Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alumnus, singer and composer of “Stand By Me” Ben E. King is in Jamaica for a special Mother’s Day Concert dubbed ‘An Evening of Musical Memories and Excellence’.
The special Mother’s Day concert is being staged by the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica’s (LMAJ) Kingston Chapter, and will be held on Mother’s Day at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston.
The former member of the Drifters known for hits like “There Goes My Baby,” and “Save The Last Dance For Me” will be in town”, will be joined by a mixture of local talents for a splendid evening including, Harold Davis, Maria Myrie, Boris Gardiner, Carole Reid, Jon Williams, Rory Baugh, Onaje Bell, Paulette Bellamy and Ouida Lewis.
The event will help raise money for the outreach projects catering to the elderly and shut-ins associated with the Lay Magistrate and Justices of the Peace and will be held under the distinguish patronage of Custos Rotolum for the parish of Kingston the Honorable Steadman Fuller, C.D., JP.
The Simply Myrna revue has added two of Jamaica’s most loved local and international recording artistes- the inimitable John Holt and Ernie Smith – to turn up heat on the already sizzling tempo of the annual musical extravaganza. The show which has earned its place as a staple on Jamaica’s entertainment calendar is scheduled to return to the Courtleigh Auditorium venue in New Kingston on Saturday, March 9 where it has been staged for the last two years. For the first time, the event will spread its wings to the Parish of Manchester to allow the music fans to experience the revue at the Golf View Hotel on Saturday, March 16. Both shows will commence at 8:00 p.m., with pre-show cocktails at 7:00 p.m.
The show, which continues to enjoy rave media reviews as a high caliber event with world class entertainment, is being staged under the distinguished patronage of Professor Sir Kenneth Hall and Lady Hall.
Myrna Hague, Jamaica First Lady of Jazz, is captured in this photo recently at RJR 94 FM studio, where she play guest on the Sunday afternoon show PALAV with Gerry McDaniel. [Photo Credit: Pete McDaniel]
Known for bringing a special energy on stage with her versatility and sassy temperament, the acclaimed cabaret singer Myrna Hague, will again play the starring role at both shows, as she invites her male counterparts as special guests, with John Holt on the Kingston leg of the show and Ernie Smith sharing the stage with her in Mandeville. Ace musicians Marjorie Whylie and drummer Desi Jones will lead the musical accompaniment, under the direction of arranger and conductor, Ralph Holding Jr.
Sponsors of the show are: The Gleaner Company Limited, Mega Mart in Kingston and Mandeville, Jamaica National, KLAS Sport Radio FM, Kool FM, CVM TV, the Spanish Court Hotel, Isle Chix, Golf View Hotel, Stage Records and The Piano House.
Tickets for the show are at a cost of $3,500 and are available at Music Mart on South Avenue and at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville.
A public education campaign on the National Policy for Gender Equality was launched March 8th by the Jamaican Government lead agency for gender matters, the Bureau of Women’s Affairs (BWA) along with the Dispute Resolution Foundation through the Way Out Project.
The launch took placed at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel as an initiative out of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to recognizes International Women’s Day (IWD) held under this year’s theme, “The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum”.
NPGE was launched in 2011 by former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange aimed at gender mainstreaming in national development, thereby enabling men and women to contribute equally to the country’s growth, while having equitable access to the protection and privileges of Jamaican citizenship.
Several persons including the Minister without portfolio in the OPM with responsibility for Information, Senator Sandrea Falconer, before having to leave underscored the importance of the policy and her government support.
While Kelly Tomblin, CEO of Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) challenged private and public sectors to latch on to the policy. The JPS boss said her company had began the trailblazing. Tomblin also pointed, “companies with women on boards and decision-making positions see 35% more return on equity.”
Fulling the launch we caught up with Mrs. Donna Parchment Brown, CEO of the Dispute Resolution Foundation and asked tge question: “Women are doing so much better than men in Jamaica… haven’t we done enough now to re-balance the gender game?”
