ENTERTAINMENT NEWS-October 2001

ST. KITTS MUSIC FESTIVAL PROMOTER TO SUE 112

Officials for the St. Kitts Music Festival are planning to take legal action against Bad Boy recording act 112, for their non-performance on the June 21, 2001 event. Information gathered from sources close to the event allege that 112 was booked for the event along with other R&B acts as well as dancehall acts Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas, but the organizers were informed the day of the event that 112 would not be appearing due to the illness of one of the group’s members. However, that same weekend, it is alleged that 112 performed and made appearances on other events in the United States including Janet Jackson’s "All For You" tour.

A spokesperson for the St. Kitts Music Festival claimed that US artistes are frequently uncooperative when it comes to performing on the event. In the case of 112, representatives for the group demanded full payment prior to the group leaving the United States. At the last minute, the group cancelled and to date have not returned the funds that were disbursed.

A source close to the situation said "We have given their [112] representatives some time now to respond or to return our money, but to date this has not been forthcoming. We have no choice but to go public with this and inform any potential promoter who might be looking at working with this group."

MR. LEX AND COBRA RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES

Deejays Mr. Lex and Mad Cobra have sorted out their differences and have decided to put an end to the drama, which has gotten out of proportion in recent months. We applaud this effort and we can only wish that other entertainers who are currently in "cass cass" and "passa passa" will come to their senses and realize that the music is much bigger than overzealous egos and disgusting behaviour.

When I spoke to Mr. Lex earlier this week, he said that both he and Cobra had arranged to meet at a particular recording studio, and they sorted out their problems then and there. "Everything is okay now," he said.

Mr. Lex, best known for songs including "Cook," "Divine Reasoning," "Get With It," "Full Hundred" and "Monkeys Come Out," is currently putting together the finishing touches to his upcoming album. The VP Records disc is slated to be released in November and will feature the production work from notables including Steely and Cleevie, Tony Kelly, Sly & Robbie, Delroy Foster, and Chris "Goldfinger" Cartel among others. The still-untitled disc will be comprised of 18 tracks. "This album is being aimed at the international market. I plan to follow in the footsteps of Shabba Ranks who is the King of Dancehall and Shaggy who is the multi-platinum seller," said Mr. Lex

Fans of the charismatic deejay will be given the opportunity to give his album a name, as they can email him at lexxusUS27007@aol.com. From the names submitted, one winner will be chosen. "If it’s a female fan who wins, then she will win a date with me and maybe go to dinner. If it’s a male fan who wins, then he gets free passes to any show that I am performing on as well as the opportunity to hang with Mr. Lex for the day at a recording studio," the deejay added.

Although currently in negotiations with a number of overseas acts to finalize collaborations for the album, Mr. Lex revealed that Beres Hammond, the Gang Bang Crew, Action K, Jennifer Phillips (the sister of Chaka Khan) and others will be featured on his upcoming album.

REGINA BEAVERS IS NEW MISS JAMAICA WORLD

17-year-old Regina Beavers wearing the sash Miss Matrix Group of Companies, walked away as the new queen, at the coronation of the Miss Jamaica World Beauty Pageant, on Saturday Sept. 1, held at the Ballroom of the Hilton, Kingston Hotel. Beavers who won from a field of 21 contestants, won the sectional prize for Most Congenial.

Finishing in 2nd place was Annaleise Ulett, a strong crowd favourite. She won the inaugural Miss Jamaica World Beauty With a Purpose Award as well as the sectional prize for Best Smile. 19-year-old former Miss Teen Jamaica, Gail Davis, finished 3rd. She was also the winner of the inaugural Miss Jamaica World Talent Trophy. Finishing the Top 5 were Stacey Alveranga and Michelle McNaught. Nordia Roche who wore the sash Miss Pick 3, won the inaugural Miss Jamaica World Model title.

The County of Surrey was awarded as the Top County title as 3 of its representatives finished in the Top 10 of the competition.

Among the performers at the coronation show were cabaret singer Judy Emmanuel, Cecil Cooper and Pauline Forrest Watson. The Xymaca Dancers also entertained.

