Mavado - So Special

Take a look at the Directors Cut for Mavado's Song - So Special


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Richie's Plane Lands

Culture reggae star Richie Spice's commentary on a social crisis affecting Caribbean immigrants during air travel to the States is getting worldwide attention in the video for his new single, "The Plane Land." The hit tune is the first single from his upcoming album, Gideon Boot, set for a May 13th release on VP Records/Fifth Element.

Hailing from a musical family that has also produced reggae artists Pliers, Spanner Banner and Snatcha Lion, Richie's reggae roots run deep. His last album, In The Streets to Africa (VP, 2007), brought him international attention from the mainstream masses with the breakout hit "Brown Skin," a romantic twist from the singer.With the debut of this single, Richie Spice takes a more serious turn as he laments on the common misperceptions and stereotypes immigrants endure while traveling to America. With special emphasis on the plight of his own people, he examines how they are easy targets for searches and interrogations, as they are often suspected of smuggling marijuana into the country.

The video uses news footage of actual security activity at U.S. airports, and sees a special appearance from New York's FOX News anchor John Gray, who introduces the video. More than a solid musical composition, Richie Spice manages to effectively shed light on a delicate situation that affects the best of us.

The video sees cameo appearances from The New Kingston Band, brother Snatcha Lion, model Valentine Baker, and publicist Raine Martin. It was directed by Rhona Fox, and shot on location in Brooklyn, New York.

Click here to watch the video

Elephant Man and Demaro - Our World

Check out the new Video from Elephant Man featuring Demarco - Our World.

The track is also on Elephant Man's Album get Physical being released under the Bad Boy/ Vp Records imprint.

Check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpB2_wnAUbw

TEAM JAMAICA BICKLE MAKES ‘NO APOLOGIES’

At Thursday's press launch for the ‘Team Jamaica on the Road to Beijing’ fundraising campaign, Team Jamaica Bickle President Irwine Clare made no apologies about their intent to utilize the entertainment and business fraternities in a major fundraising campaign to raise funds for Jamaica’s athletes competing in the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
“I make no apologies; our bottom line to provide financial support for our athletes,” Clare stated matter-of-factly. “Team Jamaica Bickle has issued a mandate to raise no less than $25,000 for our athletes this year, and with the support of our Reggae ambassadors, corporate, and individual supporters, we hope to donate triple that amount.”

Rich LaMotte, VP Records’ Director of Promotions, announced that VP Records’ Roots sensations Etana and Duane Stephenson, were the first two Reggae acts to sign on to the ‘Team Jamaica on the Road to Beijing’ Reggae Concert, to be held at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, August 20th. Clare also announced that prominent Reggae crooner Richie Stephens, who also heads the Royalty Track Club in Jamaica, has also signed on to concert fundraiser. The two major headlining acts will be announced at a later date.

“Team Jamaica Bickle and VP Records are challenging more of our A-list Reggae entertainers to give back to Jamaica by raising funds to give our athletes a chance to represent ‘brand Jamaica’ at the 26th Annual Olympic Games in Beijing, China this August,” Clare stated as LaMotte nodded in agreement at the press conference, hosted by Ruder Finn in NYC.”

Proceeds from the staging will also go toward supporting Jamaican and Caribbean high school athletes participating in the 114th Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania in April, in addition to Jamaica’s track and field athletes going to Beijing. All funds raised will be donated in the memory of Olympic Gold Medal Track & Field legend Herb McKenley.

Team Jamaica Bickle marketing coordinator Wycliffe Robinson announced the Team Jamaica Bickle tag drive, urging local Caribbean businesses to put ‘Team Jamaica on the Road to Beijing” canisters in their corporate and business offices, encouraging the general public to make donations to the cause.

Camille McDonald, of America’s Next Model fame, who signed on as a spokeswoman for the ‘Team Jamaica on the Road to Beijing’ campaign, vowed to use her celebrity status to attract support from mainstream celebrity, media, and corporate entities. McDonald is of Jamaican parentage.