Season 3 of the Wray & Nephew Contender kicks off Wednesday, March 6th at the popular Chinese Benevolent Association, Old Hope with live action at 9:30pm.
The show will don a new host in that of Kamila McDonald, as it returns to the middleweight feature division, with two-eight-man teams competing for one million dollars and the 2013 Contender title. The teams remain unchanged at Yellow and Green, the latter led by Joseph Harrison of Heavy Metal gym out of St. Ann’s Bay, whilst Andrew Boland of Savanna-la-mar’s Hard Knocks gym the Yellow.
The series is expected to assume the format of challenges for 7 weeks during Stage 1, and will see the 2 teams engaging in a series of weekly physical challenges. The winning team will then have the advantage as they will nominate a boxer from their camp as well as choose the opposing fighter from the other camp. These 2 boxers will then fight Live on TVJ to determine who stays and who goes. For the eighth week that format will be abandoned as the 8 remaining boxers will be seeded and drawn for matchups.
The participants this year is a good mix, comprising youth and experience. At least two familiar faces, Devon Moncrieffe and Ramel ‘Sub Zero’ Lewis, two beaten finalist from 2010 and 2011 are expected to join the action as they compete for prizes of one million for the winner, second J$500,000, 3rd Place J$250,000 and 4th Place J$200,000.
Wray & Nephew is the name sponsor, while Foska Oats and TVJ are associate sponsors. The event is promoted by MJK Productions and approved by the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control.
In recent weeks Jamaicans have been captivated by two online viral videos, mainly the VWSuperbowl Ad and the Harlem Shake craze. The latter has topped Gangnam Style attracting what Andrew Rauner dubs a ‘Psy-level mass phenomenon’ featuring Skydivers, underwater stormtroppers, newscaster (local and international) and more. The craze started after a man named Filthy Frank made this video dancing to Harlem Shake (by Brooklyn-based producer Henry Rodrigues aka DJ Baauer) without doing the ‘Harlem Shake’. Hundreds of copycat videos have since followed.
For Baaucer, much has come of this for a pretty much unknown fellow, except if you were a nerd scouring SoundCloud. Baaucer earned himself a place in music history by virture of being the 21st song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Chart, since its launch in 1951; and it’s the Brooklyn DJ’s first song on the chart. According to Philip Sherburne in Spin, this is luck on top of luck. One thing for certain, Baauer should thank amateur videographer and Billboard for adding YouTube streaming data to the pile of numbers that determines where a song is placed on the Hot 100. A good addition since YouTube is where persons go first to check out songs, not Spotify, iTunes, or Radio–this is debatable but I won’t delve into that here.
The VW ad, which everyone should have seen, features an American office worker from Minnesota who owns a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle (I think they are cute – yes cars can be cute; I won’ accept an alternative opinion LOL) adapting a Jamaican accent to spread smile among his gloomy coworkers on a Monday morning. All this is done to the tune of 2013 Grammy Winner, Reggae Category, Jimmy Cliff, who happens to be Jamaican . The commercial done to air during the Superbowl, with an early release on YouTube, caused controversy with characterisations and opinions ranging from uncomfortable and racist to likes and appreciation. Jamaican tourism officials, including the poirtfolio minister, affirmed their support of it in articles carried by USA Today and the Associated Press; both with a combined audience exceeding 190 million readers.
John Lynch, director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in a Jamaica Observer article had this to say, “The interest this commercial has generated is incredible and speaks to the power of the Jamaica brand…We hope this sparks an interest in persons who have not yet experienced the destination to come visit; enjoy a memorable Jamaican vacation, our people and most important, Get Happy in Jamaica.”
