News

Dancehall artiste/producer Delly Ranx is currently getting ready to drop two new rhythm projects - the Gold Mine rhythm on Buju Banton's Gargamel Music label and Comfort Zone for his own Pure Music label. Both rhythms were created by him. He is also working on his sophomore album for California-based record label, Itation Records. The album will feature production work from Buju Banton and producers such as John John, Mad Scientist, Jordan (Chimney Records) and Delly himself. The album, which is tentatively titled, Good Profile, is slated to be released on June 23rd

Two members of the Royal Barbados Police Force, who are accused of rape and sexual assault of a 27-year-old Jamaican woman, have been formally charged. Constables Jonathan Barrow, 32, and constable Melanie Denny, 25. Barrow is charged with serious indecency while Denny is accused of aiding and abetting Barrow to commit an act of serious indecency on the woman. Both were charged on Thursday April 07, 2011 and appeared in District A Magistrate’s Court on Friday April 08, 2011. They are expected to reappear in court on September 1. Both were granted bail in the sum of B$5,000.

It is not unusual for people to do a double take, wondering if they are seeing doubles, when they see Paul 'Tu-Lox' and Patrick 'Curly Lox' Gaynor. After all, they are identical twins and perform as the highly entertaining and socially astute dancehall duo, Twin of Twins. And they are slated to do a double themselves shortly, releasing Stir It Up Vol. 8: Trial and Crosses, the latest CD in their gangster comedy series, and the Twinness Book of Records, which contains songs only. In previous 'Stir It Up' volumes, the two have been combined and Tu-Lox explained that "people did have a tendency to skip the song because they want to get to the talking. Not that the song no good, but they want to get to the talking". The artwork...

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...

Police have confirmed the death of Marcia Henville on Saturday. she passed away in an early morning fire at her home in St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Her husband escaped with severe burns to his body. Marcia Henville was a well known media personality, having hosted programs on both Radio and Television. She was also know for her acting roles both on the big screen and on stage and her involvement in the representation of the public in various national social issues. Marcia Henville was currently hosting the program “Point Blank” on CCN TV6.

Popular deejay the 'Warlord' Bounty Killer, was denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago on Friday despite being slated to perform at a concert which was advertised to bring him and rival Vybz Kartel together. The event, smartly titled 'Ceasefire', was held at King George V Park in Port-of-Spain on Saturday night without the presence of the deejay, born Rodney Pryce. The artiste was reportedly denied entry into the twin-island republic by Immigration officers at Piarco International Airport. Efforts to get a comment from the deejay or his manager Julian Jones-Griffiths were unsuccessful as numerous calls to their cellullar phones went unanswered. Reports are that Bounty Killer arrived at the airport some minutes after 8 p.m...

Trinidad government officials are moving to repeal an unpopular law that calls for dismissing court cases 10 years or older that have not gone to trial in the Caribbean nation. Many Trinidadians oppose the law because it would drop charges against a former prime minister and other government officials accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from a U.S. contractor in the 1990s. U.S. authorities have long sought to extradite two of the suspects and have condemned the law as well. Two business executives in the case pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in 2006.

The concert took place Oct 31 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain and was put together by the organizations Project Records and Trinidad's Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. Trinidad and Tobago government was upset after spending over $869,000 on a concert headlining Nicki Minaj last month. The concert was widely publicized in the country but failed to live up to the expected turnout. Minaj apparently was paid TT$382,000/US$60000 to perform. An additional $60,000 was spent on hotel, $150,000 on advertising, $75,000 on the venue, $32,000 was given to the Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago, $40,000 on other artists, and $26,000 for Trinidad cultural acts.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young has announced that the government has reached an agreement with BP and Shell that he says with bring “significant” financial benefits to Trinidad and Tobago. The agreement involves new pricing arrangements, the extension of the Atlantic LNG Train 1 by a further five years, and the ability of the National Gas Company (NGC) to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) on behalf of T&T. Minister Young said the discussions started in April 2018 when Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley led a delegation's to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. While there, the team, which include Minister Young and Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Franklin Khan, met with...

