Black Immigrant Daily News

Bounty Killer has declared that he fully embraces Afrobeats music, and says the genre should not be pitted against Dancehall.

In responding to the question whether “Dancehall music still has a place on the international market with the emergence of Afrobeats,” during an I Never Knew TV interview, Bounty said that the two genres should be left to co-exist harmoniously and not be constantly compared or seen as one replacing the other.

“Afrobeat has nothing to do with Dancehall.  Afrobeat is another genre.  Afrobeat never came in competition with Dancehall or came with intent to take something from Dancehall.    I don’t know why people keep on comparing Afrobeat and Dancehall.  Why? Afrobeat is like a baby from Dancehall; it’s a relative,” Bounty stated.

“Afrobeat and Jamaican music is similar music.   Africa and Jamaican music and I’m so happy so happy for Afrobeat.  Music originate in Africa from the Congo beat.   Africa finally have a sound, so I’m excited and Afrobeats not taking nothing from Dancehall.  Afrobeats complements Dancehall.  Si Nicki Minaj and Skeng deh all ova pon Dancehall beats,” he added.

Since March last year, many comparisons have been made between Dancehall and Afrobeats, especially after Billboard joined forces with music festival and global Afrobeats brand Afro Nation, to launch the first-ever US chart for Afrobeats Songs.  The move by Billboard had come two years after it discontinued its Reggae Digital Song Sales chart, which ranked the top-downloaded Reggae and Dancehall songs in the US.

In January this year, Opposition leader and President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding, had expressed concern that the “heydays of Jamaica’s music industry had passed and “Afrobeats has kinda gone into that area and is eating our food.”

However, that same month, Reggae/Dancehall singer Tanya Stephens had dismissed comments made by her compatriot, Dancehall deejay Mr. Lexx who, in expressing discontent with the state of the music, had said that Dancehall music was lagging behind Afrobeats, because the majority of new songs being released are about violence, lewdness, and lotto scamming.

Stephens had come to the music’s defense, pointing out the duplicity in Lexx’s statements, while arguing that artists from as far back as the 1980s, and from his own generation, had never predicated their music on ‘feeling good’, but that sex and violence have always been a part of Jamaican music, as the island’s artists have never operated like a monolithic group.

She had also argued that the reason the Jamaican music was not seeing strong sales, was due to the island’s people not buying their music, unlike African audiences who are more supportive of Afrobeats, which leads to better quality shows and better positioning for singers from the African genre.

The Rebelution artist had also posited that once a Dancehall song is good, it will be successful. She had also said it was duplicitous to suggest that all music from the 1990s era was of a superior standard, as many were regarded as subpar.

In January this year, Anointed singer Bugle too, had declared that there should be no comparison between sales of Dancehall songs and Afrobeats, as the African genre has a continental marketplace of hundreds of millions of people, in comparison to Jamaica’s three million.

Bugle had argued that once an Afrobeats artiste releases a song, it will, more likely than not, instantly hit the Billboard charts and sell “diamond and gold” due to the sheer number of people who subscribe to Afrobeat music.

In November last year, following the release of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) Engaging with Music 2022 study, in which reggae was ranked number 10 out of more than 5,000 genres, University of the West Indies Professor Donna P.  Hope, had said Afrobeats’ absence from the coveted top 10, was a significant point to note.

“While we are being told that Afrobeats is pushing Dancehall out of the way, it did not make it on that list… It (Afrobeats) is a new enough genre; it will take some time for it to get to that level of recognition globally that Jamaican music, Reggae and Dancehall for example, have garnered over many years since the development of our music industry,” Professor Hope, Professor Hope, who is a lecturer in Culture, Gender, and Society, had explained.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

In the midst of the chatter surrounding how gospel artist Minister Marion Hall clothes her canvas, she has announced an upcoming single which places focus on the body.  

“Listen out for my new song titled Bless Body,” she revealed in a Facebook post. “It’s a song bringing awareness to the fact that God created our bodies, so perfectly, but we choose to put on and take off what we feel like, which sometimes causes us our lives.”

She added, “Love it or hate it. This is a Blessed Body.”

The announcement was accompanied by cover art from her latest single I’m Doing Better, which has ruffled feathers about what constitutes Christian dress. The photos show the church owner wearing a black sequined jumpsuit with mesh detail that reveals her stomach.

