Lil Wayne used his phone privileges to call up Hot 97s Funkmaster Flex from Rikers Island on Tuesday (Aug. 3). Lil Tunechi, whos due to be released from jail in November, spoke about all the love hes received from his fans, the first two rappers he wants to record with once he leaves jail, receiving Eminems support, how often he calls Drake and Nicki Minaj, and which Young Money member he speaks with every day. He also reflected on how his time behind bars will change him.
I definitely [will] move more carefully. I definitely take heed to my situation and my status, he said. Everybody says that youre here for a reason, so I promise you Flex I try to find out that reason every day. I search for that reason. I think when I get out, thatll be the only time I know the answer.
Listen in on their 10-minute conversation below.
Several dons who were jailed in the recent state of emergency have ordered that residents now seek the help of the police in settling conflicts, THE STAR has learnt.
This development is an about-turn, as previous altercations would have been brought to the attention of the area leader, who would then make judgement.
During the recent state of emergency imposed on Kingston and St Andrew, more than 30 men, including area leaders and gang members, were urged to turn themselves in to the police. The majority of those who were identified acted in accordance with the call and were taken into custody.
Since returning to their respective communities, some of them have imposed orders that residents should contact the police and not them, whenever there is the need for a difference to be settled. This is a means of keeping below the radar.
THE STAR first heard of the 'order' last week during a visit to a volatile community in central Kingston. Subsequent checks in three other areas revealed the same situation.
The other communities are in east Kingston and St Andrew.
"From di boss come from jail, di man seh him nuh inna no foolishness ... Di man set orders seh di people dem must go to di police when dem have dem differences fi sort out ... Di man seh him nuh want him name a call up inna no foolishness," one thug from the community told THE STAR.
conflicts
In an east Kingston community, while the reputed area leader was said to be away on business, thugs in his circles spoke of a similar case.
According to them, their don thinks it is now best for him to look out for himself and not get involved in altercations involving other people.
They said that since returning to the community, from jail, he has expressed the belief that the settling of conflicts was one way in which he can attract unwanted attention to himself.
"Di don a pree say people a carry back him name to the police 'cause probably him people could a have him up from one a dem case deh ... Yu find more time di don settle a case, one person ago happy while the other ago vex or end up hurt, or someting like dat, so yu find seh feelings always a carry and dem people deh will carry man name to di police," a close friend of the area leader explained.
When contacted, police sources say they are yet to pick up on the happening but were quick to boast about the effects of good policing.
"This is what a little pressure has done ... Stuff like this will happen when the police are relentless in their fight against crime...This is something for others to follow and we hope they will," an inspector from the Area Four police said when asked about the situation.
Meanwhile, there are mixed feelings among residents of these communities.
Some believe the order can help the community as far as relationships with the police goes, while others say they see nothing good coming out of working with 'corrupt' cops.For the second consecutive year, a Jamaican man is down to compete for the title of the 2010 Gay Caribbean/USA Pageant.
Last year's representative from the island, Mimi Mancini, a Jamaican originally from the parish of St Ann, walked away with the coveted title. So this year, Jamaica's entrant, Liyana Grey, who was born in the United States, but has Jamaican parentage has entered the competition.
The contest is open to men who dress like women, or those who are completely transgendered. It features contestants with Caribbean roots, parading in swimwear, evening wear as well as doing talent pieces.
A release from the organisers stated that the contestants will "...be featured in "Wow Wear" which consists of over the top attire designed by Caribbean, New York-based designers like Jennefer Darmanie and Gennell Lewis.
encouraging tolerance
The show will officially be launched in New York on July 18. The contestants, who hail from seven different Caribbean islands, will make their first public appearance then.
This year's competition will feature Ven Detta St Mykael of Barbados, Sassy Sylvia representing St Kitts, Victoria of Guyana, Kelis representing the Dominican Republic, St Lucia's Lady Blu, Liyana Grey of Jamaica and Jennifer Banks representing Trinidad and Tobago.
The show's organiser, Hemish Gervis, said that as far as he knows there was no backlash from Jamaicans after a winner was chosen from here last year. He said the competition is aimed at encouraging tolerance of the gay lifestyle.
