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Despite being pulled from local radio playlists and websites, the controversial song Rampin' Shop debuted in the number 96 position on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts - a first for both artistes. In a move that caused much uproar in the entertainment fraternity in February, the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica placed restrictions on all daggering songs, content of explicitly sexual and violent nature and all songs containing bleeps. Inaddition the original version of Vybz Kartel and Spice's Rampin Shop has been ordered to be destroyed and pulled from all radio stations, television stations and the Internet by EMI Music Publishing. After being removed from radio playlists locally, internationally the song, which was...

Spanner Banner, whose real name is Joseph Anthony Bonner, began his musical career during his formative years, as a singer on the Bidia sound system in his hometown of Rock Hall, St Andrew, in the late 1980s. The response that he received from the audience whenever he performed served as good encouragement for him to do all he could to realise his musical ambitions. Therefore, he spent a great deal of time writing lyrics and seeking out studios for recording Singer Spanner Banner, a member of the talented Bonner brothers, which includes Pliers (of Chakademus and Pliers fame) and Richie Spice, says he is ready to reclaim his heritage. Spanner, who was one of the acts signed to Island Records during the 90's, has certainly made his...

It is understood that police are seeking the artiste in connection to reports of sexual abuse by a 13-year-old girl in June this year. The entertainer however, is disputing the allegations. In an interview with IRIE FM, Zebra said the allegations are false. He says the allegations stem from the efforts of the girl’s aunt and grandmother, to get back at him and his girlfriend, who is the girl’s mother. He says the aunt and grandmother are upset with him and his girlfriend over what they claim to be their refusal to hand over money that, according to Zebra they are claiming was left by the girl’s father. Zebra says he and his girlfriend have sought the services of an attorney and will be doing all possible to clear his...

Bounty Killer has turned himself in after police accused him of assaulting a man outside a nightclub. Attorney Thomas Tavares-Finson said Thursday that his client was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and unlawful wounding and assault. Police say the incident happened two years ago. A warrant was issued for the deejay last weekend which prevented him from making a scheduled appearance for Ochi Invasion held at the Amnesia car park on Friday. All this is stemming from an incident that occurred in 2007 outside the Quad night club in Kingston. Allegations are that on September 27 a group of men used their cars to block a section of St. Lucia Avenue in New Kingston. It is alleged that Bounty Killa and former Constable...

Former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by a 20-year-old girlfriend distraught about mounting financial problems and her belief that he was seeing someone else, police said Wednesday. Investigators may never know why Sahel Kazemi shot McNair four times as he dozed on a sofa early Saturday before turning the gun on herself, Police Chief Ronal Serpas said. But interviews with friends revealed that she was making payments on two cars, her rent was doubling and she suspected the married McNair was having a second affair with another young woman. She told a friend on Friday that "My life is a ball of s--t and I should end it," Serpas said. Police earlier had labeled McNair's death a homicide, but waited...

It was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. There were songs and tears but little dancing. Instead, Michael Jackson’s memorial was a somber, spiritual ceremony that reached back for the essence of the man. Some 20,000 people gathered inside the Staples Center arena on Tuesday, and untold millions watching around the world, remembered Jackson, whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame. See Picture for more memorial pictures

The mother of a 13-year-old is in custody while the police are searching for entertainer, Zebra, who has been accused of sexually assaulting the child. Garfield 'Zebra' Vassell, who the police said is wanted for rape, was released from prison on September 6 after serving seven of a 10-year sentence for a similar crime. In the latest allegations, it is said that several persons became concerned about the child when she began to behave in a strange manner. The police were informed and an investigation launched. The mother of the teenager was taken in after she admitted that she suspected that her child was sexually active but did nothing about it. As a result, she is being held on suspicion of aiding and abetting, while the...

Today is being celebrated as International Reggae Day, the day on which the world is invited to celebrate the best of Jamaica's music and creativity. With the goal of uniting people through music, IRD integrates media and technology each year as it highlights the power and impact of Jamaican music and reggae culture globally and honours important contributors to the growth and development of Jamaica's most invaluable export - its music. July 1 also marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of the Crown Prince of Reggae Dennis Emmanuel Brown and disc jocks are being requested to include significant mention of this artiste during IRD celebrations. All are encouraged to wear their Reggae "colour"- red, green and gold - on July 1...

In May 1999, after touring in Brazil with other reggae singers, Brown started to show symptoms of illness. After returning to Kingston, Jamaica, on the evening of June 30, 1999, he was rushed to Kingston's University Hospital, suffering from cardiac arrest. Brown died the next day, and the official cause of his death was a collapsed lung.Brown's funeral was held on July 17, 1999 in Kingston. The service, which lasted for three hours, also featured live performances by Maxi Priest, Shaggy, and five of Brown's sons. Brown was then buried at Kingston's National Heroes Park. Dennis Brown's first recording was "Lips of Wine" recorded for Derrick Harriott, but this was not released initially. He then recorded for Coxsone Dodd at Studio...