While there were more comments showering the minister with compliments about her image, others were more critical, even calling the post contradictory.

“The fact that you speak about loving our body, don’t add on or take off but still you yourself adding/removing, or is that you don’t consider makeup and weaves as add ons?” the comment read. “What did yall so called good book say about adding and removing from the body which is the ‘TEMPLE OF GOD’? As long as you didn’t born with it then it is an add on…”

There are also folks who believe the post is throwing shade towards dancehall artist Spice who has been open about going under the knife, though she declared that her recent health scare had nothing to do with plastic surgery. The women were once friends whose friendship grew sour following back-and-forth claims of envy, obeah, and underhand dealings. 

“Is me alone realize say anytime Spice take a break, you no see Lady Saw, but as long as Spice reappears, this lady emerges?” one person posited. “It’s giving badmind and she need fi stop it.”

Another person wrote, “Deep down this woman miss dancehall. And if Spice answer har now yuh hear seh Spice this n that. I don’t understand how Lady Saw turn Christian n still Ina dancehall ppl bizinz.”

Hall had previously responded to the Christian fashion police by redirecting them to 1 Corinthians 9 verse 19 to 23 which speaks to adapting per the environment to win souls for Christ.

When she hung up her secular shoes in December 2015, her ensemble remained consistently conservative until 2021 when she appeared more settled in her relationship with God. This was highlighted in a video she shared on social media responding to critics who found fault with a photo that bore cleavage.

“I can’t be covered every day, I’m in Miami, it’s hot in Miami,” she said.

“You won’t see me on the road in the big hats that you see me preaching in and the long dresses. If I dress like that you say I look old. I wear shorts and I wear skirts – not way up, but I wear skirts. I got tattoos, yeah, I got a few ah them, so, what can I do? I can’t please you baby…”

She continued, “God cares for what is behind the heart…not my boobs. If that’s all you see, I guess they look good right? I’m still a Christian and I do talk, so, don’t get this twisted. I’m still Marion, not Lady Saw. I’m a ordained minister and on Sunday I’ll dress appropriately but when I’m out in the sun, Imma take the sun’s vitamin D.”

She rounded off by expressing appreciation for her body, even labeling herself a “sexy Christian”.

“If you know me by now, you would know that I don’t care what they say about me. You don’t have the keys to heaven, so you can’t stop me if I’m going or not… I’m so blessed and I love my body… I’m a sexy Christian; I like to dress sexy under my clothes… Love me or hate me, I don’t care.”

Hall will be taking her blessed body to the Reggae Sumfest stage in July, her first appearance on the festival since joining Christendom. 

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Black Immigrant Daily News

By Marcia Braveboy

NAN

News Americas, PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Weds. March 29, 2023: The PANTHEON Exhibition in Trinidad was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, and frustrating restrictions that crippled Carnival and the world.

This year, the first PANTHEON Exhibition post COVID and on the heels of the first major Trinidad and Tobago carnival was held on Sunday March 12th to Sunday 19th March, at Mille Fleur, one of the magnificent seven buildings around the Savannah in Port of Spain.

Curator and creator, Rubadir Victor who is also president of the Artist’s Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago, (ACTT). (Marcia Braveboy image)

Curator and creator, Rubadir Victor, resumed the reinforcing, persistent and motivational work of showcasing the phenomenal costumes of the Kings and Queens of Carnival.

Children delight in the costumes on display at the Pantheon Exhibit from March 12-19, 2023. (Marcia Braveboy image)

Carnival lovers, creators of the mas and citizens and children from across Trinidad and Tobago, continue to salivate over this exhibition, even after the first major Carnival event was held on February 20 and 21, 2023 for the first time without any COVID-19 restrictions

Many are spellbound not because it is the first of its kind in T&T’s Carnival history or that the exhibition was born out of a crippling pandemic but over the creativity of the Kings and Queens costumes and the intellectual presentations of why Carnival and the mas is so valuable to societies worldwide.

Citizens of T&T are still embracing the exhibition, weeks after carnival 2023, which saw mas creation slowly returning to a stronger sense of traditional mas.

Children have attended with their parents as well as tourists, mas creators and many other people from different walks of life were there.