“BET, MTV, VH1, and other major needs to be apart of this cause, and I am really honored to be part of this initiative and to use my celebrity to make then and aware and supportive,” stated McDonald at the press conference.

Among the guests were Deputy Consul General of Jamaica Lisa Bryant-Smart; Mrs. Sharon Wolfe, wife of Ambassador Raymond Wolfe; Louis Grant, Vice President of Irie Jam Media, Garfield Comrie of Western Union/Grace Kennedy Remittance Services, Ann-Marie Grant, Executive Director of the American Foundation of the University of the West Indies; emcee for the evening Aubrey Campbell, Jamaica Information Service attaché; Sabrina Hosang, Director of Operations, Caribbean Food Delights; Roland Brammer, Vice President of the Union of Jamaica Alumni Association, and New York based Reggae artists Benny Bwoy, Lynx, and Far-I.

For the past 14 years, Team Jamaica Bickle has provided necessary financial support and services to Jamaican and Caribbean high school athletes participating in the annual Penn Relays track and field competition. Support offered by TJB includes subsidized travel and accommodations, meals, ground transportation, and athletic scholarships to outstanding high school track and field athletes. Past Team Jamaica Bickle alums include Olympic Gold Medalist Veronica Campbell, often dubbed one of the world's fastest women; Olympic Gold Medalist Sherone Simpson; World Championship Silver Medalist Usain "Lightening" Bolt; and Olympian Aileen Bailey, sister of Dancehall legend Capleton.

visit http://www.teamjamaicabickle.com/.

In the Photo - From left: Garfield Comrie of Western Union, Team Jamaica Bickle Spokeswoman Camille McDonald, VP Records Promotions Director Rich LaMotte, Sabrina Hosang of Caribbean Food Delights, Team Jamaica Bickle Founder and President Irwine Clare, and Patrick Reid of the Jamaica Organization of New Jersey at the 'Team Jamaica on the Road to Beijing' Campaign Press Launch

Source - Ms. Raine Inc

VP RECORDS OPENS IT VAULTS AT 17 NORTH PARADE

For the first time ever VP Records is opening its immense vaults of Reggae, Dancehall and Soca/Calypso to all collectors and music enthusiasts through their new imprint '17 North Parade'.

The history of 17 North Parade begun over 40 years ago, when reggae pioneers Vincent Chin and his wife Patricia moved their record store to 17 North Parade a former ice cream parlour in downtown Kingston. It quickly became the centre of the burgeoning reggae music scene distributing foreign and local music throughout the island.

Above the new store they constructed a recording studio aptly called 'Randy's Studio 17' which became the recording facility of choice for the majority of Reggae's most prominent artists, writers and producers. 'Randy's Studio 17' played host to Bob Marley & The Wailers who recorded parts of Catch A Fire there, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Bunny Lee, Niney The Observer, as well as foreign artists looking for the authentic reggae sound such as Quincy Jones and Joe Cocker.

It is a well-known fact that 'Randy's Studio 17' had one of if not the largest catalogues of Reggae, Dancehall and Soca/Calypso music in the world. These catalogues have been amassed over many decades between the 60s and 90s and are now being made available to the public. Rare tracks, that in the past could only be listened to on vinyl, have now been digitally re-mastered and are available on CD, giving an even better sound than the original releases.

The first set of re-mastered tracks from the VP Records' 17 North Parade vaults were released in early 2007 and include Culture & Don Carlos Roots & Culture (1982), Yellowman & Fathead Just Cool (1982), Toyan Spar With Me (1982) Little John Ghetto Youth (1983) and Zap Pow (1973). These releases are a collectors dream and are a perfect gift for all those who love vintage music.

This is the first time in the history of Reggae and Dancehall that fans can get such a quality supply of local music from 'back in the day' at one place. These tracks are not available anywhere else and boast the quality unsurpassed by today's music.

