By Jonathan Hailey—- Just as Chris Brown is getting his life on track through rehab and anger management, he hits a snag on his road to recovery. Brown’s probation was revoked in the Rihanna assault case due to a fight he was involved in in Washington D.C.   Breezy was in the Los Angeles court room for a progress report hearing. Due to the fact assault charges were filed against Brown in D.C., the judge felt the filing of the charges proved Chris … Read entire article »

Tessanne Chin on American talent show ‘The Voice’. – NBC Jamaican Tessanne Chin on Monday night climaxed her performance in the American talent show ‘The Voice’ with a riveting rendition of Whitney Houston’s I have Nothing. Earlier, Tessanne performed two other songs Try by Pink and a duet Let it Be by the Beatles, with her coach Adam Levine. Monday night’s final also saw three renditions from contenders Will Champlin and Jacquie Lee. However, for Tessanne’s coach Adam Levine, she was the stand-out. “Everything you do just draws me in. … Read entire article »

  LINCOLN FINANCIAL MEDIA Alternative KBZT (FM 94/9)/SAN DIEGO has launched an all-Reggae station, “SAN DIEGO BOB RADIO,” on its HD2 channel. SVP/GM RICK JACKSON said, “94/9 has a long history of airplay and shows featuring BOB MARLEY and always – and I mean always – the response has been overwhelming.  He’s more than an artist or a pioneer. His music is spiritual and transcendent of genre and we believe the people who love him and the … Read entire article »

  The legendary and veteran deejay King Kong is back in the music business after signing with a management team to represent him worldwide. In April, King Kong released a new album called ‘Ethiopian Dream’ produced by King Shiloh Majestic Music from Amsterdam, Holand. ‘Ethiopian Dream’ was released in digital format (iTunes, Amazon, etc) and as LP for a limited edition. In this new journey of his life, King Kong is living in Ethiopia. “I decided to move to Ethiopia … Read entire article »

Live Wyya Band in Brooklyn, New York. – File By Carl Gilchrist– The Live Wyya band has a rich and colourful history and has marked 15 years in the music industry.  The band has performed in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean on some of the world’s best reggae shows including our own Sumfest, Sting, Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues, Rebel Salute, Western Consciousness, along with Irie Jamboree in New York, Rototom Sunsplash in Spain, and many others. Their awards are many – … Read entire article »

By Howard Campbell— IT has been a banner year for the so-called roots-reggae revival in Jamaica. One of the players in that movement is singer Jesse Royal. Yet to achieve that big hit single, the diminutive Rastafarian has been doing the studio and live show rounds. Jesse Royal Patience is something he has in abundance, he points out. “For me, it’s not about popularity. If you care about what people want yuh to be, it’s then yuh get anxious,” Royal … Read entire article »

Getty Images: Jason LaVeris, FilmMagic Peter O’Toole appears backstage without his Oscar after receiving the Academy Award’s Honorary Award during the 75th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. O’Toole died Saturday, Dec. 14.   By Associated Press LONDON — Peter O’Toole, the charismatic actor who achieved instant stardom as Lawrence of Arabia and was nominated eight times for an Academy Award, has died. He was 81. O’Toole died Saturday after a long illness, Steve Kenis said in a brief statement. The family was overwhelmed … Read entire article »

By Kevin Jackson– AMERICAN music industry veteran Neil Robertson says piracy and lack of sales are not the biggest problems facing reggae music. He believes artists need to do more to expose their brand. “The first goal shouldn’t be how an artist can sell their music. The first goal is getting attention for your brand. Piracy or low sales are not the major problems. Obscurity is,” Robertson told the Sunday Observer.  Top: Baby Cham and Nyla Bottom: (From left) Stephen … Read entire article »

  THE veterans held their own in music circles this year. Whether it was their work being sampled, reissued or touring, they proved classic reggae is alive and well. Marcia Griffiths is the big woman of reggae. She will be celebrating her 50th year in the music business in 2014, and performs and tours with the vigour of a 25-year-old. Griffiths’s longevity was recognised by a Brazilian film company who is producing a documentary on her career. Top: Bob … Read entire article »

Reggae historian Roger Steffens’ comments in the story captioned ‘Travesty if Snoop wins’ (published in the Jamaica Observer, December 10) has drawn considerable reaction from online readers. He responds below. I AM fascinated by many of the comments posted here, but some clarification of my remarks is necessary. Top: Roger Steffens Bottom: Steffens with Peter Tosh I by no means wish to disrespect the other four nominees in the reggae Grammy category. All of those artists — Sizzla, … Read entire article »