By Paul H. Williams— Raymond Watson’s bust of Marcus Garvey.— Some persons were stunned and angry when they saw the bust of National Hero Marcus Garvey unveiled in the courtyard of the Faculty of Humanities and Education on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies on Friday, May 19. The tenor of the online and mass media feedback was very negative, brutal even. Some readers had absolutely no mercy on the university and the sculptor Raymond … Read entire article »

Hedley Jones is the everyman of Jamaican music. He is the embodiment of the word, having made his mark as engineer, musician and administrator. The St Catherine-born Jones served as a radar engineer with the Royal Air Force in World War II. Returning to Jamaica in the late 1940s, he opened Bop City, a radio service store on King’s Street in downtown Kingston. Jones built amplifiers for early sound systems, including Thomas Wong’s The Great Sebastian. One … Read entire article »

Japanese acts Rankin Pumpkin and Yard Beat sound recently caused much chatter in the music industry after both acts made it to the finals ahead of Jamaicans in the Magnum King and Queen of Dancehall and Boom Sound Clash competitions, respectively. While some Jamaicans have drawn the conclusion that the Japanese are taking over locally, the Stone Love crew feels the situation should be seen as an invitation for Jamaican artists and musicians to saddle to … Read entire article »

By Kyle Eustice—   Reggae legend/innovative producer Lee “Scratch” Perry is 81 years old and gives notoriously off-kilter interviews. In fact, he once called Island Records head honcho Chris Blackwell a “vampire.” His most recent chat with House of Strombo was no exception — only this time he touched on the subject of Hip Hop, which included his thoughts on rap gods Kanye West and Drake. When speaking on West, he said Yeezy has sold his soul and that of his late mother’s for … Read entire article »

While any information about new Jay Z music seems to be speculative these days, we can confirm at least one of the rumors is true. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley spoke with Billboard about linking up with Hov during the mogul’s recent trip to Jamaica and confirmed that they did, in fact, work on new music. “We did some work in the studio recently and he wanted to come to Jamaica to get a tour of the place,” Marley said. “… I did … Read entire article »

Byron W Brown, Mayor of the City of Buffalo, on Sunday, June 11, declared the day as Mark “Warrior King” Dyer Day during the Sankofa Days Block Party, part of the 42nd Juneteeth Festival in Buffalo, New York. An obviously shocked Warrior King jumped with joy. “I never expected it. This is definitely a huge milestone in my musical career. I thank Mayor Brown, my fans in New York and supporters all across the world for taking in the messages of purity, truth, strength and love which I try to deliver through … Read entire article »

Charly Black on Friday morning caused the Wendy Williams show to be lit…a recorded show it was….as it should have been aired yesterday, disappointed were many as they are accustomed to the show being live, but we are sure all are now happy with the switch…. After doing her usual gossipy segment and celeb talk, it was time for the performance they were all waiting for….the lights went down as if it was a movie settinzz and all … Read entire article »

Usain Bolt (left) joined Ding Dong (right) and the Ravers Clavers for a high-energy episode of dancing right around the track. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) THOUGH tears from some spectators flowed freely in the stands, Bolt’s final home run ended on a high, with everything from fireworks and high-energy dancing, to a special kiss for his girlfriend at trackside, and even a quick stint on the microphone with Ding Dong and the ‘Ravers.’ The second staging of the … Read entire article »