VP Record's 17 North Parade will release two albums every month in 2008. Collectors can look out for Byron Lee and the Dragonairs and works from great reggae producers such as Augustus 'Gussie' Clarke Donovan Germain, Lloyd 'King Jammys' James, Sly & Robbie and Joe Gibbs who worked with pioneering engineer Errol Thompson.

URL - http://www.17northparade.com/

Source - Alykhat PR
Date - November 1, 2007

Education is No Joke - School Tour

As the tour continues we will be continuing the positive message as we feel this will uplift the student and make the school environment more wholesome.

The No Joke Entertainment and VP Records "Education is No Joke" School tour continued to blaze a trail last week with some of Jamaica's top entertainers visiting their Alma Maters. The main aim of the "Education Is No Joke" school tour is to sensitize students as to the importance of a good education and motivate them to adopt positive lifestyles. With the help of sponsors such as Arctic Ice, the tour has been reuniting some of Jamaica's most popular artistes with their Alma Maters and the impact has been phenomenal.

International dancehall star and Jamaican recording artist Sean Paul, visited his former high school, Wolmer's Boys on Tuesday February 19 and based on reports from students and teachers, the visit was a hit. Sean Paul disembarked the Infinity Tours bus and received a good welcome from the Wolmer's family; he focused his talk to the boys on the importance of a good education. At Wolmer's Sean Paul presented himself as a father figure instilled in the boys the importance of respecting each other. Students had numerous questions for the artiste and Sean answered them with maturity and showed his immense knowledge of the current issues affecting the students.

At Wolmer's Sean maintained the theme of the Wysinco and Logostich sponsored "Education is No Joke" School Tour and emphasized that without a good education there can be no real success. Sean Paul throughout his talk to the boys at Wolmer's credited his success to the good foundation he received at Wolmer's; he emphasized the importance of good values and politeness as keys to success. To top off his visit to his old school, Sean Paul gave prizes to the most improved students, signed autographs and posed for pictures with some of his young fans.

"We are very happy that Sean Paul took time out to talk to us today. This shows us that he cares about his young fans and that he understands the importance of education" - A student for Wolmer's.

The No Joke entertainment "Education is no Joke" School tour has over the past two weeks been bringing some of Jamaica's best known role models who have maintained a positive image in the music to influence students in a positive way. In this light the Cooyah and Hype TV supported tour co-opted the help of Voicemail to deliver their positive message to three schools. On Wednesday February 20 Craig visited his old school Jamaica College, O'Neil dropped by Kingston College and Kevin gave his talk at Calabar High.Voicemail commended the boys of all three schools on their successes in academics and sports but maintained that this good trend must continue.

Voicemail also focused on the need for unity between all three schools and stated that recent incidents between students from the three schools were not positive and put the institutions in a bad light. They stated that even though all members of Voicemail were from different schools they came together to do something positive."We came together and created something positive even though we are all from three traditional rivals. In the end it does not matter which school you are from, you still have work with people from different walks of life to be successful" - O'Neil Edwards, Voicemail Member.

The “Education is No Joke” School ends this week with visits two schools from the corporate area. The tour over the past three weeks has been working hard to fulfil its mandate of bringing a positive message to the young fans of the music. The "Education is No Joke" tour has also been able to lift the spirits of the students by facilitating the surprise visits of some of theirfavourite artistes and role models.

Source - Alykat PR
Date - February 29, 2008

Apple Store Officially 'intoxicated'

Visitors to the Apple Store in downtown Manhattan got the shock of their lives when they literally bumped into dancehall superstar Shaggy. The reggae icon unveiled his new album, Intoxication, for fans and media on Wednesday, November 7."The Apple Store event was a preview of the album to support our iTunes downloads, and also to have an intimate setting for our fans," reveals Shaggy. Joined by members of the Big Yard family, including Rik Rok and Rayvon, plus Collie Buddz and Da'Ville, Shaggy performed new tunes from Intoxication, including his latest single featuring Rik Rok, Bonafide Girl."The thing that I look forward to the most about this album is that it bridges the gap between my core audience and my mainstream fans," discloses the 20-times platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist.Fans around the world can catch Shaggy when he takes up some prime couch time on Late Night with Jay Leno (NBC), The Late LateShow with Craig Ferguson (CBS), and Tavis Smiley (PBS), during the week of release.Intoxication is a joint venture between Shaggy's own label, Big Yard Music Group, and VP Records. Fans can either lineup on Tuesday, November 13 when the album hits stores, or log on to where else, iTunes.