There seems to be a fascination with Jamaica in the Western and Central European nation of German, or otherwise as another company (the electronics store Saturn) in that country showed favour to Brand Jamaica though in a highly controversial ad. The commercial intended for German TV made its way on YouTube in late January and shows two coffee shop attendants trying to brew coffee, which results in the burning of the Jamaican Flag. The experience is captured through CCTV and out of respect for the Jamaican flag leads to a demonstration. Here is the video:
The following subtitles are scripted in German; the following is the translation in English using Google Translate:
Wenn sie meine Fahne verbrennen, verbrenne ich ihre – If they burn my flag, I’ll burn their
Wir alle lieben Jamaika diese leute verbrennen die Jamaikanische Flagge- We all love these people burn the Jamaica Jamaican Flag
The words of the soundtrack are familiar because it’s that of Murderer by another famed Jamaican, Barrrington Levy. In school I was taught to burn a flag was offensive, in fact it is considered desecration. Friend and Attorney-at-Law, Stephen Greig notes: “under German criminal laws it is illegal to damage the German flag and it is also illegal to damage or revile flags of foreign countries. What we do not know is if there is an exception for dramatic works such as a play or a commercial.”
I couldn’t resist sharing the video with friends and associates, particular since at the time my Twitter timeline by the twitter-heavy-wigs, or anyone for that matter, but I saw everyone talking about who was doing Harlem Shakes videos locally et cetera. The opinions I got were varying and included references saying we couldn’t expect better particularly because the old Nazi ideology that demanded the purification of ‘the Aryan race’ and ‘the German blood’ originate in the said country, upset and ‘what if’ questions.
On the German AD
Could the baring of the Jamaican Flag in the kitchen speak to the presence of the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee being used by the coffee shop or is it the coffee of choice? Should we think of this more deeply? Should we as a people, and through our Tourism Minister and agencies like the JTB, condemn this (after all like the Volkswagen commercial this has gained traction with over 450,000 views on YouTube) and ask for its removal? Or should we accept?
To be frank, I’m not outraged as some of my fellow country folks with the Saturn Ad, I’m okay with it. I think it helps put us (Jamaica) in the international scope and once again make us relevant and leaving Jamaica in individuals’ minds. It is clear from all intents in the video they wanted to be associated with the Jamaican brand, it immediately took me back a couple years when Sydney Bartley (former Director of Culture now Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Culture) said in a presentation, “anybody who wants to be somebody wants to be Jamaican, the only person who doesn’t want to be Jamaican is a Jamaican”. I have no idea about his views on the matter at hand, but I hope you get the picture that clearly Jamaica sells. The Germans did it with the VW Ad (that so many persons got up in arms about, including persons who don’t recognize Jamaican Creole as a language) and Saturn is at it again.
We can agree that the flag should never have been burnt or stomped on, but should we not be making a hullabaloo? @mrsseven65 in responding to Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the University of West Indies, Mona, on Twitter said it well. @mrsseven65 puts it well there are other things to be up-in-arms about like the Tivoli Incursion, a very topical and pertinent issue, which we’re yet to get answers on.
@CultureDoctor if one was/is quiet about the tivoli murders and extra-judicial killings they shld chk thmselvs if they all vocal bout a flag
Protocol experts and others might say pull the ad, but come on folks the Saturn ad is daring, it’s brilliant; yes I like it! Perhaps it is because I’m a rebel why I like it. Let’s snap out of the talks about asking for the ad to be pulled since it touches on so many issues, chief among them cultural sensitivities & free speech. My honest gut opinion: let’s not get tied up in this flag furore, certainly the folks at JTB can find a way to take advantage of this free publicity and marketing. Go Jamaica!
As always, I welcome your thoughts on the matter, do share with me below.
Last Saturday TVJ aired the 5th episode in the 5th season of Magnum Kings & Queens of Dancehall. The show featured ten of the 20 remaining finalists, down from 24, competing for the coveted first place to be called King & Queen, and be rewarded 1 million with other prizes.
The last seven weeks (counting the combined audition shows on January 5th & 12th) we’ve seen performances to laugh at, questioned and downright send packing. Last Saturday, we got VIP Access to experience the weekly talent show, and boy-o-boy the comments were brutal. From the comments we put together a review in the first of our weekly MKQ Scoop until the final show.
