KARTEL'S JAIL CELL SEARCHED IN INVESTIGATION OF PRODUCER'S KILLING

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police say they have searched the jail cell of DJ Vybz Kartel’s as part of their investigations into the killing of popular music producer Patrick ‘Roach’ Samuels.

The police reported that on Sunday detectives seized two cellular phones and three thumb-drives from the cell occupied by Kartel whose real name is Adijah Palmer. 

The Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) report Wednesday did not give the connection between the contraband found in the entertainer’s cell and the killing of the producer.

According to the cops the cell of Garfield Vassell, otherwise called ‘Zebra’, was also searched and the officers seized a sim card as well as a piece of paper containing instructions purportedly written by a popular entertainer.

Neither the nature of the instructions nor the name of the “popular entertainer ”were revealed.

Duane Stephenson proudly represents at CARIFESTA

Kingston, Jamaica: - The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) festivities held last month in Suriname have been described as being “filled with passionate movements, rhythmic beats, stunning images, moving storytelling, and exquisite tastes”. Some Caricom 30 countries were present at the festival, among them Jamaica, whose musical ambassador, Duane Stephenson, flew the black, green and gold flag with immense pride.

The reggae singer had been invited by Caricom to represent Jamaica at CARIFESTA and for this artiste, who had chosen to stay at home this year rather than perform in Europe, it was indeed a “great honour” to find favour with the selection committee.  “CARIFESTA XI a wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it,” Duane declared.

“It was like a real homecoming with all my Caribbean brothers and sisters greeting each other and focusing on our similarities rather than our differences. CARIFESTA XI allowed me to see myself as a Caribbean man who is doing music for the world rather than a Jamaican reggae artiste,” the singer explained, adding that he had made many invaluable contacts on both personal and professional levels.

The man from August Town performed at the Youth Village, located in Paramaribo and he thrilled the multi-cultural crowd with great selections from his repertoire, including Ghetto Pain, August Town, Rastafari, Fire In Me and Nah Pay. His conscious, message music was the perfect fit for such an uplifting occasion and with Duane’s natural charisma, it was a glorious day for reggae music at CARIFESTA XI.

The business side was equally fruitful, as the massive Caribbean festival of arts celebrations had booking agents and scouts from the US, Europe and as far away as Australia, watching with interest and hastening to secure acts for upcoming events in those parts of the world.

“I exchanged numbers with several of them and one in particular, South By Southwest, one of the major talent scouts was keenly interested,” a very upbeat Duane stated.

Now back in Jamaica, after CARIFESTA and a subsequent six-day trip to French Guiana, which saw him and his Dread Heights Band performing for over 2000 persons at a village in the interior of the island, Duane is putting the finishing touches to his album, which should be ready for international release before yearend.

I-OCTANE EXTENDS REACH BEYOND MUSIC

Silver Factory Merchandising was created to build a platform for artistes, specifically Caribbean artistes, to generate an additional revenue stream for their brands in the ever changing music business landscape.

The company created a complete collection for its first client, reggae recording artiste I-Octane, that features clothing designs for daily use that his fans all over the world can feel comfortable wearing.

The collection, Design By Odyssy, also incorporates lifestyle items such as mugs, ashtrays and even a skateboard.

I-Octane stated that this was a way of investing in his brand.

"It's about brand development for me and my team along with opening additional revenue streams as a 100 per cent independent artiste. That's why I've kept investing in my brand. I know my worth based on my investments, and I know where I stand in the business, I'm a touring artiste with a strong brand name, so merchandising was natural step," he said.

He added that he believes this investment will be long term.

"Merchandising is a global business, so for me it's not based on revenue I can generate in Jamaica, but rather making money outside of the island, and investing back into Jamaica. As far as other artistes doing merchandise, I highly encourage it the way the music is set up. It's imperative for the artiste to do that to not only make income but keep building their brand."

Source: Jamaica-star

I-Octane takes US Labor Day weekend by storm ... gives whirlwind performances

Using his historic closing performance at Reggae Sumfest 2013 as a launching pad, reggae and dancehall superstar I-Octane continued the momentum by returning to the United States for a whirlwind Labor Day weekend tour.

His first stop was in Delaware where he made his debut at 'In Di Dancehall'.

His energetic performance made on impression on the capacity crowd, which came from New York, DC and states. The crowd showed its appreciation, through thunderous applause and shouts of approval, as he sang his more popular songs.