Trinidad's state-owned petroleum company says it has discovered 48 million barrels of crude oil off the island's southwest coast. Trinidad's Petrotrin President Designate Khalid Hassanali said late Thursday that it is the company's biggest discovery in a decade. The crude oil is located in 60 feet of water. Prime Minister Kamla Persaud-Bissessar said the anticipated revenue would be used for several development projects throughout the country. Prime Minister Kamla Persaud-Bissessar stated,

Since the confirmation of R&B mega star Beyonce’s performance in Trinidad, controversy and contention have been prevalent. One group representing calypsonians has already started protesting. They claim that sponsors/hosts of the event, bmobile, were disrespectful to indigenous art forms like calypso. The main issue arising from this event is the fact that bmobile, a predominantly state-owned company, will be redirecting some monies that are usually allocated for Carnival events, towards Jamaican and American artist concerts. Ten million dollars is the reported amount that will be allocated to the Beyonce concert but sources are claiming that twice that amount is a more accurate estimate. Many groups and individuals against...

The Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) has called on local importers and customs brokers in to temporarily suspend the use of shipping lines that use the Port of Kingston in Jamaica for trans-shipment of containers and other freight in which contraband or illegal items can be smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago. DOMA expressed concerns about the discovery of one ton of marijuana in a container at the Point Lisas Port last week which was valued at $30 million. The container of chicken parts and beef originated from the United States but the ship made a stop in Jamaica before docking at Point Lisas. The meats were imported by a Central businessman for use in burger patties.

The region’s new low-cost carrier, REDJet, may not encounter as many obstacles to fly to Jamaica as it is currently facing in Trinidad and Tobago. The airline was told last week that it should stop advertising for flights to Trinidad and Tobago until it got approval. REDJet is scheduled to begin its initial flights on May 8, offering base fares from US$9.99 one-way, excluding applicable taxes and other charges, between Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados. REDjet (Airone Caribbean/Airone Ventures Limited) is a startup LCC based at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Christ Church, Barbados. The privately-owned airline, incorporated in St. Lucia, features two McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft. Initially...

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made it clear on Monday "No help to anyone without benefits to Trinidad and Tobago". She said Trinidad and Tobago stands ready to assist its Caricom neighbours but she stipulated that any aid would only come after discussions with her Cabinet colleagues as well as the Opposition Leader, and must in some measure benefit the country. The Manning government had been severely criticised by Trinidad and Tobago nationals for giving assistance to Caribbean countries especially in non-emergency situations.

Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD (Kingston, Jamaica, January 26, 1932 – May 5, 2004) was a record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond. He received his nickname "Coxsone" at school: because of his teenage talent as a cricketer, his friends compared him to Alec Coxon, a member of the famous 1940s Yorkshire County Cricket Club team. Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, who has died of a heart attack aged 72, nurtured the career of nearly every internationally renowned reggae artist. He was one of the first to record local talent, and an integral force in the development of ska. Having been involved in the development of reggae for more than 50 years, his contribution to the...

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...

Clive "Tenor Saw" Bright was born in Kingston, Jamaica, February 11, 1966. Tenor Saw was a prominent dancehall singer in the 1980s, and one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring the Alarm" on the "Stalag 17" riddim. Tenor Saw was raised in the Payne Avenue district of West Kingston. His first single, "Roll Call" was recorded in 1984 for George Phang's Powerhouse label, on the "Queen Majesty" rhythm. He moved on, with his friend Nitty Gritty, to work with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion sound system and label, having hits in Jamaica with "Lots of Sign", "Pumpkin Belly", "Run Come Call Me", and "Fever". His most successful single, however, was "Ring the...

Born: October 19, 1944 in Westmoreland, Jamaica Years Active: 60 's, 70 's, 80 's Died: September 11, 1987 in Kingston, Jamaica Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh (18 October[1] 1944 – 11 September 1987) was a reggae musician who was a core member of The Wailers who then went on to have a successful solo career as well as being a trailblazer for the Rastafari movement. Tosh grew up in the Kingston, Jamaica slum of Trenchtown. He stood out because of his height at 6 feet, 3 inches (190 cm). His short-fuse temper and unveiled sarcasm usually kept him in trouble, earning him the nickname Steppin' Razor after a song written by Joe Higgs, an early mentor. He began to sing and learn guitar at a young age, inspired by the...

Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town area of Kingston in 1948, the youngest of seven children, and began singing in school. His recording career began in the late 1950s when he formed a duo with his neighbour Stranger Cole as 'Stranger & Ken', the first tracks released by them being "Hush Baby" on the B-side of Cole's Island Records single "Last Love", and the "Thick in Love" single on R&B Records, both in 1963. They released several more popular singles between 1963 and 1965, including "World's Fair", "Hush", and "Artibella". Boothe also recorded as a duo with Roy Shirley (as Roy & Ken), releasing the "Paradise" single in 1966. His first solo tracks were recorded in 1966 after Clement "Coxsone" Dodd had signed him to the Studio...

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...