PERFORMANCES
The face-offs were first with Princesses Charlene Skylar and Glama, while the duo Ziphead & Elegance faced Buck 1 for the Princes. The obvious choice for the crowd were Charlene and Buck 1 the judges agreed and gave them a second chance.
Magnum Kings & Queens of Dancehall contestant SUSPENSE.
The 5th live show got on the way with Castle Red’s SUSPENSE giving a value-for-money performance, while sporting a hairstyle of pencils, rubbers, a lunchbox and a small knapsack that got tongues wagging. Asked by us to explain her style she said, “mi affi keep dem inna ‘suspense’ everytime”. In her song SUSPENSE counseled young girls on engaging in relationship with bus drivers and conductors.
(From Left) Ian Lyn CEO of the FIRM Marketing Agency, Nadine Rawlins of Guardsman Group of Companies, Scotiabank’s Omar Spence, Kia’s Claudette Chin and Karen Tomlinson at RBC Royal Bank representing sponsors gather for a photo op at the Jamaica Motor Show Press Launch Wednesday evening.
“You buy now,” was the word from Ian Lyn as he spoke Wednesday evening at the press launch of the Jamaica Motor Show, which is excepted to get on the way 10am this Saturday at the Police Officers Show. Lyn was making the point, “with the dollar racing and loan rates expected to rise there is no question that this is the best time to buy a car.”
Lyn also emphasized that with increase rates on car loans as low as 9 percent; patrons should take charge of the amazing deals that will be on location Saturday. “Increase rates are the lowest they have been in the last decade at 9 percent and we’ve invited members of the banking industry; Scotiabank, NCB, RBC Royal Bank, First Heritage Cooperative Credit Union, JMMB, Sagicor Bank and others to be on hand to give you the most competitive deals to afford your own keys.”
Buying a vehicle for some is a family decision. Lyn said, “the motor show promises to be a family day out with a Kiddies Village with bounce-a-bout and other attractions, stunts from Crazy Bikers, Jamaica’s own ‘fast and furious’ Skunk Nation and a packed entertainment package featuring top-lined entertainers with a car stereo sound clash.” Continuing he said, “This is in addition to a wide variety of cars brands and prices ranging from as low as $500,000 to as much as $50 million.”
Karen Tomlinson, Senior Manager at RBC Royal Bank signaled that joining forces with the Jamaica Motor Show will be an excellent partnership. “We’re proud to be on board and to be associated with the Jamaica Motor Show brand as we recently launched our car loan services with low monthly payments and interest.” Tomlinson was quick to highlight that RBC Royal Bank was being true to the slogan “get your keys with ease”.
Guardsman Group’s Nadine Rawlins also announced her company’s pledge to offer a special security tracking to persons attending the Jamaica Motor Show this Saturday. “Security is important for car owners and the Guardsman Group is prepared to offer patrons at the motor show on Saturday a free installation of our security tracking system with a special onetime monthly charge of $2500 thereafter,” gave Rawlins to huge applause.
Adults can pay only $250 flat for entrance, while children are free, to experience this as well as the unveiling of the KIA Sorento and the Tata Nano for the first time in Jamaica.
The Firm Agency is pleased to announce its 6th staging of the Jamaica Motor Show to take place on the grounds of the Jamaica Police Officers Club, January 19 starting at 10am. The annual show for used and new car dealers come on the heels of a successive return auto show that kicked off in Kingston last year then travelled to Manchester and Montego Bay to offer many ‘premium car deals’.
The Jamaica Motor Show, a used car dealer market, is fast shaping up to be one of the biggest and best auto show the country has ever seen, with a record number of discounts, sales and patrons supporting the years. In making the announcement for the 2013 staging, the Firm Agency CEO, Ian Lyn said, “this year is going to be an amazing year, Scotiabank is back on board and the RJR Group, First Heritage Cooperative (FHC) Credit Union, NCB and RBC Banks are fully behind us, plus we have made additions to this year’s show to ensure the entire family and our fans enjoy themselves by adding a Kiddies Village, along with entertainment from Nadine Sutherland with more artistes to be added.”