Revelling in the overwhelming support, I-Octane said, "It is important for me to come to these markets that do not typically see reggae and dancehall shows. I will definitely come back to perform in Delaware."

On Labor Day (Friday), Octane made his much-anticipated debut at Radio Juggernaut - Hot 97 annual star-studded 'On the Reggae Tip' show. He delivered a fiery 15-minute set that brought the audience of over 7,500 people to their feet.

I-Octane was quite happy with this show as he declared, "There is still some ways to go but Hot 97 demonstrated that they are on the right track by producing a reggae-centric show such as this."

Changing up the pace, on Saturday, Octane and the Silver Factory Merch Company held an event to officially launch his merchandising line.

Hosted at Vinnie's Styles boutique it drew several fashion insiders and bloggers who raved about the collection.

The biggest hit was the I-Octane skateboard, was the brainchild of the designer, Odyssy, who indicated, "I was looking for something different and the free-spiritedness of reggae and skateboarding made for a natural marriage."

To celebrate his line, the artiste felt compelled to give a 10-minute performance and was backed by 12-year-old DJ prodigy DJ Difference, of Livity Movements.

The artiste also took some time out to shoot scenes for his viral video, Real Talk, scheduled to debut soon.

Starting off the month of September on a fantastic note, I-Octane took to Brooklyn's Barclay Center, on September 1, to perform before a crowd of 10,000 people at Irie Jam's 'Caribbean Fever Irie Jamboree Music Festival'.

electrifying performance

His performance was stellar and electrifying to the point that patrons were on their feet for the entire set. Coming off the stage from this performance, I-Octane humbly stated, "It was an honour to perform at this event. I salute Bobby Clarke, Dahved Levy and the team for their vision to create a three-day Caribbean event of this magnitude. I am also grateful for the opportunity to share my talent with the people."

Although these events were his only scheduled appearances, Octane said he 'felt the vibes' and wanted to continue the energy of touching the people.

he surprised guests at Five Alarm Blaze at Webster Hall, Bobby Konders and Jabba's event, at BB King's in Manhattan, and Squad's Nightclub in Brooklyn, with brief performances. 

The 'real' Ce'Cile wants to perform locally ... Says Jamaican fans don't appreciate her

Ce'Cile traded in her 'bad gyal' persona for the role of ambassador at the recently concluded Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) society's Open House Forum held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.

Speaking passionately about her role, Ce'Cile was generous in her praise of the copyright body of which she has been a long-standing member.

She disclosed that she had benefited tremendously since signing to the collections agency.

The JACAP ambassador left no stone unturned as she urged fellow artistes to get their act together and become members of JACAP.

"We always complain about the fact that, 'things not going right' well, here is an organisation that is doing a wonderful job of trying to turn this hustle mentality into a serious business," Ce'Cile stated emphatically.

Getting a bit more personal, the artiste, who recently returned from Europe, where she performed on several festivals, explained that there are two Ce'Ciles, the local and the foreign.

She said the 'real Ce'Cile' was not wanted in Jamaica and, as a result she performs her more serious, but equally entertaining songs at festivals such as Rototom, where she is embraced and respected for her complete repertoire, rather than a sample of salaciousness, slackness and gyrations.

"When I was on my way from Europe, I thought to myself , 'Okay, mi haffi go mek some fool-fool song for Jamaica now," Ce'Cile admitted, to much laughter from the capacity audience at JACAP's Open House Forum.

Ce'Cile, in the capacity of a JACAP ambassador, ended with a call for her Jamaican audience to listen to her songs and learn to appreciate the real Ce'Cile.

"I need to feel that I can perform the same songs at Rottotom and in Jamaica," she said.

Guest speaker at JACAP's Open House Forum was Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton who commended JACAP for hosting such a timely forum under the theme 'Understanding Copyright and Valuing the Rights of the Creators of Music'.

Also present at the forum were several members of the music, media and entertainment fraternities including Mikey Bennett, Gussie Clarke, Herbie Miller, Frankie Campbell, Clyde McKenzie, Evon Mullings, Teddy Laidley, Mr Lexx, Tanice 'Soulchild' Morrison, Derrick '10 Percent' Brown, Brigitte Anderson, George Golding, Francois St Juste, Joan Hutchinson, Judith Alberga and Adrian St Louis.

The emcee for the evening was Desmond Young, a board member of JACAP and president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians.

Source: Jamaica-star

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