News

David "Mavado" Brooks was involved in a Bike accident on Sunday evening, in the Manor park area of Kingston. ReggaeMe understands that Mavado was travelling on his motorcycle with a group of riders at approximately 5:00pm on sunday when a female driver decided to turn into her driveway, cutting across his lane in which he was riding. Mavado was immediately taken to the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston where he underwent treatment for some minor cuts and bruises. Doctors also did several X-rays inwhich thankfully all came back as showing that mavado was ok.

An Air India Express plane from Dubai overshot the table-top runway at the Mangalore airport on Saturday morning and plunged over a cliff into a wooded valley, killing 158 persons. There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board Flight IX-812. The passengers included 137 adults, 19 children and 4 infants. Eight passengers survived miraculously. The plane burst into flames after the crash, which occurred at 6.10 a.m. The captain of the flight, Z. Glusica, a British national of Serbian origin, and his co-pilot H.S. Ahluwalia are among the dead. Nine passengers did not board the flight, according to the manifest. Their were two survivors Mohammad Usman and Joel Prathap D'Souza. The reasons for the crash are as yet unclear...

Fashion icon Anna Wintour turned up at a local community board meeting Wednesday night to oppose a new Jamaican restaurant Miss Lily slated to open in her Greenwich Village neighborhood. Anna Wintour rallied the support of dozens of neighbors at a Community Board 2 committee hearing held to discuss a liquor license application for nightlife impresario Serge Becker’s new venture, Miss Lily. Anna Wintour Said

The Jamaican Diaspora in Toronto, Canada, is in the process of establishing a special fund to assist Jamaica in times of disaster and other emergencies. According to the Consul General in Toronto, George Ramocan, the Committee with responsibility for the Fund is working on strategies to engage the wider Toronto community and to develop a consistent method of giving. The city of Toronto has a significant Jamaican community of approximately 300,000 Jamaicans and persons of Jamaican descent.

Heeding annual criticism that reggae's finest releases are oftentimes overlooked as nominees in the Grammy's best reggae album category, Cristy Barber, VP of marketing and promotions at New York-based reggae label VP Records, is spearheading a drive to educate her industry about the role of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Barber, a 2005 Grammy nominated producer for the various artists compilation "Def Jamaica" (Island/Def Jam) and the former president of the Marley family's Tuff Gong/Ghetto Youths labels, will commence an informational media campaign in Jamaica, Jan. 21-25, where she will meet with key industry personnel. Her efforts will also extend beyond the island's shores as she aims to...

Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson, of Steely and Clevie fame, is in critical condition at a New York hospital but the music fraternity has been praying for his recovery. Johnson is suffering from pneumonia having recovered from kidney compilations in December. Steely started his career as the original keyboard player with the Roots Radix Band which backed Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer and numerous other artistes both on tour and in the recording studio, and also played on a number of hit recordings for various producers in the 70s. Steely also played on a large number of hit recordings for various artistes. Noted as the pioneers of dancehall, but certainly not limited to this genre, Steely and Clevie have worked together for 30 years...

"I know everybody is gonna take this wrong," Jay-Z told MTV on Saturday at the annual 2 Kings dinner during NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, "We Are the World, I love it, and I understand the point and think it's great. But I think We Are the World is like [Michael Jackson's] Thriller to me. I don't ever wanna see it touched." He continued, "I'm a fan of music. I know the plight and everything that's going on in Haiti. ... So I appreciate the efforts and everything, but We Are the World is [musically] untouchable like Thriller is untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it's gonna be untouchable." Source: USA Today

Since its founding in 1969, the Mighty Diamonds' harmonies and devotion to the roots-reggae tradition have become legendary. The veteran trio will perform in concert in Brooklyn on Nov. 1 and be honored for its longtime contribution to music. In addition to the Mighty Diamonds, the Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music's annual Reggae Culture Salute will feature the Warrior King, Everton Blender, Ossie Dellmore, dub poet Infinity and Nyabinghi drumming. Also there will be a screening of "Africa Unite," a film about the family of reggae pioneer Bob Marley attending the annual Africa Unite concert on the continent. Children and seniors are encouraged to attend the family-oriented event, which will be held at Nazareth Regional High...

Jamaica reported its first cases of H1N1 yesterday, making it the fourth Caribbean island to confirm the virus' presence. A 4-year-old girl from Linstead in St. Catherine has reportedly tested positive for the Influenza A H-1-N-1 virus popularly known as swine flu. Health Ministry spokeswoman Marion Bullock-Ducasse says lab tests show that two Jamaicans apparently contracted the H1N1 virus during recent visits to New York City and have since recovered Cases of Influenza A H1N1, formally called swine flu, were detected first in April of this year with cases in Mexico then the United States. The World Health Organization has to date confirmed over 17,000 cases world wide of which it says 119 persons have died from the...

Federal authorities will not pursue charges against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell, the unarmed bridegroom who died in a hail of police bullets outside a Queens strip club hours before his wedding, officials said yesterday. Prosecutors said there was "insufficient evidence" that Bell's civil rights were violated when undercover officers unloaded on a car carrying Bell and two friends on a Jamaica street in November 2006. Three of the five officers involved were tried and acquitted in 2008, including Michael Oliver, who police said reloaded while firing 31 of the 50 shots that filled the vehicle and surrounding streets. The other two cops were never indicted. Bitterly disappointed, Bell's...