Fiona Coomber was one among scores of visitors who visited and absorbed the exhibition on Saturday 18th March. Her mother was born in T&T, her grandmother in Grenada and her Grandfather in Barbados. (Marcia Braveboy image)

Fiona Coomber was one among scores of visitors who visited and absorbed the exhibition on Saturday 18th March, the seventh day of the showcase. She said more people need to see and appreciate all the hard work that go into the magnificent structures.

“I think it should be regular, every year, everybody should be able to see it; I think the creativity is extraordinary, it is magnificent, and I really think the whole world should know about it,” said Coomber, a British white woman of Caribbean parentage, about PANTHEON the Exhibition.

Some of the costumes on display at Pantheon 2023. (Marcia Braveboy image).

The majestic Peacock at Pantheon 2023. (Marcia Braveboy image)

She hopes that a space can be developed to at least house miniature versions of the costumes, as a way of preserving their significance for some time and maybe add just one giant size structure, since it is not practical to find the space required for several large sized costumes.

Deron Atz, the mas man. (Marcia Braveboy image)

Coomber said while it is not possible to house 50 years of Kings and Queens costumes, but she does see value in replicating the finished pieces into miniatures, and save that, so one can see the evolution of ideas to help assist the continued creation of mas costumes. She finds it heart breaking that they get destroyed immediately after Carnival events and one wild weekend.

Additional to the PANTHEON the Exhibition, were large screens and technological darkroom display of a history of traditional mas in Trinidad and Tobago.

The digital immersive experience room where the traditional costumes of past Kings and Queens of Carnival were shown. (Marcia Braveboy image)

NAN’s Marcia Braveboy (r) at Pantheon 2023.

PANTHEON the exhibition will be back in 2024 Victor told NAN news and promised to continue working with stakeholders, to find an adequate space to house the Kings and Queens costumes.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Andrew Ellis, CEO of Supreme Team Limited — the entity responsible for spearheading VaCae Weekend — says American rapper Rick Ross is anticipating his performance at this year’s staging.

“Rick Ross is a family friend. He was the major performer at our Sandz Florida event; it was a good show, and throughout that time we’ve built a relationship with him. He loves Jamaica, as most people know…We’ve provided him with an opportunity to come to the island and deliver a strong performance for his fanbase, not only here—but in the diaspora markets who are coming back to the island. He’s excited about it 100 per cent. We expect a great performance,” he told DancehallMag at VaCae Weekend’s media launch held at Volkswagen Jamaica in Kingston on Wednesday night.

VaCae Weekend will be held in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, between April 7 and 10. It will feature a series of events, including The Lawn, Pan Di Plaza, Aqua Holix, Strictly 2K, Sandz, Ova Suh and The Estate.

Other performers include Beenie Man, Stalk Ashley, and Gyptian.

The Hustlin’ rapper told his Jamaican fans as early as January that he would be coming to Jamaica soon. He even teased his rendition of patois by using Valiant’s “rich ah lie??” slang.

Rick Ross previously teamed up with Reggae singer Skip Marley and Ari Lennox on the 2020 track Make Me Feel, and with Konshens and Rvssian on Big Belly, released in 2018.

Meanwhile, Ellis touted Jamaica as the entertainment capital of the world and says collaborating with international acts provides for exposure for the island.

“Everybody takes from us, everybody wants some of our influence because we have it. This is the home. This is the mecca of entertainment and definitely this is one step in that direction. We want to invite international artists here to the island so that people can understand that we have the capability, the resources and the venues that can facilitate first world performances. We want to be included in every tour, in everything that every major artist is doing so that we can build up not only the entertainment industry but the entertainment industry worldwide and push music forward,” the CEO said.

According to Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange last month, Jamaica’s creative sector generated approximately US$2.2 billion in earnings during 2022.

That is approximately 5.2 percent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP), and three percent of direct and indirect employment.

Adversely, the industry took a J$26 billion hit in just two months during the onslaught of the coronavirus lockdown in 2020. 

Ellis further told DancehallMag that his team is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with global stars, and patrons can expect to see more at its events in the future. 

“When we were doing Florida during Covid, we actually invited DaBaby. He was a major superstar. He was a part of Sandz Florida. Members on our team was also involved in the planning and execution of Burna Boy Live the other day, it was a good show so we’re gonna continue that. There’s a lot more shows to come too,” he said.

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