|
 |
Looking Back at Reggae Sumfest
Reggae Sumfest, first staged in 1993, is an annual weeklong music festival primarily dedicated to promoting Jamaica's indigenous art form - reggae music. The festival takes place in Montego Bay during the first week of August.
 |
 |
| Directors at the launch of Sumfest 2000 in Kingston |
Sheryl Lee Ralph (centre) |
Since its inception, the main focus of Reggae Sumfest has been to expose and promote Jamaica's unique music to the world. The festival has also helped to further expose Jamaica as a tourist destination and generates economic activity throughout the country, thereby improving the foreign exchange earning potential of the island...
[ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Beenie Man
If he can match last years performance, then the Doctor, Beenie Man will certainly be one of the top acts for other DJs to contend with at Sumfest 2000. Beenie Man who has been performing for over 15 years, came to prominence in 1994 with a string of hits including Matey, Modelling and Slam. Since then he is the only artiste who can boast winning four consecutive DJ of the Year awards. Beenie Man has defiled all those who harbored doubts about his longevity and has over the years released songs from dance hall to reggae, and calypso to R&B <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Elephant Man
There is never a dull moment with Elephant Man who with a seemingly inexhaustible energy source, throws himself into everything he does: whether it is playing football, deejaying on the corner or in front of 10,000 screaming concert goers. Elephant Man, formerly of the Scare Dem Crew oozes individuality, from his trademark yellow-orange hair, custom designed ride, outlandish jewellery and a string of signature utterance including ‘You know how we roll.' <more>
[ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
The Jackie Jackson Story (part 3 of 3)
“Mr. Hosang! I'd like to purchase that bass”
| This is the final in a three-part series of an interview with renowned bassist, Jackie Jackson, conducted by Mark Gorney. |
MG: You told me that Kong and Pottinger were your favorite producers?
JJ: They were my favorite for different reasons. Duke for the reason that I just loved being at Treasure Isle. That was home. That was special, yunno? If like, today, I don't have anything to do, and somebody call and seh Jackson, I want you to come and do a session todeh, and Duke call after that person and seh "I want a session," I'm going to leave that person's studio and gwaan a Duke's session, yunno? So that is special. That is past being favoritism or my favorite producer, that's special.
 And den now, my favorite producer is Miss P (Sonia Pottinger), beca' Miss P in dem days, well, 99.9% o'dem sessions and dem songs and hits, is the musicians mek dem hits deh yunno. Plenty times the singers come inna the studio and dem sing and the words don't fit. And we used to seh to dem sometime "No, you cyaan sing dat. What kinda bad english dat? No, take out that and put it somewhere else," or "No! sing that verse and then mek wi play something and come back and pick another verse." In dem days if you write that song and I put in all dem tings deh, the song become me and yours, yunno! But we was just trying to help. And Miss P would just come and she sit there in the mixing room and leave us alone. She don't have anything to say, yes or no. We go in there, we do the song, we say to Miss P, "How it sound?" and she would say "How it sound? You tell me how it sound?" And if we seh it sound good she seh "Alright, cool. Next tune."
Mark, one thing with us, we were a fierce set o'guys, yunno. We never believe in rushing or chopping up some songs to go and do another session. If it sound good, it sound good. If it don't sound good it just don't sound good. . . some other set o'people would just seh, "No, man, dat fine," and dem know it don't fine, yunno? So Miss P would just sit dere easy, easy, and if we said "Bwoy, we need fi do a next one," sometime she seh "No, man, don't do no more man, mi like this one. Mi don't want no more," yunno? And Leslie Kong was the same. Leslie Kong was easy. Him noh give no trouble <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Junior Kelly - Ready to thrill the massive
Every so often an artiste comes along whose work strikes such a chord of recognition with the public, it is as though their words belong to each one of us. Junior Kelly is such an artist. A true man of the people, this tall, dreadlocks sing-jay from Jamaica first captivated the UK market with his singles What Would It Take and If Love So Nice on Penitentiary Records. Both songs enraptured us with their catchy melodies and seductive reggae rhythms, but as Junior's lyrical content then hit home, we knew we were witnessing the arrival of someone rather special [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Joe - International Headliner
After scoring minor success with his two previous albums: 1993's Everything and 1997's All That I Am, Joe is now set to storm the stage of Sumfest 2000.
Joe released his third LP, My Name is Joe, which is sending the Alabama native's celebrity off the meter. Looks like Joe was on to something when he recorded the track Something Gotta Be On Top [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Beres Hammond
Few artists have been able to revitalize and transform reggae music as Beres Hammond. His whiskey-grained voice often described as mellow, sultry and sexy as a natural way of wooing women into his hypnotic web. From past hits such as One Dance Can Do, She Loves Me Now, Standing in my Way, Double Trouble, Tempted to Touch, Putting up Resistance to Pull it Up Beres is sure to once again have the crowd at his mercy when he takes the stage at Sumfest 2000 [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Byron Lee - The King of Soca
As one of Jamaica's finest musical ambassadors Byron Lee and the Dragonaires with their over 43 years of experience and 150-plus awards, continues to command respect and admiration world-wide.
Still smarting from the success of their recently concluded Carnival 2000 series, the Dragon and his merry men will certainly cause the masses anticipated to turn out at the Beach Party to relive some of the best moments of Jamaica Carnival 2000 <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Bob Marley for National Hero? - by Claude Wilson
There have been numerous calls, especially from among the music fraternity, for Bob Marley to receive the investiture of Jamaica National Hero. If this were to happen, it would make the reggae king the country's eighth national hero of Jamaica, joining other famous names like Marcus Garvey, Norman Manley, and Sir Alexander Bustamante.
Similar are the denouncements of persons who consider the petition a ludicrous pipe dream of others who view Marley as a socio-religious icon. "Everyone seems to be infested with the Marley madness of making him a hero," said a recent letter written to the editor of the Gleaner newspaper <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Father HoLung: Ghetto Priest
Father Richard Ho Lung has spent the majority of his life serving the poor and destitute of the world, specifically in Jamaica. After graduating from St. George's College and becoming a Jesuit priest, Father Ho Lung felt the call to respond more radically to the gospel's challenge. Father Ho Lung's response has taken many forms, focusing mainly on helping the poor and disabled as well as carrying the message of the gospel to the people of the world through music.
The musical vehicle that Father Ho Lung has used, and continues to use, is called Father Ho Lung & Friends whose motto is “We must give our best to the Lord and to the poor” [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Quality-Oriented KFC
Restaurants of Jamaica - franchise holders for KFC in Jamaica - is among sponsors who have committed millions of dollars to the staging of Sumfest over the years. In fact, KFC has been a major sponsor since the inception of the Reggae Festival that replaced Reggae Sunsplash in the Western City of Montego Bay seven (7) years ago <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
The Wray & Nephew Connection
“If music be the food of love, play on give me excess of it…” Shakespeare
Reggae music infuses the spirit of Jamaica. Appleton Jamaica Rum unleashes the spirit. Wray & Nephew Rum Cream proposes to start something serious….
| Appleton Jamaican Rum has been a sponsor of Reggae Sumfest since it's inception and Wray & Nephew Rum Cream since 1996. |
 |
 |
Wray & Nephew and Reggae Sumfest continue to lift the spirits in a perfect blend at this year's musical feast <more> [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
 Poetry Corner - Sonya Weir
Sonya has been writing poetry since high school. She graduated from Shortwood Teachers' college where she majored in English. She has left the classroom and now works in human resource development. Love and social issues are her favourite topics. After writing hundreds of poems, her hope is to have more of her work published soon [ Back | Get the Magazine ] |
|
|
|
|
