Buju for court tomorrow (Jamaica Observer)
Imprisoned deejay Buju Banton’s new attorney has asked a federal judge in Tampa to reconsider the 10-year prison sentence the Jamaican reggae singer is serving on two drug charges.
Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, is set to appear in Tampa federal court tomorrow for a re-sentencing on a gun possession charge. That charge carries an additional five-year prison sentence.
Bob Marley Made More Than £10m Last Year (The Voice)
MORE THAN 30 years after his death, reggae singer Bob Marley continues to earns millions and has found himself among the Top Earning Dead Celebrities.
In a recent post, Forbes.com has Marley ranked at number five on the list, earning $17m (£10.5m) last year.
Marley comes behind actress, Elizabeth Taylor, who is at first place with $210m (£130.7m); singer Michael Jackson, who is placed second at $145 million (£90.2m); Elvis Presley at third with $55 million (£34.2m); and cartoonist Charles Schulz at $37 million (£23m).
Luciano To Be Honoured (The Jamaica Gleaner)
Having headlined the first two stagings, singer Luciano will be making his grand return to Reggae Culture Salute in New York next weekend.
The event, which is the main fund-raising activity for the non-profit organisation – Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music (CPR), will be held on November 3 at Nazareth High School, Brooklyn, New York.
CPR’s chairperson Sharon Gordon told The Gleaner Luciano was at the first two stagings of the event that began in 2004.
Following several years of absence from the show, Gordon says Luciano will be honoured on his return.
“People would always ask when we would bring him back. I saw him when I came to Jamaica. The time was right, the day was right and he agreed,” she said.
“We announced it and started doing early promotion. There are people calling us and saying how excited they are. He (Luciano) personifies Reggae Culture Salute.”
Vybz Kartel Goes To Court Today To Answer Murder Charge (Urban Islandz)
Embattled dancehall star Vybz Kartel returns to court today (October 29), to answer to a murder charge in relation to the shooting death of St. Catherine promoter/businessman, Barrington “Bossi” Burton.
According to police report, Burton was shot and killed last year summer in Gregory Park, St. Catherine while standing with a group of friends.
Burton is one of two murder charges Vybz Kartel is faced with. If found guilty he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Wrongtom announces new label, ‘punky reggae’ compilation (Complete Music Update)
Producer and DJ Wrongtom has announced the launch of his new record label Rongorongo, the first release from which will be a compilation that will “shine a light on the grey area between punk and reggae”, entitled ‘Spiky Dread: Issue 1′.
Explaining how the compilation came together, Wrongtom told CMU: “‘Spiky Dread’ started out as a mixtape which quickly spiralled into an idea for a documentary, then a lack of time and money led it back to becoming a compilation. It occurred to me, whilst making a mix of post-punk disco tracks, that so many of these bands had tried their hand at a reggae release or experimented with dub to varying degrees, so with the help of my mate Ed Zed we started documenting our favourite records at Skank Blog Bologna whilst chasing up the owners of some of the lesser known records we’d uncovered. A year or so later and here it is”.
Glen Washington Earns A Second Grammy Nomination (The Jamaica Gleaner)
Veteran reggae artiste Glen Washington is celebrating his second Grammy nomination.
The artiste was last nominated in 2004 for his studio effort called Wanna Be Loved and now for his latest album Glen Washington Masterpiece.
“I wanted to do an album with a variety of songs with different vibes and melodies and having achieved that we decided to call it Masterpiece,” said Washington.
The artiste expressed excitement and a feeling of accomplishment after the announcement.