Dancehall artiste Bounty Killer has filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Justice in London, United Kingdom to retrieve more than £325,000 (J$60 million) in unpaid royalties from Othman Mukhlis through his company Jamdown Music Limited. OBSERVER ONLINE understands that Mukhlis and his company collected over £325,000 royalties for the deejay since 2002, however, the sum was reportedly never handed over to the artiste. The void in payments was said to have been discovered by Bounty … Read entire article »

By Kevin Jackson— Grace Jones— ICONIC Jamaican singer, model, and actress Grace Jones scores her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 35 years. Move, a collaboration with Beyoncé and Nigerian singer Tems, which is featured on Beyoncé’s current number one album Renaissance, debuts at 55. Jones, who charted several entries on the Billboard Dance Music Club Songs chart in the 1970s and 1980s, earned three prior entries on the Hot 100 chart. Her last entry … Read entire article »

Hip-hop’s ties to the Jamaican sound system tradition of the 1960s are well established – via the early experiments of Jamaican expat Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell in the South Bronx. The cultural conversation between Jamaica and New York continued through the decades, spawning a New York reggae scene that launched multiple careers and countless street music anthems, many breaking through in the 1990s, when mainstream radio and the major labels saw the synthesis of hip-hop and dancehall as a new form … Read entire article »

Frederick Waite— The band is best known for the 1982 hit ‘Pass The Dutchie’, which recently returned to spotlight as key part of the soundtrack for ‘Stranger Things 4’— By Ellie Robinson/NME Musical Youth, 1982. Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images Frederick Waite Jr, the original drummer for British-Jamaican reggae band Musical Youth, has died at the age of 55. His passing was confirmed by the band on social media, writing in a statement that “we have lost a musical legend, who … Read entire article »

By Brian Bonitto/Observer writer— Jah Cure A Netherlands judge, on Tuesday, ruled that Jah Cure should continue serving his six-year sentence for attempted manslaughter in that country. The reggae singer was appearing in court for a pro forma hearing. He is scheduled to return on November 1. “Today was another pro forma court date, where the judge solely decides on the continuation of the incarceration. The court has decided to keep Jah Cure in detention,” Tuscha Essed, press officer … Read entire article »