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News

“Let’s Support Our Jamaican Police Officers For Reggae History Month” by Dubb Master Chris

March 12, 2019 by Admin
News, OMI, Review
Dubb Master Chris, Jamaica, Jamaica Constabulary Force, JCF, OMI, Police, Serve and Protect

“I am privileged, each day, to have the ears of thousands of radio listeners in the tri-state area. As a senior radio personality at Irie Jam Radio, 93.5 FM, WVIP, it is part of my civic responsibility and my patriotic duty to highlight issues that impact Jamaicans at home and here in the Diaspora. This is something I have done, consistently, over the years.

Eight years ago, I took what some characterized, at the time, as a very unpopular decision, which was to put a temporary ban, during Black History Month, on music by dancehall hit-maker, DJ Vybz Kartel. I felt at the time, Kartel was sending the wrong message to our young, impressionable kids and some of his music was helping to erode the concept that Black is beautiful.

Fast forward to 2019, and I am immensely troubled by the lack of respect for members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). These hardworking Jamaican men and women put their lives on the line ,each day, to protect and serve our beautiful country.

The unfortunate incident that transpired in Spaulding, Clarendon, recently, brought the issue to the fore for me. From the multiple videos that have surfaced on social media, it is clear that the police officer, on duty, was simply doing his job when he was maliciously accosted by the bus driver, who instead of seeking justice in a court of law, took matters in his own hands, after being riled up by the crowd. In the end he was shot by the policeman, who was attempting to protect himself.

As I reflect on my life in Jamaica, it is safe to say we were brought up in an ‘informer fe dead’ society, where police officers are, in some instances, considered the enemy. Our music culture, particularly dancehall music, has, for too long, embraced songs that hit out against informers. It, at times, denigrate police officers, calling them ‘Babylon Boy’, this is just not acceptable anymore.

Music can influence behavior. Don’t believe? Just ask Ugandan dancehall DJ, politician, businessman, philanthropist and musician, Bobi Wine, who performed recently at Rebel Salute in Ocho Rios. The dancehall DJ said Jamaican superstars, like Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, Anthony B, Buju Banton and others, have influenced his career in a positive way.

So I implore all Jamaican reggae, radio djs and dancehall selectors to re-think the messages that they promote. So for Reggae Month and Black History Month 2019, I want to change the narrative in the dancehall space. I have made a decision, with support from the Irie Jam executives and radio family, to refrain from playing any song that is not uplifting the police force.

I encourage other radio jocks, here in the US and in Jamaica, to join me as well. Any song that hit out against informers and do not celebrate our police officers — who do yeoman’s work every day — will be temporarily banned for the month.

When I return home (to Jamaica), I feel a sense of pride when I see our hardworking officers doing their jobs. When I see them at the various check points in Western Jamaica, working with members of the JDF as part of Zones Of Special Operations (ZOSO), I smile with a sense of pride, knowing they are helping to make the country safer for all Jamaicans.

I still find it hard to comprehend 335 murders in St. James in 2017, alone. When we are abroad and we heard about scamming that has infested our island, it is the police officers, working in tandem with the DEA, the FBI, US Marshals and the local counter-terrorism team, that are helping to snuff out these scoundrels and helping to bring back peace to our beautiful island. So let’s support them.

Positive lyrics and songs not just educate but entertain the masses as well. I love what international singer, OMI, has done with his song ‘To Serve and Protect’ that pays tribute to police officers in Jamaica. Here is a song that was inspired by Omi’s own life journey and experience as a one-time police officer. Now is the time to embrace a positive, uplifting song like this. I endorse it 200 percent.

I wish more reggae and dancehall acts would follow Omi’s lead. In the past we had songs like ‘Bad Boys’ by Inner Circle and ‘Call The Police’ by John Wayne.

The Reggae History Month campaign is not so much to name songs that I will not play, as that just gives more publicity to those songs — which is not what I am promoting.

