Dancehall artiste Mr Vegas is fully bright and loving it. Having performed on numerous stages across the globe in his 30-plus year career, today, Clifford Smith’s journey takes him to a different stage, one on which there is no mic in his hand and...
Even as his multiplatinum-selling song, Cheerleader, was still breaking records and he was in the spotlight, reggae singer OMI, quietly found his personal cheerleader, tied the knot, and expanded his family. The notoriously private entertainer...
A new album from Fredddie McGregor is like a breath of fresh air, and it is no coincidence that that is the title of the 13-track project which is set to be released early next year. And, leading up to the release, McGregor will be on a progressive...
Over the decades, the name John Swaby has become synonymous with light, stage and sound. In fact, he was the first person to actually own a stage in Jamaica. He can recall a time when the Jamaica Defence Force used to “have to be traipsing all over...
V. Rocket International has the distinction of being “the only sound that goes to the moon”, so it’s only right that the legendary sound system, which was started in the UK in 1964, should have its own documentary chronicling its supersonic journey...
Comedy King Oliver Samuels has had a storied career, and he has a lot of stories to tell of his 50-plus years in the business of making people laugh, but many of the stories that shape him are those that lay bare his softer, less carefree side. A...
When it comes to the enigmatic Tanya Stephens, the best maxim is: Expect the unexpected. An exciting bundle of unfiltered – and one can supply any noun of choice right here – quirkily sprinkled with some kinda madness awaits when sharing the same...
It was as much a sonic as it was a visual experience inside the National Arena last Thursday as carpenters, artisans, technical teams, and creatives were singularly focused on putting together the final pieces of various floats to mount the...
Actress Sandra Lee knows her way around live theatre, having starred in her very first production while a student at the Vere Technical High School in Clarendon. That opportunity ignited a passion for the arts, which would later see the then...
The Vatican flag was flown at the Seventh-day Adventist’s (SDA) 61st General Conference (GC) Session in St Louis, Missouri (MO) on June 11. While some church folk are okay with it and have offered stout defence, other members of the church are...
The decision to produce a Jamaica 60 commemorative album for 2022 instead of hosting the annual Festival Song Competition was not one which was taken lightly. Penthouse Records CEO and veteran producer, Donovon Germain, a member of the judging...
Last Thursday, at the UBS stadium in Long Island, New York, a beaming Patricia ‘Miss Pat’ Chin, co-founder and president of VP Records, dressed in academic regalia, graciously accepted York College’s Presidential Medal from President Dr Berenecea...
(For this special Mother’s Day celebration during the year of Jamaica 60, the Entertainment Desk is featuring some of the women who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of music and culture) The story of VP Records is one defined...
Name and face recognition are two things that BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ and presenter Seani B enjoys in Jamaica, where his respect is large within the reggae and dancehall community. When Seani B is in the island and calls on an artiste, he or she shows...
Under the stars and an almost full moon, Jamaicans representing every sector of society joined Prime Minister Andrew Holness on the lawns of Jamaica House last Wednesday evening as he officially launched the Jamaica 60 celebrations. Also present...
News of the death of Fitzroy ‘Bunny Diamond’ Simpson of reggae trio, the Mighty Diamonds, on April 1, considered April Fool’s Day, sounded like a joke. But it was all too real. It was only three days before, on the night of Tuesday, March 29, that...
It has taken Bianca Anderson two years to arrive at a place where she can feel comfortable talking about her father, veteran reggae singer and prolific songwriter Keith ‘Bob Andy’ Anderson. A ‘Daddy’s girl’, who has cherished memories of her lunch...
Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac with the word ‘Legend’ and the letters’ DM’ boldly inscribed on the gate is the house where pioneering ska and rocksteady star, Derrick Morgan, resides in Clarendon. By design, the road is named Derrick Morgan Close....
When up-and-coming singer Knixx Taylor met saxophonist extraordinaire Dean Fraser at the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) Awards launch at the end of February, he told her that her talent was giving him some strong Koffee vibes....
Optimistic is how Richard Delano Forbes Jr, the man at the helm of Phase Three, is feeling about the creative industry as it emerges out of the doldrums brought on by the pandemic, and he is ready to play his part in its rebuilding. Forbes’ gaze is...
Rastafarian reggae singer, Denroy Morgan, father of 30 biological children, grandfather to 104 and great-grandfather of 15, exuded greatness of biblical proportions. Little wonder that he was known as a patriarch, a term that has its genesis in the...
History was created inside the National Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday when reggae artiste Sizzla Kalonji lived the words of his now-classic song, Rise to the Occasion, as he was expertly accompanied, for the first time ever, by a 35-piece...
Singer, Romain Virgo, readily admits that he never had any intention of becoming a vlogger, a project which sees him generously sharing a slice of his life each week with his fans, who are dubbed ‘Virgonation’. However, not only is he enjoying it...
It was a grand celebration of everything reggae – the music, Reggae Month, Bob Marley, Bunny Rugs, Dennis Brown – in the City of Hollywood in Florida last Sunday. Reggae band Third World was even presented with the Key to the City, prompting...
A quick scroll through the Instagram page of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, Kenneth Richards, says a lot about the measure of the man. From pictures of him smiling with parishioners; cutting his birthday cake with his mother, Holdroyd...
