QUEEN OF STAGE
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| QUEEN OF STAGE AKA SPICE |
February 28, 2009
February 27, 2009
Luciano’s was beating with an iron pipe
BY: Yasmine Peru
Studio engineer and promoter, Freckles, says he administered an iron pipe beating to righteous singer, Luciano, out of a sense of justice and not anger.
“I just needed to regain my dignity … and I did,” the diminutive, dreadlocked father of one told Chat!.
According to Freckles, he and Luciano — the singer known for his pious messages of love and forgiveness — had a dispute from May of last year over money which he says was owed to him by the singer for work done during a tour of Australia. Despite several attempts to collect all that was due to him, resolve the matter and heal the breach, this never happened. And, to add insult to injury, Freckles says he was “beaten to a pulp” by Luciano and some of his followers at Luciano’s office last year.
He recalled that he was on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Washington to pick up visas for persons going on a US tour when he got a call from Luciano.
“He asked me to meet him at his office and I went. He hugged and kissed me as brethren and then called his manager, who knew about all that had happened in Australia. The manager took the hot seat and admitted that he was the one who encouraged me to insist on getting all my money from Looshie.”
Freckles further states that he had “lined up a whole heap of things for Looshie” while on the tour, thus helping the singer to earn extra money. “I got him dub plate work and even wrote a song for him and another for Bob Andy. Looshie was supposed to pay me 30% as commission, but after I collected the money and handed it over to him, he then told me that the tour didn’t work out so well and he wanted me to take less than 30%. I agreed.”
Freckles said he told Luciano’s manager what had transpired, and the manager was adamant that Luciano should honour his agreement with Freckles.
“When the manager told Looshie that he told me to make sure to get all my money because what he was asking in principle was wrong, Looshie get all upset and shouted ‘a greedy him greedy’. At that point, I told him that I had a plane to catch and I was leaving. On my way out, one of his men chucked me and I chucked him back. Then Looshie chuck pon me … tear off mi turban. All couple of the locks from outta me beard dem tear out,” Freckles told Chat! as he recalled his beating.
He says he was chopped in the back and sustained serious injury to one of his fingers, which had the tendon severed. An operation has so far run him over $700,000 and he says he is now doing physiotheraphy twice weekly.
“I am a single parent who is totally responsible for my daughter. She goes everywhere with me,” he explained, adding that he lost a portion of money in Cash Plus, which set him back tremendously. He says he has never asked Luciano for money towards his medical expenses, but a singer who knew the story checked Luciano for assistance for him, but he was reportedly told that “the boy deserve the flogging”.
Freckles said he had put the incident out of his mind and was trying to get on with life. But then, fate stepped in. He was at the studio doing some work and a guitarist who happen to have witnessed the beating was there and brought up the story. “Everything came back to me and fire went through me,” he said honestly. “Five minutes later I left the studio and driving past the gas station … you know who I see?”
None other than the man to whom Freckles says his followers refer to as “god”. “When they were beating me, all I can remember them saying was ‘don’t let him touch god’.”
It was a triumvirate of a different kind — time, place and passion.
Freckles says he calmly drove into the gas station, parked his vehicle and walked towards Looshie and his people. “On my way I saw a piece of iron pipe and I took it up. A man turn round and hail me and all I know is that I reach up to Looshie and start put it on. Every man scatter … run way leave him and him all pass out. Then Mr Andy come to me and say ‘Freckles stop’.” So he stopped; the men reportedly threw water on the singer, enabling him to regain consciousness and then took him to the doctor.
“I was not the one to run to the media. Despite all Looshie did, I never tried to smear his character. I am a young yute trying to make life with my daughter and they didn’t show me any justice, peace or love,” he declared.
Efforts to contact Luciano proved futile.
SOURCE: CHAT!
CeCile dubbed Style Goddess
By: ALICIA ROACHE
Dancehall diva CeCile can place another notch on her designer belt. The statuesque star is one of 8 women dubbed Style Goddess by influential style agency Saint International in its luxury magazine STRUT.
The accolade for the artist follows consultations with some of Jamaica’s most influential stylists and fashionistas and will be recorded in STRUT, the newest production from the publishing arm of the agency.
CeCile, who has recorded songs such as Hot Like We, Changez and I’m Waiting, was characteristically forthright in her reaction to being given the honour. “It’s actually very nice because I do now pay close attention to my attire. It’s very important to always be looking fabulous, but respectable,” says the newly crowned fashionista.
CeCile, who enlisted the services of stylist Dexter Pottinger to ensure that her style is always ‘of the moment’ and distinctly hers shares the title of Style Goddess with, among others, fellow entertainer D’Angel, beauty queen turned politician Lisa Hanna, Rising Stars host Yendi Phillipps and famed fashionista Sophia Max Brown.
