News

Grammy-winning musician Ziggy Marley has bought a Los Angeles home for more than $700,000. Mature trees shade the Spanish-style house in the Beverly Centre area of LA. It was built in 1929 and described as a 'fixer-upper'. The home includes high ceilings, a living-room fireplace and hardwood floors. The 1,600sq ft house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms while fruit trees fill the backyard.

This Summer has seen the resurgence of one of dancehall’s hottest camp and the momentum seems to be growing for the members of Jag One Production (J.O.P) spearheaded by Aidonia. After enjoying a sizzling Summer with numerous overseas appearances and several high profile local events, including Fully Loaded and Appleton Temptation Live. The J.O.P family has now teamed up with New York based dancehall connoisseurs Federation Sound to release another installment in their Mixtape series, this episode entitled ‘Bolt Action’ which features Aidonia alongside young gun Deablo and Big Ship recording artiste Chino. Aidonia, whose real name is Sheldon Lawrence, is now in the final stages of preparation for a month long tour of Europe, but...

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...

(AP)Rap star Ja Rule may soon be in the spotlight in a New York City courtroom. A trial could start as soon as this week in a gun-possession case stemming from a July 2007 stop of his luxury sports car. He was scheduled for a court date Monday. Police say they found a loaded semiautomatic gun in a rear door of his $250,000-plus Maybach after it was stopped for speeding following a Manhattan concert. The chauffeured car also had a suspended registration and no insurance, police said. The platinum-selling rapper has pleaded not guilty to criminal weapon possession. His lawyer has said the traffic stop was unjustified and has questioned a type of DNA analysis used in the case. Known for his gravelly voice and collaborations...

Jamaican born David Smith accused of scamming thousands of investors in the Caribbean and Florida has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison in the Turks and Caicos Islands. David Smith, who allegedly ran a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme though an investment group called Olint, was sentenced after pleading guilty Thursday Sept. 23 2010 to two counts of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to defraud. David Smith moved to this British Atlantic territory after Jamaican authorities raided his company's Kingston office in 2006 and barred it from operating in the country. He was arrested in the Turks and Caicos in 2009.

Aiyana Jones, a 7 year-old girl who was sound asleep in the sofa of their family apartment’s living was shot dead by a Detroit Police who was looking for a homicide suspect. The police came busting through the door and an officials gun went off hitting Aiyana Jones in the neck. Aiyana Jones’ father told Detroit News that he just tucked in Aiyana covering her with her favorite Disney blanket and then went to bed early. After a while he heard a flash grenade and the a gunshot went off. He then quickly rushed to the living room and then the police forced him to ground with his face on Aiyana Jones blood. The Police official who shot Aiyana Jones was put into administrative leave and the shooting is still being investigated. Detroit...

The movie The Harder They Come may be getting a remake. The 1972 film, which starred singer Jimmy Cliff, is credited with helping to introduce the world to reggae. The film came out around the same time that Bob Marley was also bringing reggae to the international arena. Filming on the new The Harder They Come is scheduled to start later this year in Jamaica and England; the cast is still being finalized.

The latest run-in with the law occurred in November 2009, when Tyson lashed out at a paparazzo during a confrontation at the Los Angeles International airport. Allegedly, the former boxer punched videographer Tony Echevarria who was photographing him, his wife, Lakiha Spicer, and their 10-month-old daughter Milan Tyson, as they arrived at the airport. The photog was left bloodied and bruised. Both men filed charges against the other and both were taken into custody and booked on misdemeanor battery charges. The photographer public accused Tyson of lashing out at him without any provocation whatsoever. Tyson, on the other hand, insisted that the photographer attacked him, precipitating the confrontation. Echevarria claimed...

(Dow Jones)The International Monetary Fund's executive board Thursday approved a $1.27 billion loan to Jamaica, opening the door for additional financing of more than $1 billion from other international financial institutions. Jamaica gets immediate access to about $640 million of the 27-month stand-by arrangement, with some of the money expected to be used to create a financial stability support fund, the IMF said in a statement. The loan deal follows the successful completion of the government's debt exchange totaling nearly $8 billion. The exchange, which was accepted by almost 95% of bondholders, will generate interest savings of at least 3% of gross domestic product, the fund said. Takatoshi Kato, deputy...

To really experience the power of reggae/dancehall music, one has to witness the artistes on stage in a foreign land, especially in a country where English is not the mother tongue. It was nothing short of electrifying to see Mr Vegas in action last week Sunday, in the French city of Toulouse on the second night of a two-day French-Caribbean festival. The promoters estimated that there were over 11,000 fans inside the auditorium ready, eager and waiting to see, hear and hopefully even touch the dancehall star from Jamaica.

