I-Octane rocks St Vincent; conquers St. Petersburg

In his continued quest to musically conquer the globe, reggae and dancehall star, I-Octane added two firsts to his exciting journey last week.

On Thursday, the tiny southern Caribbean nation of St Vincent & The Grenadines came alive to the pulsating beats of reggae and dancehall music when Octane made his rollicking ‘Vincy’ debut, after which he headed straight to St Petersburg, Florida, where he performed on Saturday for the very first time. Such was the impact of the I L.O.V.E. Y.O.U.  singer that even Saints Vincent and Peter, after whom both places are named, must surely have found their celestial dancing feet and rocked to the beats wherever they may be.

It was a very upbeat I-Octane who arrived at the St. Vincent airport near to the capital, Kingstown on Wednesday and proceeded to do a flurry of radio interviews, visiting Boom FM, Xtreme FM and Star FM. Keeping his legions of fans up-to-date on his activities via social media, the internationally acclaimed artiste promised his fans in St Vincent – affectionately called Vincy by the citizens – a night to remember. Well, they took him at his word and flocked to the venue in their thousands.

In front of a sold-out audience, the Digicel and Busta soft drinks ambassador made good on his promise and reeled off a multitude of hits, among them My Story, Once More,  L.O.V.E., Y.O.U., Hurt By Friend, Wine and Jiggle, Buss A Blank,

Lose A Friend, Study You Friend, Never Sell Out,  Gyal Ting, Gal A Gimme Bun, Puff It and Prison Life. Feeding off the high energy from the massives, Octane was at his best as he found his comfort zone and kept the excitement level at its optimum.

As one fan accurately summed it up on Facebook, “Octane prove himself to Vincy tonight… buss a blank!”

Still relishing the Vincy vibes, the in-demand entertainer flew out of the island on Friday and made connections into Tampa, Florida for his fun-filled St Petersburg date, where his eager fans embraced him enthusiastically, as they made a big deal about his debut performance there.

prison life video shoot

“At the end of the day, it’s the fans who are the really important people. They could have been anywhere, but they chose to spend their money and time to be with me,” Octane said, flashing his trademark disarming smile. “I cannot thank them enough…and of course maximum respect to the promoters. They, too are an important factor in this equation. Lots of love to Vincy and St Petersburg. Looking forward to performing at both places in the near future,” he declared.

prison life video shoot

Meanwhile, I-Octane recently concluded the video shoot for the song which has started a much-needed and timely conversation, the exceedingly popular, Prison Life. The video, shot by Bling Blang in Tivoli Gardens on Saturday September 19th and Monday September 21 will be released in a few weeks.  

Rihanna says she would never join Taylor Swift on stage

In a new interview, Barbadian pop sensation Rihanna has candidly stated that she would never join fellow pop and country star Taylor Swift on stage.

But this is not because of any bad blood between Rihanna and the Shake It Off hitmaker, but simply because Rihanna doesn't think she and Taylor Swift go well together.

"I don’t think I would [join Taylor Swift on stage]. I just don’t think it makes sense.

I don’t think our brands are the same. I don’t think our audiences are the same. In my mind she’s a role model, I’m not," said the 27-year-old Pour It Up hit-maker who is known for her care-free attitude and racy outfits.

Taylor Swift however is known as a sweetheart among her young fans who are drawn to her songs which are mostly ballads that speak about relationships.

Swift is now on her 1989 World Tour, and has been making headlines for the number of high profile guests who join her on stage during her performances.

Among those who have joined Swift on stage are Avril Lavigne, Kendall Jenner, Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez and Jamaica's very own Omi who performed cheerleader at one of Swift's concerts.

Mr. Vegas, Red Rat at odds

Dancehall artistes Mr Vegas and Red Rat have been at loggerheads since Sunday, following an incident at the Irie Jam Anniversary Festival in New York.

In a video uploaded to his Facebook timeline, Vegas held nothing back as he spoke about the incident and what may have caused it.