Dewight Peters, CEO of Saint International and Creative Director of STRUT justifies the diva’s place among the echelons of stylish stars.
“CeCile is her own character and I like that. She has her own sensibilities. What I really like is the fact that she recognized the importance of image in music…and she unapologetically took on the challenge of redefining her image by shedding the weight and getting a stylist which is important. She is quite slick and one of my Style Goddesses,” Peters says.
This is no surprise given that CeCile takes her style cues from Madonna, herself an iconic figure in music and fashion, and Pottinger.
“My personal style must mirror my growth as a person and as an artist. So the look should say grown up, classy and ladylike,” CeCile says. “One of my icons style wise, my stylist and friend Dexter Pottinger is a Saint product, and believe me, he is fantastic.”
Indeed, STRUT will debut at the agency’s FashionFace of the Caribbean event set for March 17 and the story of CeCile’s inspiring style transformation will make the cover of the Mag. Peters says the decision for the cover came from the need to use someone who could capture the essence of the STRUT, ‘a powerfully defined, stylish gait’.
SOURCE: www.dancehallreggaeweseh.com
Prodigal Son to perform in Sierra Leone
Gospel recording artiste Calvin Whilby aka Prodigal Son will be heading to Sierra Leone for a series of free concerts in Freetown scheduled to take place from Wednesday, March 5 to Sunday, March 8 at the Brima Attouga Kamara Mini Sport Complex.
Prodgal Son has shared the stage with such renowned artistes Jimmy Cliff, Destiny’s Child, Jermaine Jackson, Maxi Priest, Fred Hammond, Shaggy, Junior Gong, Beenie Man, Bounti Killa, Regina Belle, Calypso Rose, Barrington Levy, Luciano and more.
Performing at sold out venues spanning crowds as huge as 150,000, Prodigal has performed at events such as Antiguan Governmental Celebrations (Caribbean), International Reggae Festival of Life (Chicago, USA), Fun in the Sun, Recharge, and Sting (Jamaica), France World Cup Qualifier Match (Jamaica vs Mexico), Air Jamaica sponsored UK Tour, Israel & New Breed Tour (Jacksonville, USA) and many other international events.
His special performances in Freetown are sponsored by Ben Cerullo Ministries.
SOURCE: www.dancehallreggaeweseh.com
February 25, 2009
A WEH DEM DEH DID DEH?
By: Maria A. Hitchins
But what a ting, all of a sudden the Broadcasting Commission has found its sting,
Imagine Carnival has been in Jamaica since the eighties, but its public lewdness is only now being investigated.
Not to mention gangster, gun-toting movies on free to air stations. So to this late upsurge from the policy makers, what they expect CONGRATULATIONS?
Hold on I have more questions, what happen to the parents of this nation?
Do they now give birth and lose all relations?
And where was the church before this, perhaps too busy in collections bliss?
From punaani to sauderin, bedroom bully to daggerin,
each generation always thinks the next one’s music is garbage,
Rock N Roll even the Tango, they have all carried this scorned baggage.
However to all the never see come see, born again critics,
point finger-ers, holy-er than though and unwavering cynics,
Unnu late, so till late a say, “WAIT A WEH DEM DEH DID DEH?”
SOURCE: www.dancehallreggaeweseh.com
Demarco makes musical strides
A young man with exceptional inborn talent is one way to describe Collin
Demar Edwards aka Demarco. It was two years ago that he stepped to the
microphone and gave what was undoubtedly one of the biggest songs of 2007,
Fallen Soldiers.
As Demarco recalls, “I made the riddim in my kitchen studio and after
listening to it I realised that it sounded like something sad, so I started
to think about friends who were no longer with us and the lyrics started
flowing. In order for it to have universal appeal, I didn¹t call specific
names and it worked”.
With a blockbuster hit on his hands, Demarco, who was more known as a
producer for his Star Kutt Records, rather than an artiste, had to get
himself ready to take centrestage. “I used to get nervous right before going
on stage, but once I’m actually on the stage I was fine”, he says.
While he’s enjoying being an artiste, Demarco confesses that he has an
intense love and enthusiasm for every aspect of the music business,
producing, songwriting, deejaying and engineering. He has his fingers on the
pulse of almost every genre of the infectious rhythms of the world. Whether
it’s reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B, Demarco has written and produced for
the best of them. Top names like Olivia, Styles P and Sean Paul have
experienced his producing skills, while Bounty Killer and others have put
vocals to his lyrics.
Among his newest projects is a jazzed up cover of the Mighty Diamond¹s hit
single I Need A Roof Over My Head which will certainly appeal to younger
listeners, many of whom will quite likely not even know the original. Just
listen to the intro “This year a steel and block and cement, mi want a
roof over my head”.
SOURCE: www.dancehallreggaeweseh.com
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