R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo is a father for the first time. His girlfriend Monyetta Shaw went into early labor Friday night and had a baby girl. The baby's name is Madilyn Grace Smith. The birth took place in an Atlanta Georgia hospital. The baby was due to be born in January 2011.

Port Royal is located at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692 and subsequent fires, hurricanes, flooding and another earthquake in 1907. Jamaican officials plan to renovate a historic port that attracted infamous pirates including Henry Morgan and Anne Bonny in the late 1600s, when it was one of the island's most important commercial centers. Carnival Cruise Lines representatives are expected to finalize an agreement with the government May 11 to build a new pier at Port Royal, according to Transportation Minister Michael Henry.

VP Records recording artist Gyptian continues to rack up nominations this awards' season with his nomination for 'Best Reggae Artist' at this year's Soul Train Awards. The reggae singer will also be performing live at the awards ceremony, taking place on Wednesday, November 10 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by Oscar-nominated actors Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, the Soul Train Awards will premiere on both CENTRIC and BET on Sunday, November 28 at 9pm. Gyptian joins a hotlist of the top entertainers in music today at CENTRIC's second undertaking of the annual awards, including Alicia Keys and Usher who both lead the pack with four nominations, Drake with three nods, and Monica, Nicki...

In the song that made Drake a force in the hip hop world, his words were as honest as they were a breath of fresh air. “It may not mean nothing to y’all, but understand nothing was done for me. And I ain’t plan on stopping at all. I was this forever man.” With the Grammy nominations released recently, the wanting for Drake is over. He has arrived. The former television star has ascended to the top of the hip hop world by receiving four Grammy nominations. No, this isn’t the first time that Drake has received notice from the Grammy committee, but it’s the first time he has received on his own merit. Last year, his collaboration on the aforementioned Forever, with Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem garnered him his first ever...

Following headlines over the weekend that gay lobby groups in New Zealand were presuring the promoters of music festival, Big Day Out, to pull Beenie Man from the line-up, and subsequent defence of their decision to use him as the only reggae act, the promoters have now backpedalled and have yanked the deejay from the concert. Gay reaction stemmed from a song recorded by the deejay in which he says, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." The promoters had said in a previous release that they were aware of Beenie Man's controversial past, but he had renounced those feelings and was now promoting "peaceful and humanistic values". However, a release posted yesterday said, "The depth of feeling and hurt...

ReggaeMe would like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson one half of the outstanding dancehall production duo Steely & Clevie. Steelie passed away in a Long Island hospital earlier today.

Jamaica Government plan to encourage more Jamaicans to become proficient in Spanish is fast becoming a reality with the help of some 43 Cuban teachers, who have been teaching the language at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the island. Over the past 13 years there have been some 238 Cuban teachers in almost every parish offering their services for a period of two to three years, under an ongoing education cooperation agreement signed between the Governments of Jamaica and Cuba. Currently, there are 18 Cuban teachers working at primary schools and 23 at high schools and for the first time, three lecturers at tertiary institutions. These are the Shortwood Teachers' College in St. Andrew; Church Teachers' College in...

If you were watching the Grammy’s you may or may not have seen the exclusive Nelly & Ford Explorer commercials. Well, Maad Management has teamed up with St. Louis rap star Nelly and Ford Explorer to give you the opportunity to have this exciting and funny video on Grammy weekend.

Michael Jackson's estate has generated $310 million in revenue from album sales, movie profits, licensing arrangements and lucrative deals for Cirque du Soleil shows since the singer died in 2009. His estate's administrators have used $159 million to pay down the pop star's debt, which when Jackson died amounted to more than $400 million, court records show. Among the projects making money for Jackson's estate are the new album "Michael," which contains previously unreleased songs, and the concert movie "This Is It," which compiled videotaped rehearsals for a series of comeback concerts in London.

America Movil has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Digicel Group to acquire 100% of Digicel’s operations in Honduras and El Salvador. As part of the transaction, America Movil will sell Jamaican subsidiary Claro to Digicel. The completion of the transaction is subject to governmental and regulatory approvals in Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica, among other conditions, and is expected to be finalised during the second quarter of 2011. The financial terms of the transaction have not being disclosed, although it has been reported in the Jamaican press that there will be a net cash payment to Digicel. The deal will allow Digicel to solidify its place at the top of the Jamaican mobile telecoms arena, where it...