A video, which surfaced online on the weekend, showed Red Rat performing on the event's stage when Mr Vegas, who was the next billed acts, tried to collect the microphone from Red Rat. But Red Rat would have none of that, instead, dismissing Mr Vegas and handing the microphone to his young protégé to perform. When Mr Vegas finally performed, he questioned Red Rat's actions and whether he came to war or work.

Following the incident, Vegas took to social media and posted a picture of the Irie Jam Anniversary Festival flyer with a caption that said, "Irie Jam Flyer yesterday. Look if unu see nuh rat on this."

Years ago

On his MV Corner blog, Mr Vegas added, "It was Mr Vegas time to perform and this artiste was performing in my time slot, so I ran up like he ran up. I waited until he finished his song and I stretched my hands out for the mic and the man box weh mi hand."

When the STAR contacted Mr Vegas, he said Sunday's incident may have been stemming from something that happened years ago.

"It's just a sad reality because he's carrying feelings from the days when his label, Main Street, recorded the song Heads High, which put a dent in his career. It oust him as an artiste and build me so him a carry feelings. He needs to be different and not desperate, just move on," he said.

He added, "Anuh di first time him do supm like dat, but mi neva take it serious until now when mi see it a get outta control. I think he has a serious problem and he may need therapy. He's stuck in the past, he's a big man now with a little rat voice and he needs to find a way for that to work for him now."

Mr Vegas also said he hopes Red Rat can use this attention to get a hit song and make his comeback to the dancehall scene.

However, in a video that surfaced online yesterday, Red Rat said he saw the need to set the record straight. Red Rat added that Sunday's incident linked him not supporting Mr Vegas' relationship with his now ex-girlfriend, Shelly-Ann.

"Dating the girl of your friend is a big no-no in dancehall, and when you realise that I wasn't condoning your actions you make an argument that day and from that we nuh talk to each other," he said.

Shelly-Ann and Mr Vegas were recently involved in a scandal which revealed that she was cheating on the I Am Blessed singer in the presence of their child.

"You are a hypocrite, Mr Vegas," Red Rat said, adding that he accepts that he is a 90s artiste. "Check yourself, you and everybody inna war and yuh always play this victim like everybody want to attack Mr Vegas. You a talk bout me desperate fi attention. Really yute? Remember seh a you bring dis pan social media in the first place, once again trying to break down another artiste."

Source: Jamaica Star

OMI PARTIES LIKE ITS 1989 WITH TAYLOR SWIFT

 TAYLOR SWIFT AND OMI 

BILLBOARD chart-topper OMI's celebrity continues to grow. The Jamaican singer shared a stage with country superstar-turned-pop icon Taylor Swift on Saturday at Petco Park in San Diego, California, the latest leg of her 1989 Tour.

Prefacing his stint, Swift spoke glowingly of the Clifton 'Specialist' Dillion protégé.

"He could be absolutely anywhere in the world tonight, [but] he chose to be in San Diego, California," she proclaimed. The statement was met with screams from 50,000 fans.

OMI entered the stage through a trapdoor wearing his signature sunglasses and hat. His performance of his massive hit Cheerleader elicited the obligatory sing-a-long from the crowd.

Following the concert, Swift tweeted: "Thank you @omimusiconline for singing Cheerleader tonight in San Diego!! You're amazing': #1989toursandiego". Omi replied: "@taylorswift13 it was amazing singing with you tonight! Thanks again for inviting me :) #1989TourSanDiego".

OMI joins an impeccable list of guest performers on the 1989 Tour. Avril Lavigne, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Alanis Morissette, Mary J Blige, and the Dixie Chick's Natalie Maines have made recent appearances.

OMI is currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, for the sixth week, with Cheerleader.