We have been quietly encouraging artists, we have relationships with, to record positive songs about the police. The truth is, we don’t have a lot of these songs out there. We plan to start a contest here, on Irie Jam radio, soon, that will let our listeners determine the best of those we have received. We will offer a cash incentive to the winner as determined by our listeners.

I appeal to all patriotic Jamaicans, at home, let’s show respect to our police officers, who are charged with the unenviable task of protecting law-abiding citizens. Let’s support efforts by our Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, National Security Minister, Dr. Horace Chang, and all police officers, across the island, as they seek to curtail crime and violence, which have affected local businesses, tourism, undermined the rule of law and deprived law-abiding citizens of the right to work, travel and live peacefully.”

Dubb Master Chris is a senior radio personality at Irie Jam Radio, 93.5 FM, in New York.

Source: http://pridenews.ca/2019/02/13/lets-support-jamaican-police-officers-reggae-history-month/

Spirituel Roots Reggae af Bedste Skuffe

February 3, 2017 by Admin
News, Spiritual
Spiritual

Den jamaicanske sanger Spiritual er vokset op i Allman Town, der er en af Kingstons mange ghettoer og nabo til Trench Town, hvor Bob Marley engang boede. Han blev forældreløs i en tidlig alder og begyndte som dreng at synge i det lokale kirkekor, inden han en dag konverterede til Rastafari. I stedet for at følge flokken af de mange håbefulde unge, der søgte lykken i studier og lyd-systemer spredt over hele byen, valgte Spiritual at blive i ghettoen, hvor han hjalp med at rådgive fattige og trængende – til trods for at han havde musikken i blodet.

En dag krydsede han tilfældigvis veje med den anerkendte producer Clifton “Specialist” Dillon, der er manden bag OMI (Cheerleader), Shabba Ranks og andre kendte jamaicanske kunstneres internationale succes, og resultatet er Awakening, der er Spirituals debualbum.

Musikalsk transporterer Awakening os tilbage til 70ernes reggaelyd, hvor reggaelegender som Bob Marley, Culture og Burning Spear tog rebel-lyden fra Jamaica til et verdensomspændende publikum. Der er reminiscens af såvel Burning Spear og Joseph Hill (Culture) i Spirituals stemme, og tekstmæssigt slægter han også disse store reggaenavne på med dybe og meningsfulde budskaber – uden at der er tale om en efterligning. Numre som Black Man Story, Stand Up To Rasta, Time Has Come, Liberation og Free Africa taler deres eget sprog.

 

Læs mere : http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/114458/spirituel-roots-reggae-af-bedste-skuffe/ 

Spiritual Debut Album Out in February 2017

November 22, 2016 by Admin
News, Spiritual
Spiritual

The debut album by Spiritual announced for February, 3rd, promises to be one of the high quality roots releases of 2017. Listen to the lead single Time Has Come below to get familiar with Spiritual‘s voice and stay tuned for the Awakening!

PRESS RELEASE – NOVEMBER 2016
Oufah Music, Clifton “Specialist” Dillon’s production and management company continues to make paradigm shifts in the music industry. With it’s most recent wave of breaking worldwide charts with international recording artist OMI, chart topping singles Cheerleader and Hula Hoop; the label is becoming known and anticipated to produce hits after hits. To some in the music industry this might be of no surprise as Clifton Dillon’s authentic template of building, directing and managing music careers of other known recording artists has proven to nothing but international successes of Grammy Awards, Billboards Awards, Platinum sales, Gold sales, millions in digital streaming and downloads.

 

See Full Press Release on ReggaeVille:

https://www.reggaeville.com/artist-details/spiritual/news/view/spiritual-debut-album-out-in-february-2017/

 

Omi Headlines Nickelodeon Slimefest

June 21, 2016 by Admin
News, OMI, Pop

JAMAICAN muso Omi says he’s ready for pretty much anything when he headlines Nickelodeon Slimefest in September. The Cheerleader and Hula Hoop singer will return to Australia for the event at Sydney Olympic Park on September 30. Traditionally, presenters and performers are covered in green slime at the event that is to be broadcast on the popular Foxtel kids channel that night.