Michael Jackson was not the biological father of any of his children. And Debbie Rowe is not the biological mother of the two kids she bore for Michael. All three children were conceived in vitro -- outside the womb. Michael was not the sperm donor for any of his kids. Debbie's eggs were not used. She was merely the surrogate, and paid well for her services in the births of Michael Jr. and Paris. In the case of Prince Michael II (the youngest), we're told the surrogate was never told of the identity of the "receiving parent" -- Michael Jackson. Three days after Prince was born at Grossmont Hospital in San Diego County, Jackson's lawyer came to the hospital to pick the baby up and deliver him to Michael. Although Rowe is not the...

Presenter Danny Glover, left, kisses Harry Belafonte backstage after Belafonte received the BET humanitarian award during the 6th annual BET Awards on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, in Los Angeles.

In 1993, Chandler told a psychiatrist and police that he and Jackson had engaged in sexual acts that included oral sex, the boy gave detailed description of Jackson’s genitals. The case was settled out of court for a reported $22 million, but the strain led Jackson to begin taking painkillers. Eventually he became addicted. Now maybe for the remorse of his death Chandler decides to tell us the truth. ” I never meant to lie and destroy Michael Jackson but my father made me to tell only lies. Now i can’t tell Michael how much i’m sorry and if he will forgive me ”.Evan Chandler was tape-recorded saying amongst other things, “If I go through with this, I win big-time. There’s no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be...

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...

Paul and Patrick Gaynor, more popularly known as the dancehall duo, Twin of Twins, were yesterday taken into custody by the Half-Way Tree police on reasonable suspicion of fraud. The brothers are accused of taking $50,000 from an upcoming artiste, under the guise that they were able to give him the opportunity to travel to the United States of America to perform. It is alleged, however, that they failed to deliver on their promise and subsequently refused to return the complainant's money. The act is alleged to have taken place earlier this year and was reported to the police in February. The brothers were arrested yesterday along Half-Way Tree Road and are now in custody awaiting an interview. The duo are known for...

Jay Z Shenelle Scott Now can reveal that the fiercely private rapper – who’s worth an estimated $400 million – reportedly has a secret 7-year-old son who he’s amazingly managed to hide from the limelight all this time. The boy apparently bears a striking resemblance to his father and is the result of Jay-Z’s romance with Trinidadian model Shenelle Scott which ended in 2001, before he met Beyoncé. Jay-Z has gone to great lengths to distance himself from the claims, despite reports that he’s privately admitted paternity. Beyoncé, whom he married in April 2008, is now apparently accepting of the boy and is even said to have gone on holiday with her stepson in the South of France. Although Jay-Z’s spokesman denied that there...

Organisers of North America's premier reggae festival announced yesterday that international DJ Sean Paul will be making his first major outdoor festival appearance in New York for 2009 at Irie Jamboree which takes place on Labour Day Sunday, September 6, in Queens, New York. Other acts confirmed for the festival include the high-riding Fyah Muma, Queen Ifrica, Freddy McGregor, Mr Vegas, Assassin, Laden, Spice and Chino. Cultural deejay Queen Ifrica, who was in New York recently to promote her new disc Montego Bay is also confirmed for Irie Jamboree 2k9. With a growing fans base and hits like Daddy, Lioness on the Rise, Keep It To Yourself and Below The Waist getting significant airplay in North America and Europe, the Fyah Muma is...

Any man can be a Father, but it takes a special person to be called Dad. History The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In...

New Edition's Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant will reunite on CCGI's Culture night at the Rosehall Aqueduct on Wednesday, June 24. According to a release from the organisers, the three former members of the group New Edition will perform together as a group as well as solo. An American R&B/Pop Group New Edition was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1978 and became extremely popular during the 1980s. The first song they recorded, Candy Girl, topped the charts in the UK and Canada, therefore they had to record a whole album. The album Candy Girl featured hits like Is This End, Popcorn Love, Jealous Girl, She Gives Me a Bang and of course Candy Girl. In 1985 they recorded an album called All for Love and although their...

William Walker, known to all as Sugar Belly, developed on his own the instrument he called the bamboo saxophone, and played it with facility, style, passion and joy. At the height of his popularity in the late 1950s Sugar Belly was one of the important figures in the Jamaican music scene, turning his homemade saxophone into a natural vehicle for a distinctively Caribbean musical style. Sugar Belly was raised in Kingston. In music he was entirely self-taught. Just where he got the idea to create a bamboo saxophone is a bit of a mystery, since there is no traditional bamboo reed instrument in Jamaica, and no one that I have spoken to can recall seeing any other locally-made saxophone-like instrument in the island. Sugar Belly's...