About the possibility of any backlash this year, Jamaica's representative said, "I can't anticipate everything. I'm not really sure. I'm hoping for the best and I'm not thinking about the negative that is associated with being out and gay."
Grey's parents are from Kingston and are very supportive of the decision to enter the contest.
What do you think about Lauryns performance?
The production also included a song performed & written by Camar Doyles aka Flavaunit entitled Come On, Come, On, back in 2001. Brooke and Sobe used the song, but changed it up, adding her own lyrics, and changing the name of the song to Trust Me. Again, Brooke and Sobe said theyd pay and credit Jam 2 Productions, which to this day has not been forthcoming.
Jam 2 Productions became alerted when the song Trust Me was deleted from their MySpace account claiming a Copyright Infringement. Jam 2 Productions immediately contacted their lawyer Jon Jekielek in New York who immediately issued 2 letters to SoBe Entertainment which both returned unanswered. Mr. Jekeilek was then instructed to take full action and on Monday August 2, 2010, a formal lawsuit was issued in court.
The claim is at a sum of $200,000 USD including punitive damages for failure to pay and credit Jam 2 Productions on the musical composition, melody & lyrics of the song Trust Me which is performed by Brooke Hogan on the album The Redemption.
Another Sobe artist, Trevor "Baby G" James, is allegedly credited with producing "Trust Me."Updates on this matter will be released as things progress.
For the third stop of our Summer Heritage Tour, the TEENage team travelled to St Mary to visit the Rio Nuevo Battle Site. It was on these grounds that the English won the final battle for control over Jamaica against the Spanish in 1658. The battle and the events that followed it are filled with enough important history that the site warrants a visit from anyone who lives in the area or happens to be passing through.
Though long considered a central part of Jamaican history, the Rio Nuevo Battle Site was only opened three years ago, and the onsite museum was built in August of 2009. When we first arrived we were greeted by our tour guide, Eldon. Our first stop was the museum which was filled with artefacts from Taino society, like the bones of sacrificed animals, as well as pieces of Spanish, English, and Maroon history.
Our tour guide Eldon explained to us the story of how the English took control of the island in this crucial battle. While historical accounts tend to be boring, this one proved quite interesting because of the unusual manner in which the battle unfolded. When the English arrived in Seville they had already taken over St Jago de la Vega, now known as Spanish Town, and Port Royal.
The lack of Spanish troops meant that the Spanish Governor, Arnaldo de Yssasi, had to hire reinforcements from Hispanola, Mexico, and other Caribbean islands. The young Spanish troops were no match for the English and were quickly defeated. As they were being routed, several of these soldiers jumped from the cliffs into the ocean, a spot you can visit today.
After the museum we saw a stockade erected to commemorate Edward D'oyley, the first English Governor of Jamaica, for capturing the fort as well as two genuine cannons from the 1600s. When we were done seeing everything at the site of the former fort, we headed down to the beach to see first-hand the places used by the English to invade Rio Nuevo.
To the eastern portion of the coast, the English landed in order to sneak through the forest and arrive behind the fort. We also saw the same fording that they had to traverse to reach the Spaniards. Afterwards we visited the site of the deaths of those who took their own lives so they wouldn't be taken prisoner by the English.
The third stop on our Heritage Tour has a history closely linked to our second stop, Seville Great House, because the same family owned all of the land.
TEENage highly recommends that if you are in the area you stop at both of these sites to learn about the interesting history of Jamaica's first capital.
After all, if events had turned out differently at the Battle of Rio Nuevo, we would all be speaking Spanish.
RIVAL deejays, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man shared a rare moment of unity on stage together at the Guinness Summer Eclipse at The Jungle in Negril on Sunday night.
Just before ending his set, Bounty Killer called up his musical foe and the Doctor obliged.
Screams erupted from thousands of fans in the venue when Beenie approached the stage and briefly embraced Bounty. The two then went tune-for-tune dating back to Beenies Memories and Bountys War.
This was a truly great moment, said Guinness brand manager Gary Dixon. Two of dancehalls most enduring and significant artistes sharing a rare moment together onstage.
Expect a similar celebration of greatness in the coming months, added Dixon.
