CLINTON LINDSAY

 Zac Henry (left) and Michael “Sojie” Beckford of The Astronauts at the Jamaica Observer’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters in Kingston on Tuesday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) — IN 1979 The Astronauts got its first taste of victory in the Festival Song Competition with the patriotic ditty Born Jamaican . Three years later, group members Donald Wright and Zac Henry decided to shake things up a bit. “We wanted a song that was outside the box, so we decided to enter with Mek … Read entire article »

Taking away the American dream. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) WRITTEN BY Hassan Ahmad—- It went largely unremarked, just another bland procedural decision from a government agency. But a quiet policy change at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services last month is the next step toward a nationwide purge of non-citizens. On June 28, USCIS announced that non-citizens who apply for a “benefit”–such as an extension or change of status, a green card, or citizenship—would be placed in deportation proceedings if that benefit … Read entire article »

By Shereita Grizzle— Mr Vegas— Mr Vegas has labelled fellow dancehall artiste Konshens, a ‘house nigga’ and a mulatto. The ushered-out Mr Vegas, apparently stung by criticisms about his commentary at the much-talked-about Braemar Avenue in St Andrew shooting on Monday, took to Facebook to clap back at his critics, among them Konshens. “He’s not on the side of the poor,” Mr Vegas said of Konshens. In an earlier message posted on social media, purportedly from Konshens, read: “To my … Read entire article »

   Jamaican dancehall singer, Mavado, is reportedly set to hire an high-powered legal defense team to represent his son who is facing murder charges. Urban Islandz reports indicate the singer has expressed his son’s innocence in the charges laid against him and vows to fight for his freedom with everything he’s got. One of the criminal defense attorneys he is reportedly looking at is Vybz Kartel lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, who is widely regarded as one of the … Read entire article »

Reggae artiste Don Tippa is ready to take his place in the spotlight. The talented singjay who hails from Glendevon, Montego Bay is currently promoting his new single titled Watch Out Fi Dem on the Hill Production label. “I’m getting a lot of positive feedback with my new song it’s doing very well. My team and I are putting a lot of promotion behind it, and it’s paying off, several DJs are playing locally and abroad,” said … Read entire article »

Delroy Williams (file photo)— MAYOR of Kingston Senator Delroy Williams has been invited to speak at the 16th annual CG/LA Infrastructure Inc Latin American and Caribbean Leadership Forum in Miami, Florida. The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation said in a release yesterday that Williams will be the first mayor from the Caribbean to present at the leadership forum. CG/LA Infrastructure, Inc is a Washington, DC-based consulting firm dedicated to the creation of public value via consulting, publications … Read entire article »