“I’ll put aside my OCD for that day, and I’m going to wear something extremely comfortable and something that I’m not going to ever wear again of course. I’ll give anything a go,” Omi told Australian press.

“And I’m going to wear something extremely comfortable and something that I’m not going to ever wear again of course. I’ll give anything a go.”

Also performing at Slimefest will be Havana Brown and Mashd N Kutcher.

Rollingstones: 20 Biggest Breakouts of 2015

December 21, 2015 by Admin
News, OMI, Pop

Way back in 2008, this genial Jamaican singer wrote a little ditty called “Cheerleader”; four years later, he recorded it with producers Specialist and Sly Dunbar. The song became a small hit back home, and OMI went on with his career. But in 2014 Ultra Records commissioned German DJ Felix Jaehn to remix the bubbly ode to female subservience, and the trendy tropical house sheen he overlaid on the all-but-forgotten tune catapulted it to the top of the charts in America. OMI capitalized on his newfound fame by releasing his debut full-length, Me 4 U, in October; Salaam Remi, known for providing Nas and Amy Winehouse with sleek funk tracks, acted as executive producer. The follow-up single, “Hula Hoop,” hasn’t gotten as many spins — but few pop stars know as well as OMI that success can take a while.

For the full list please see: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-biggest-breakouts-of-2015-20151228/omi-20151221

On the Verge: 'Cheerleader' has OMI fired up

June 14, 2015 by Admin
News

This week in On the Verge, USA TODAY’s spotlight on breakthrough artists, Brian Mansfield talks to Jamaican singer OMI.

Jamaican singer OMI performs on stage during the FC Bayern Muenchen Champions dinner at Postpalast in Munich, Germany, May 23, 2015.

Won’t stay incognito for long. On a recent flight, OMI noticed the woman next to him listening to his single Cheerleader but didn’t have the nerve to introduce himself. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” says the Jamaican singer, whose single is rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S., currently sitting at No. 26 on USA TODAY’s Top 40 chart. “I just took that inner joy of knowing that person was listening to my song and didn’t even know how I look, because I was sitting right next to her.”

Going global. OMI, 28, had a hit in Jamaica with his original version of the song in 2012. Last year, German DJ/producer Felix Jaehn remixed Cheerleader, taking the original’s reggae-infused urban pop and speeding it up slightly, adding a house beat along with trumpet, bongos and a samba-like piano part. That sat fine with OMI, who had always harbored global aspirations. “I try very hard to incorporate music that is indigenous to Jamaican culture, as well as embracing that worldwide appeal,” he says. Cheerleader has since topped charts in multiple countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, and has become a song-of-summer contender in the U.S., where it has sold 506,000 downloads, according to Nielsen Music.

Who’s on his team? In Cheerleader, OMI sings of a woman “who is always right there when I need her.” As the song has found its audience, though, the singer has found himself not limiting her to being a romantic partner. “It’s basically anybody who’s that support system,” he says.

What’s in a name. OMI, born Omar Samuel Pasley, got his nickname from his father, who died when the singer was 9 but whom he credits with his love and talent for music. “After a while, it became a name I came to terms with,” he says. Manager Clifton “Specialist” Dillon, a noted Jamaican producer, suggested keeping it as his stage name. “It’s only three letters, so we do it in all caps to make it look bigger,” OMI says.

All about that duet. OMI has made tentative plans to record with All About That Basssinger Meghan Trainor, a major Caribbean-music buff. “I have a huge appreciation for her music and her whole vibe,” he says of the All About That Bass singer. “She’s a really sweet person, and I think there would be a certain type of magic, creating a single.”

The next step. Whenever possible, OMI spends time in the studio, writing and recording new music. He’s prolific enough that he’s not feeling the pressure of following up his worldwide smash, he says. “There is no pressure to write; there is pressure to release,” he says. “You have to know timing; you have to know what the follow-up will be. So the pressure’s not on me; it’s mostly on management and the label.”

Source [2015] – https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/ontheverge/2015/06/14/omi-cheerleader-on-the-verge/28558863/

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