FAME FM personality Paula Ann Porter did a good job as emcee for the event. Her co-emcee former Miss World, Lisa Hanna failed to live up to expectations. For the most part, she was boring and made too many errors in her presentation.

For photos of the Miss Jamaica World finalists, go to their website at www.missjamaica.com.jm

JAHMEL BACK FROM US TOUR

Penthouse recording artiste, lovers’ rock crooner Jahmel is back in the island after completing a 3-week tour of the United States with his Dem Man Deh Band. "The tour was a nice vibe. The people who came out for the shows were really feeling our music. It was a good experience. We went to different places in Chicago and New York. Some of the events that we also did included the ‘Rock the River’ and the ‘Carifesta’ events," Jahmel said.

Having completed work on a music video for his single "The Prayer," the singer/musician/songwriter is putting together the finishing touches on his upcoming album for Penthouse. Donovan Germaine produced most of the 20-odd tracks, which will comprise the disc. The album will feature mainly lovers’ rock offerings as well hip-hop infused songs.

PETER LLOYD COMPLETES NEW SINGLE, READIES FOR NEW ALBUM

Actor/broadcaster/singer Peter Lloyd has a new single that looks like it could make some noise later this year leading into the new year. The single "Walk Through Fire" which he co-wrote with Dennis Howard and Mikey Bennett, will be released in the next few weeks on 7 inch and CD single formats. A source close to the project said its one of the best songs that Peter has done in recent times. The track will be the lead-off single for his upcoming album of the same name.

Produced by Howard and vocal arrangement by Bennett, "Walk Through Fire" has the potential to rock the airwaves similarly to other lovers’ rock tracks which have found favour at radio in recent times.

Progression Posse, Paul "Computer Paul" Henton, Bobby Digital, Dean Fraser and Mikey Bennett are among those who will be featured on Peter’s upcoming album.

LISA STANSFIELD HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT

British soul singer Lisa Stansfield has a new album out entitled "Face Up." Actually, the album is only released in the UK. There is no scheduled release date for North America at present. The album which is on Arista/BMG UK, contains 14 tracks. It is her follow up album to the 1997 effort "Lisa Stansfield".

Stansfield shot to fame in 1990 and became a worldwide sensation with her debut album "Affection". Songs like "Affection," "You Can’t Deny It," "This is the Right Time" and the international smash "Been Around the World" (which became the first song by a white artiste to reach the #1 spot on Billboard’s R&B Singles Chart), earned her a large following. She later scored with songs such as "All Woman," "Change" and "A Little More Love."

Her remake of Barry White’s "Never Never Gonna Give You Up" from her last album, topped the Billboard Dance charts. Check out Lisa’s website at www.lisa-stansfield.com

ILEY DREAD RELEASES NEW VIDEO

There is a brand new music video on Jamaican television. Charismatic roots singer Colin Levy a.k.a. "Iley Issachar Dread" has stepped in front of the cameras along with Lady Saw and developed a very attractive new video for the single "Don’t Look Back." The single which features dancehall’s most celebrated female artiste of all times Lady Saw, is taken from Iley’s latest album "A Friend For Life." The single has been remixed by Jet Star Records in London and has been creating a big impression in record stores all over. "We expect that this video and the single will continue to swing the album. We spent a lot of time working on these projects and we’re hoping for the best in terms of public response," he said.

The video has been released in Jamaica and is scheduled for release in Europe and North America in November. Meanwhile, Iley Dread has been very active touring the world. He has just returned from Ethiopia where he was a special guest of the Rastafarian community in their annual repatriation celebration. He is also spending time in the studio recording songs for his next album.

"My visit to Africa has greatly enhanced my spirituality and I am looking forward to undertaking several tours there. Ethiopia is the greatest place on earth. It is like traveling through the bible because you come across some of the place names that you read of in the bible and there is a great spiritual vibe. The people there, especially the youth, are totally into reggae music and we need to look to the Motherland and take more of the music into Ethiopia," he said.

Iley Dread is preparing for the Kings of Kings Family tour of the United States scheduled to start on October 6. The tour will also feature Bushman, Chrisinti, Norris Man and Admiral Tibet.

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Kevin Jackson is an entertainment writer and publicist from Kingston, Jamaica. He is a freelance writer for the Jamaica Observer and Excess publications.