With the song “Tip A Di Rifle” doing extremely well, Dancehall artiste Kratos has decided to step up the promotion with a female dance competition. The objective of the competition according to Kratos is to connect with his growing fan base. “The female population has been representing Kratos and I am doing this mainly to connect to my audience.” The deadline for submission is Saturday April 2, 2016 and all contestants have to do is to submit a 1 minute video dancing to the song “Tip A Di Rifle” to kratosdancecompetition@gmail.com .
Contestants are asked to submit their contact information and photo along with the video. All videos will be uploaded to Kratos Black Eagle Facebook page and the video with the most likes will be the winner of the competition. The winner will be getting USD $200 along with a signed T Shirt from the artiste. The winner will be announced on April 18, 2016.
When quizzed about the competition, Kratos had this to say, “My publicist and I sat long and thought about a campaign to work on and we decided to do a dance competition for the ladies. The song is geared towards the female population and they are loving it, so really we are doing this for them.”
The song has been getting tremendous acclaim in the streets and has been steadily rising on the airwaves. Kratos also shot the accompanying video for “Tip A Di Rifle”, which is in the final editing stage, so fans can look forward to a truly exciting video.
First they started out as the youth of the Dancehall/Reggae culture, now they’re parents with growing kids. It isn’t unusual for the child of an Entertainer to follow in their parent’s footsteps one way or the other as at times they bring a modern take on their parent’s creations, or create their own lane. Some of the most famous off springs include Stephen, Ziggy, and Damian “Junior Gong” Marley (Sons of Bob Marley), Chino and Di Genius (Sons of Freddie McGregor), Junior Tucker (Son of Jimmy Tucker), Morgan Heritage (Children of Denroy Morgan), Tarrus Riley (Son of Jimmy Riley), Queen Ifrica (Daughter of Derrick Morgan), Protoje (Son of Lorna Bennett), Chronixx (Son of Chronicle) and many more. In part 4 of a few part series, I feature more of the new set of kids on the scene whose parents have covered much ground in their respective careers.
1. Juju Blood (D’Yung Veteran)
Famous Parent: Junior Reid
Occupation: Reggae Artist
Twitter/IG: @JujuBlood / @JujuReidMusic
Single(s): Don Dada (w/ Chris Matic), International Love
What do you get when you enlist Jamaican Rappers Five Steez, Nomad Carlos, The Sickest Drama with Inztinkz who boasts Production and Rapping skills? The super group called “The Council” of course! Since their debut single “Council Arts” in 2015, listeners have been eager to hear what these Artists can do over more production on a mixtape, EP, or album format. Though seasoned members in the “First Coast” movement, The Council aims to bring more listeners to where Hip Hop came from, and of course show them that they’re nice with the flow when they form like Voltron.
1. I just finished listening to soundcloud.com/proeraradio/jo… and heard that Joey Bada$$ was in the Island recently. Did any of you meet with him? That would certainly have been a “PRO” move by The Council.
Inztinkz: Nah I didn’t get the chance to meet him actually, I guess it was just a matter of our circles not crossing.
Five Steez: I didn’t meet Joey when he was here but I respect his work. I really liked his album, B4da$$.
Nomad Carlos: What’s good? Nah I wasn’t in JA when that went down. I probably wouldn’t have met with him anyway due to the circles of interest on his part.
TSD: Nah, we didn’t meet with him, but I’m aware of other First Coast affiliates who did, and I hope something positive comes out of it.
2. Pretend this is a phone call I made to acquire just the right amount of insight about the rap game from the only comrades who actually know the direction of authentic Jamaican emceeing. Fill me in on as much details as possible.
Inztinkz: Jamaican emceeing had always been in a weird place. Right now I think because of the diversity of influences in rap in general, Jamaican emceeing can’t be pinned down to one particular style per-se. Its really an amalgamation of the the Jamaican experience and all that influences it done via the medium of Hip Hop.
TSD: Jamaican Hip Hop is an underground phenomenon that’s bubbling in local scene waiting for the right avenues and spotlight to emerge. There are many rappers scattered across the island, although the fraternity seems more insular in remote parts of the country. There’s a diverse range in terms of influence and sound, but the common denominator is re arranging the yard experience through the prism of Hip Hop culture as its become to be known internationally. It’s a post-modern aesthetic.
The movie – “Diary of A Badman” which won best narrative feature film at last year’s Jamaica Film Festival through JAMPRO, will host a private Movie Premiere/ launch on March 30th at the Carib Cinema in Kingston, Jamaica and in the Cayman Islands. The film has secured a theatrical run in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands under the Palace Amusement Cinema Company. The movie will be released March 30, 2016. The film will be touring in major cities throughout the US, Canada, and London. Starting with NYC on April 7th and then London May 26th.