“We can confirm that multiple car brands can be expected at the 2013 Jamaica Motor Show. Last year patrons left satisfied having seen the new Porsche, Bentley, Benz and BMWs, as well having had good deals,” chimed Lyn, Show Director. Punching home the point that automobile fans should start planning their route to the Police Officer’s Club he noted, “We’re thrilled to offer this platform to Jamaicans to get affordable car deals in the current economic times, as well as to offer a unique market for players in the used car dealer market.”
A huge highlight of the 2013 Jamaica Motor Show will be the addition of a Car Stereo Competition. “Music is a part of who we are as Jamaicans, and globally we’re recognized for that through the works of our entertainers,” gave Lyn as he explained the reason for the addition. Continuing, “It’s customary while walking or driving down the road to hear music being pumped from a car with a good stereo system. In seeking to improve on last year’s show, we thought this would be an innovative move to find the best car stereo system.” The winners in the competition will be presented with prizes from the sponsors.
The Firm Agency boss is confident Jamaicans will look forward to this one of a kind show. Noting “patrons can anticipate a one-of-a-kind, never-before-seen concept with the opportunities to win several prizes when they turn out at the 2013 Jamaica Motor Show.”
Lyn is upbeat about the future prospects of the show outside Kingston, “Last year we travelled to Mandeville and Montego, for this year we’re working on expanding to other towns as well as adding something unique to each location; more will be revealed down the line, but for now the focus is Kingston.”
The 2013 Jamaica Motor Show will be held at the Police Officer’s Club, 34 Hope Road, Kingston 10 on January 19, 2013.
December 1 is celebrated around the world as World AIDS day. Leading up to, and after the day, there is an increase in the number of messages related to HIV education, diagnosis and treatment that are aired. A lot more persons talk about the virus and people get tested to know their status. Compared to the early stages when many misconceptions were popular being HIV-positive is less frighten; in that more information are available, support groups and medical research to help you live positive.
A few years ago, 2006, I met a young man who was living with HIV and interviewed him for the Sunday Gleaner’sOutlook Magazine. The story published on December 10 was my article of marking World AIDS Day that year, I wish to share the article with you in it entirety or you could read it at its original location by clicking here.
The acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) are threatening Jamaica’s future as scores of young people fall victim to these deadly diseases. More frightening are the statistics indicating that scores of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 are contracting the virus.
Today, Outlook Youth has decided to shed some light on HIV/AIDS in the form of an interview with someone living with HIV.
Meet 27 year-old Alan,a normal-looking young man, who lives a relatively normal life except that he is living with HIVfor over three years.
Alan, who is not promiscuous, said he was rather surprised when he learnt that he had the virus. “I’m not the promiscuous type. I had expected that to happen to someone else,” he revealed to us. “But that is just how life is.”
According to Alan, everything started out with some minor health problems which he began to worry about. After several tests returned negative, he was advised to do an HIV test. “At first I refused, as there was no way in this world I thought I could have it because I was a faithful partner,” he told Outlook Youth. “Then I remembered when my girlfriend and I had some problems, I had a fling – so I decided to do the test ’cause there was nothing to lose, I thought.
“When the results returned, I thought they had got the samples mixed up, and then when the second test confirmed the first, I was even more stunned than the first time. At that moment, it was as if I was in another world, I didn’t have time to think and again I said the result was wrong. The doctor assured me that it was right and that I needed to accept the truth as that was the only way in which I was going to move forward.
“What was I to do now? It was the end of the road. I thought that there was no hope in life and all had ended. It was best that I had been run over by a truck,” Alan said.