Source: Jamaica observer 

Nicki Minaj Calls Out Messy Miley Cyrus At The VMAs – “Don’t Play With Me, B*tch”

To give you a little refresher, Miley decided to give her unsolicited two cents on Nicki taking MTV to task for not giving her “Anaconda” or “Feeling Myself” videos the recognition she felt they deserved and pointing out the obvious double standard in regards Black women receiving the credit they deserve for their impact on popular culture. In a comment to the New York Times, Miley boldly proclaimed: “If you want to make it about race, there’s a way you could do that. But don’t make it just about yourself.” Miley also accused Nicki of intentionally “starting a pop star war.”

Nicki was quick to address Miley’s comments tonight, reassuring the public that she’d have the last laugh by confronting her right on the VMA stage.  While accepting her award for Best Hip Hip Video, Nicki called out Miley for jumping in the middle of something that had absolutely nothing to do with her.

I-Octane writes a ‘New Chapter’

Kingston, JAMAICA: - As highly-acclaimed singjay, I-Octane, continues to make hugely

successful strides in his career, the time has come for the Lose A Friend artiste to add a significant, new chapter to his remarkable musical journey.

New Chapter, not surprisingly, is the title of his upcoming DJ Frass-produced EP, a six-track offering soaked with the type of reality, conscious lyrics and melodies which are the hallmarks of this versatile artiste. On one level, New Chapter sees I-Octane coming full circle as he gets deep into the mellow groove and haunting, thought-provoking lyrics which characterises early songs like  My Life (DJ Frass) and Mama, singles which are numbered among his biggest hits.

Prison Life, the first song from the EP, is already making mega waves in the industry and receiving much love from radio disc jocks and, just as important, from the ordinary man in the street, whose support is quickly making this song into an anthem. Without a doubt, Prison Life is the quintessential I-Octane singing lyrics with a conviction that makes the listener believe that he is talking about a personal, true-to-life experience.

With his emotions turned all the way up, he pleads with the youth over and over to “try nuh come yah Chargie”. He outlines the horrors of prison – “dutty water, cockroaches pon the concrete” – and highlights the deep regrets of the prisoner who is now wishing “him never pull the trigger”.

According to I-Octane, after seeing the effect of this part of his repertoire on his Reggae Sumfest audience, it left him in a reflective mood and he teamed up with DJ Frass, who had produced his critically claimed 2013 album, My Journey, to begin this all-important New Chapter.  

“This is as real as it gets,” the artiste whose slang is “everything correck” stated soberly. “Prison Life lays the facts bare. No pretty up. It is what it is and it’s not anything nice. This is a song that people can relate to on many levels – whether you were in prison, are in prison,  had a loved one in prison or doing stuff that could send you to prison. Right now, the crime thing is too rampant and if this song can turn around the life of even one person who is headed to prison, then I give thanks,” he added.

SEANIZZLE PRODUCES I-OCTANE'S 'SUH GOOD'

Popular producer/recording artiste Seanizzle is back on the scene, this time with the release of 'Suh Good', by prominent recording artiste I-Octane.

This song is the first single to be released on Seanizzle's upcoming album, Music My Way. Suh Good shows I-Octane creativity with some colourful play on words.

"It is a song that everybody will like and a lot of people can relate to. As usual I-Octane delivered, and I know this song will be well received," said Seanizzle.

The song was released on Friday and is available on all digital outlets and will be circulated by distributing giants Zojack worldwide.

Music My Way is definitely something to look out for as it showcases Seanizzle's versatility as a producer, merging genres but still managing to maintain an authentic reggae and dancehall vibe.

Seanizzle is very upbeat about the release of the single and the upcoming album. He also hints at more productions to come.

"I was inspired to do this album because I always wanted to do a little more than just producing singles and juggling. I want to showcase my talent and creativity as a record producer and also as a musician," he said. "Currently, I am busy in the studio working on this upcoming album and some other new projects."

Seanizzle is best known for his huge success with the One Day rhythm back in 2010. Since then, he has produced numerous hit rhythms.

Source: Jamaica Star