Synopsis: He was her assignment. She became his diary. Detective Simone Williams, a Jamaican immigrant to the US, dreamt of working undercover on a high profile case. She finally gets her chance to go undercover in an attempt to catch a notorious drug dealer; Winston Bailey aka Bucky. She falls victim to his charming personality; compromising her assignment. Lines begin to blur as she gets in deeper. Over time, Williams develops a close bond with Bailey, and their loyalties are put to the ultimate test. The director; Diemiruaya Deniran, calls this film the Cleopatra Jones, meets Donnie Brasco and much more. What makes the film so unique is it gives the outlook on the entire undercover cop movie in a revitalizing way by flipping the switch from the cliché male cop role by having a female play the role. The New Yorker also stated that ‘Women of African descent usually don’t acquire these opportunities; with ‘Diary of A Bad Man’ it changes that status quo.’
The film consists of cast members mostly of Jamaican and African American descent; Jacinth Sutphin; Actress, Model, and Writer who was born and raised in St. Mary, Jamaica (Richmond), who plays the lead role of an undercover detective as Simone Williams. Prior to the film she moved to the states to pursue her acting career and was very enthused to come back to her country of birth to showcase her work in the acting and film industry. Douglas A. Robbs plays the role of Winston Bailey aka “Bucky” who is the target for the undercover operation. Douglas is a Crown Heights Brooklyn native; who really loves the Jamaican culture and people as well. Michael Thor Love, plays the role of Sergeant Putkowski who heads the undercover team and is excited to break into the Jamaican show business this year and to also embrace the culture and people. Other cast members include: Kyle Moore, LaTonya Grant, Levar Dawkins, Richard Bird, TJ Thomas, Kellen Wingate, Jamek Grigg, Robert Murray, and Tanya Thompson.
Based on the name; ‘Diary of A Bad Man’ it would be a concern for Jamaicans and persons of African descent that this film will be projecting a bad look on them, however Diemiruaya continues to explain that ‘This is art, and there are many ways to tell a story,’ he guarantees that when you watch this movie you will be blown away because in the film you get to see the bad guy in a different light; you however may not agree with his ways of achieving his goals but you will understand and may eventually agree to his cause of actions.
First they started out as the youth of the Dancehall/Reggae culture, now they’re parents with growing kids. It isn’t unusual for the child of an Entertainer to follow in their parent’s footsteps one way or the other as at times they bring a modern take on their parent’s creations, or create their own lane. Some of the most famous off springs include Stephen, Ziggy, and Damian “Junior Gong” Marley (Sons of Bob Marley), Chino and Di Genius (Sons of Freddie McGregor), Junior Tucker (Son of Jimmy Tucker), Morgan Heritage (Children of Denroy Morgan), Tarrus Riley (Son of Jimmy Riley), Queen Ifrica (Daughter of Derrick Morgan), Protoje (Son of Lorna Bennett), Chronixx (Son of Chronicle) and many more. In part 3 of a few part series, I feature more of the new set of kids on the scene whose parents have covered much ground in their respective careers.
1. The Wizard (The Wixard)
Famous Parent: Beres Hammond
Occupation: Producer, DJ, Singer, Songwriter
Twitter/IG: @TheWizardJA
Single(s): The Wizard EP – Nuh Behavior Ep. 1, Toppanaris
Award winning Reggae Artiste Dandexx wants Jamaicans to remain confident. With the recent elections and a new leader in office many Jamaicans are just getting back to their daily routines. The Artiste has been promoting his newly released single ‘Confident’ produced by Wayne Brown on the Night and Day Rhythm. Dandexx said “This song is not linked to election but it fits the atmosphere. It encourages listeners to be confident despite any obstacle they might be facing”.
The conscious artiste started off the year receiving the award for Best Reggae Album by The Akademia Music Awards located in Los Angeles, California and now he is eager to create bigger waves in Jamaica. Dandexx has been receiving a positive feedback forhis music and received air play from several leading radio stations. He shared, “I love music; especially music that comes with a strong message for my fans”.
Dandexx whose real name is Kirk Brown is based in Los Angeles, California but was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He started making music in 1993 but did not get his break until in 2011, when he released ‘I Know You Not’ on the Human Rights imprint and ‘Fill My Cup’ which was produced by his brother Wayne Brown on his Di Next Generation Production WC Label.
Dandexx is now on a promotional movement and will be honoured at the Akademia Music Awards’ Gala in April as the winner of ‘The Best Reggae Album’ for his album ‘Soft Answer’ in January 2016. His music is currently played on major radio stations worldwide in areas such as Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States. For updates on his music his fans can be followed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @DandexxMusic and through his website, www.dandexxmusic.com.