saved for the collaboration between Stephen Damien and surprise guest Capleton which done the place.
Available now on Dv486 pt.1 & Dv487 pt.2.
DANCEHALL FEATURE PT.12 & 13
A double dosage of the dancehall music video series, dancehall feature 12 continues the roots and culture trend with a righteous blend of the new boom artists and the established acts.
Fresh videos, music videos from Morgan Heritage, Beres Hammond, Toots & Shaggy, Capleton, Ritchie Spice, Perfect Luciano, Damien Marley & German singjay Gentleman.
Dancehall Feature Pt. 13 consists of the reinvented Lady Mackeral female DJ aka Macka Diamond with some new flavours, Bounty Killer on a couple of tracks, Burro Banton, TOK, Goofy, Babycham, Spice, Mad Anju, Lady Saw and Elephant Man on several tracks. Available now on Dv485 pt.12 & Dv495 pt.13.
UK CUP CLASH 2005
This years championship was contested in East London and was well attended by patrons from across Europe.
Younghawk US champion, Tony Matterhorn 2003 winner, One Love Italian champion, Mighty Crown, Immortal UK Champion, Bass Odyssey JA Champion, Black Kat defending champion all battled it out for the coveted title under the watchful eye of the host with the most Ninjaman, whose presence certainly put an extra twist on the proceedings.
Younghawk, One Love and defending champions Black Kat all struggled to make sufficient impact with the patrons. Younghawk & One Love were being eliminated early out.
Tony Matterhorn got some big forwards from the original Lethal B and his ability to mesmerise the crowd with his speeches, but eventually his same mic ability got the better off him and he began to simmer down.
Mighty Crown clearly won a round when they unleashed some US rapping dub plate, Immortal represented the UK well and arguably won the new vocal round. This trophy though as predicted by many was Bass Odyssey’s to loose and that proved to be the case as they decimated the place with some old Bounty Killer anthems. The musical chemistry between MC Squingy and DJ Mark is almost unstoppable when in full flow, but loose they did as the experienced Squingy made a school boy error and used profanity in the 45th round consequently omitting themselves from the clash through disqualification. Leaving Immortal and Mighty Crown in the dub 4 dub segment.
WAR OF THE WORLDS
Across the Atlantic Ocean in New York another clash of epic proportion was taking place. LP International Brooklyn’s finest, Shashamane the Kenyan sound killer and Blunt Posse from the Bronx battled it out for the trophy. This dance was full of controversy, after Blunt Posse with the quick fire MC Ajax took the first round. LP arguably taking the next two, one was close between them and Shasa,, LP who started off slowly and only began to gather momentum and eventually the lead when they rinsed off some classic anthems, decided they won the dance and refused to play dub 4 dub. Leaving Blunt to edge out Shasa and take the trophy. Available now on CD, C256-258.
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