Mike Tyson and a photographer made citizen's arrests of one anotherafter getting into a scuffle Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport, police say. At 4:30 p.m., the former boxing champ, 43, was passing through LAX from Europe en route to Las Vegas when a celebrity photographer began taking his picture at the United Airlines terminal, Sgt. Jim Holcomb tells PEOPLE. "The two men got into a scuffle, and it's alleged that Tyson hit the photographer once in the face with one hand, causing him to fall to the ground," Holcomb says. "The photographer sustained a laceration to theforehead, and was taken to a local hospital." Officers arrived on the scene and detained Tyson, who was booked at anearby LAPD...

Dancehall promotion company Irish and Chin has inked a landmark deal with Stages Productions, top Jamaican play producers. Adding to an already prosperous business relationship between the two companies, in the Fall 2010, Irish and Chin will stage a complete U.S. tour of Stages' play "The Plumber," which is the most popular play in Jamaica right now. The tour, which will kick off in October 2010, will bring "The Plumber" to ten U.S. Cities. A noteworthy step in the rebirth of Jamaican theater, the tour will represent "The Plumber's" U.S. debut. Following their popular production style, which infuses dancehall and theater, Irish and Chin has nabbed DJ Roy and Road International for the tour.

The St Andrew North police said they will be questioning popular singer Gyptian, whose real name Windel Edwards, in connection with the recent alleged assault of a man in Stony Hill. The police confirmed receiving a report from the injured man, saying he was assaulted after being involved in a squabble about money. The man is said to have had to seek treatment at the Kingston Public Hospital after the incident. It is alleged that the victim was asked to visit the singer at a location in Stony Hill to discuss the theft of $300,000 belonging to the singer. When he got there, he was sent to the back of the premises to look at something. The man was attacked by three men who beat him all over the body with a pickaxe stick...

Last night Jay-Z and Eminem teamed up for a special concert on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater building. The two performed three songs during their set, which took place 13 stories high, 140 feet above Manhattan. The two rappers were taping a segment to air on Late Show with David Letterman on Friday, 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The two rappers appearance is to help kick off their co-headlining two-stop tour, Home and Home, at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sept. 2 and at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sept. 13.

Michael Jackson was pronounced dead this afternoon.The pop star arrived at a hospital in a deep coma.Jackson was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles after he suffered a heart attack. Paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance. The call to 9-1-1 came in about 12:21 p.m. P.S.T. (3:21 p.m. Eastern) from Jackson's home in Los Angeles.Capt. Steve Ruda of the Los Angeles Fire Department said Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived. The singer was taken to UCLA Medical Center. At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying. Jackson is the seventh of nine children...

Several selectors have been abused in the past, whether by artistes or their entourages. However, these acts of violence are not encouraged by selector and other members of the dancehall industry. The lastest victim was selector Richie Feelings who was hit with a bottle in his forehead, allegedly by a member of the Alliance, at the last Hot Mondays. This reportedly occurred because Richie Feelings did not play the artiste's songs. This is not the first incident with Richie Feelings as he was involved in a verbal confrontation with Boom Boom and Foota Hype at a 2008 staging of Bembe Thursdays for playing too many Vybz Kartel songs. He is not the first to suffer this fate. In 2007, Jigsy said he was hit in the head by Vybz...

Torrence "Lil Boosie" Hatch Baton Rouge-born Louisiana rapper,was indicted by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury Thursday afternoon on a first-degree murder charge for his alleged involvement in a shooting incident in October that left one man dead. Although he has already been in jail for a period of time in St.Gabriel in Hunt Correctional Institute. There he is serving time for gun and drug possession charges probation violation. Unfortunately all these charges were brought over him because of Terry Boyd’s shooting death incident which was happened on October 21 last year. A grand jury also indicted Adrian Pittman, 36, and Michael Louding, 17, for first-degree murder in Boyd's death, If he is found quilty he could face the...

Jamaica (AP)-- Jamaica has dissolved the board of directors of its Anti-Doping Commission after a review found potential conflicts of interest. Jamaica Olympic Association President Mike Fennell said Monday that all 15 members were fired by the Caribbean nation's sports minister, Olivia Grange. "This is to facilitate a restructuring of the organization," Fennell said. A delegation from the World Anti-Doping Agency that visited Jamaica in May raised concerns about conflicts of interest for panel members who also lead sports associations on the Caribbean island, Fennell said. Jamaica's government established the anti-doping commission in 2005, recruiting some of the country's leading sports officials to lead testing of athletes...

Royalties resulting from the playing of Jamaican music in the UK will now be sent to producers and label owners locally, following a new agreement between collecting societies aimed at increasing Jamaica's music earnings. The agreement which was reached "a few weeks ago" involves Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) and the UK based Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and is part of an effort of the local body to grow its annual royalties to $10 million by 2012. The agreement also involves JAMMS managing the rights of PPL's vast repertoire in Jamaica. PPL currently manages performance rights for many independent record labels, many of which own popular titles which enjoy airplay in Jamaica. Source: Jamaica Observer

Usain Bolt has captured one of the top honors at the 29th annual Commonwealth Sports Awards, despite not participating at the Games last month in Delhi. Bolt walked away with the Outstanding Male Athlete accolade at the Awards ceremony at the International Convention Centre Saturday night. He opted out of the Commonwealth Games and was not present at the award ceremony.