“I knew I had a close-knit family but what would they think? I asked myself. Life was now filled with a lot of questions and doubt. But somehow I would have to reveal to them that I was HIV positive so it was best to do it now,” recalled Alan.
When he revealed it to his family, they were shocked and had a lot of questions for him, some of which he had no answer to. However, they stood by him through everything. According to him, they were the ones who, perhaps, kept him going when he thought of giving up along the way, either by suicide or other means.
Today, Alan, despite his condition, is working assiduously to promote healthy lifestyles amongst youth and other age groups. He believes that being infected with HIV has opened up doors for him and has allowed him to see things in a different perspective.
His advice to teens is, “having sex is fun, but when you have a death ruling and life is limited, that can be depressing … if you can’t withhold, make up your mind to use a condom always.”
Today, Alan is pursuing his dreams by completing a course in psychology.
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley delivered an epic performance at Reggae Sumfest International Night 2, on the morning of Sunday, July 22, 2012. (Photo Credits: Skkan Media Entertainment)
Epic, that’s the best way to describe the final instalment of Reggae Sumfest, the three-night concert held in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the end, the night undoubtedly belonged to Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Protoje and his band ‘The Indignation’, and Bunny Wailer.
R. Kelly, the man hailed as the King of R&B, who never appeared on last year’s show because he had an emergency throat surgery, delivered his highly anticipated notes; however, he failed to impress us. His performance seemed lackluster, hasty and detached. Patrons weren’t pleased having been forced to wait one and half hours after his schedule performance time. He appeared on stage Sunday just after 1am in the said attire local media outlets had photographied him in over 12 hours before.
R. Kelly performs in Jamaica at Reggae Sumfest International Night 2. (Photo Credits: Skkan Media Entertainment)
Nevertheless, he managed to get the females screaming and shouting his name, as he reeled off hit after hit including Bump N’ Grind, You Remind Me of Something, and Fiesta. Some patrons were visibly upset and sat down through his less than an hour hasty and detached performance. He closed his act unexpectedly with Step In the name of Love and Happy People, furthering the dissatisfaction.
During his performance, he attempted to win over the audience, some of whom he was successful with, because of his obvious tardiness. During this moment he encouraged females to remove his shoe leaving him in socks, however, after he exited the stage, we understood, the females who removed them had to return them. So with R. Kelly and his theatrical piece out of the way, the stage was fit for the son of ‘The Gong’, Damian Marley, to save us. Jr. Gong, as he is often called, completed the task smoothly and impressed, with high energy from beginning to end, that eventually scored him an encore.
Protoje performs at Reggae Sumfest International Night 2012. (Photo Credits: Skkan Media Entertainment)
Before the Kelly’s drama, swag boy Christopher Martin glided across the stage with Cheaters Prayer, Paper Loving, Real Frenz. Martin even performed Carpenter originally voiced by John Holt, who had performed on International Night one. Protoje known for his rebellious and conscious lyrics scored several times with his band the Indignation, as they chanted away JA, Who Dem A Program, This is not a Marijuana Song and others.
Christopher Martin performs at Reggae Sumfest International Night 2, Saturday, July 21, 2012. (Photo Credits: Skkan Media Entertainment)
Bunny Wailer took us down memory lane and pulled the curtain on Reggae Sumfest 20th Anniversary Concert, after Damian Marley’s epic performance, in a special Jamaica 50 tribute segment– alongside the Skatalites– packed with several hits and crowd favourites.
Other performances for the night came from A.J. Brown, Raine Seville, Conkarah, Q-Ban and Jedani. Paula-Anne Porter-Jones and François St. Juste were both celebrated for their years of service to Reggae Sumfest, the latter having served for 20 years.
![Myrna Hague, Jamaica First Lady of Jazz, is captured in this photo recently at RJR 94 FM studio, where she play guest on the Sunday afternoon show PALAV with Gerry McDaniel. [Photo Credit: Pete McDaniel]](http://dextercommunications.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/myrna-hague.jpg)