I WAYNE BOOK OF LIFE

Roots and culture artists have long been a constant in Jamaica, from the influence of legends like Bob Marley to conscious dancehall singers like Garnet Silk. However, in the summer of 2004 a new and powerfully distinct voice emerged on the reggae music scene. With a fresh timbre, substantive lyrics, and a passionate performance, this singer almost single handedly led a new wave of roots and culture reggae music that swept the island of Jamaica. I Wayne, born Cliffroy Taylor in the working class Kingston suburb of Portmore, Jamaica, officially hit the international scene with his #1 hit “Can’t Satisfy Her,” the first track by a cultural reggae artist to be added to Hot 97 in New York, a station noted for its hip hop preference. The tune then caught on in several markets and spent over 22 weeks on the Billboard Hip Hop/R&B Hot 100 chart. I Wayne followed up that firey description of a desperate Jamaican reality comprised of prostitution, poverty, and sexually transmitted diseases with “Living in Love” on the Stephen Gibbs and Errol Thompson-produced Hard Times riddim (VP2272). It may seem as if I Wayne suddenly burst onto the scene, but the 28 year old has been refining his craft since age 7. Coming from a musical family, it’s not surprising that I Wayne’s first performance venture with local group Vibes Machine took place when he was a student at Greater Portmore High School. The collective of singers and DJs performed at afterwork parties held at popular Kingston clubs like Cactus and Asylum, until one night, when his bandmates were late, and I Wayne was forced to take the stage alone. The response was tremendous, so he perfected his solo act, incorporating his keen appreciation for singers like Sade, Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Marcia Griffiths, Beres Hammond, and Sizzla Kalonji, into his developing style and honing his craft by chanting DJ style with local sound systems like Diamond Cruise and The Legend, as well as performing at Garveymeade, an annual Portmore event held on December 24th for the past 10 years. His distinctively fluid yet controlled vocals won him a record deal with VP Records in 2004, and his debut album, “Lava Ground,” hit stores in the summer of 2005. It yielded two hit singles, “Can’t Satisfy Her” and “Living in Love,” as well as the critically praised title track. Slipping and sliding through the higher notes of the scales with a jazz singer’s assurance and a reggae chanter’s rough-riding rhythmic sensibilities, I Wayne’s meteroic rise and his lyrical gift for piercing the veils that cloak Babylonian hypocrisies sparked a new wave of enthusiasm among the industry for this young generation of roots and culture singers and songwriters and eager anticipation for his second set, The Book of Life (releasing November 6). This time around, a set of spare, light-as-air roots instrumentals, produced by the finest of Jamaica’s young mixing board talents, provides an elegant showcase for I Wayne’s even more dazzling singing/chanting, richer melodies, and more penetrating lyrics. Says Neil Edwards, the project’s executive producer, “For the past year, a lot of artists have been glorifying death and destruction, so I Wayne flipped that and focused on life.” Where many are didactic and full of condemnation, this time around, I Wayne simply wants to remind listeners of an essential truth—that life is a gift for which we can be grateful. “I just praise life, just deal with it naturally,” says I Wayne. “There’s nothing wrong with praising the sun, moon and stars and the wind, and all that create balance. Life is love and love is life.” The philosophy may seem simple yet “Life’s” topical range—I Wayne’s detailing of where natural balance has been lost—is typically far-reaching and deep. He covers domestic violence in “Jealousy and Abuse” (featuring the great Lady G); male and female intimacy in “Need Her in I Arms”; and worldwide divisions and anarchy in “Politics and Religion.”