Also performing were Wayne Marshall, Agent Sasco, Ikaya, Chi Ching Ching and the Big Ship family of Chino, Laden, Bramma and Di Genius.
The Guinness Summer Eclipse was a twonight event of superb performances featuring dancehalls hottest artistes. On Saturday night, IOctane, Aidonia, Konshens, G-Whizz and Elephant Man performed.
RAKVERE, Estonia (AP):
Returning from a four-year doping ban, Justin Gatlin says he's running for his fans, friends and infant son.
The 28-year-old American will be running in the 100 metres today at a small track meet in Estonia and said he expects to compete in the Olympics in two years' time.
"I think of myself as a championship athlete," Gatlin said Monday. "I can't wait for London 2012.
Asked whether he would be able to run under 10 seconds, Gatlin would only say he is "ready to be fast."
"I don't only run for myself. I run for my family, my fans and my friends. I want to go out there and be able to show my son that I'm a good athlete."
Gatlin won gold in the 100 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics and in the 100 metres and 200 metres at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki. He tested positive in April 2006 for excessive testosterone.
Gatlin claims he doesn't know how a banned substance got into his system.
"I went through all the phases: depression, anger," Gatlin said. "Right now, I'm just really more calm."
He was formerly coached by Trevor Graham, who was given a lifetime ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for his role in helping athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs. Graham also coached dopers Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.
Gatlin is now training under speed technician Loren Seagrave, who once worked with former world record-holder Donovan Bailey. Seagrave said Gatlin's technique in the race will be more important than his time.
Gatlin has been trying to trim muscle that he put on in an attempt to play American football, and said Seagrave has put him on a diet.GYPTIAN has usurped deejays Vybz Kartel, Shaggy and Sean Paul to become the most popular dancehall artiste in North America and third popular globally based on online searches, amidst the prerelease of his charting album.
He is more popular than rivals in the US and Canada (the worlds largest music market) according to data from search engine Google analysed by the Observer. Over the last 30 days, every 100 searches for Gyptian saw a corresponding 67 for Shaggy and five for Sean Paul, zero for Kartel in the US.
Globally, however, Gyptian has half the online popularity of Sean Paul and Shaggy who are still the most popular deejays. That is not bad for Gyptian, as last June he did not even register on Google Trends. Gyptians global rise to third place occurred in May and June when he beat Kartel and Matisyahu respectively. It indicates that more persons worldwide are searching for news and music from Gyptian than ever.
His hit single Hold Yuh is currently topping five territories including US, UK, France, Canada and Belgium based on iTunes Reggae Songs chart up to Saturday. His single is also charting at number four on Billboards Heatseekers singles chart. Whilst his new album on VP Records debuted at number two on Billboards Reggae Albums chart this week (despite his albums official release in August).
Not since 2003 has a localbased reggae artiste had that level of chart success noted Billboard about Gyptian. That chart success has fuelled his online popularity which is reflected in the jump in his search traffic.
Specifically, during the last 30 days, every 100 global searches for Gyptian saw a corresponding 92 searches for Kartel and 80 searches for Matisyahu. Gyptian is also currently tied with Damian Marley who recently released an album with rap legend Nas.
The single Hold Yuh has resurrected his career from his debut hit Serious Times some five years ago. Since then he has racked up a handful of minor hits including Mama Dont Cry, I Can Feel Your Pain and Beautiful Lady. Hold Yuh however, is his first global hit which has transcended the Jamaican Diaspora into the mainstream music markets. In fact, he is one of the few Jamaican dancehall artistes who still holds a valid US visa, which has allowed him to support his chart success with a relatively big US tour which started in July.
Gyptian was raised in rural St Andrew by his Christian mother and Rastafarian father. He often wrapped shirts around his head in the style of an Egyptian pharaoh, which inspired his moniker. Gyptian honed his talent by singing at his mothers Sunday morning church services and at the Saturday night dances promoted by his father who owned the Sugar Stone sound system.
Google Trends analyses a portion of Google web searches to compute the quantity of searches for terms relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. Online search volume has significance as it reflects, in part, the fluctuations in online popularity of an artiste. The most popular Jamaican entertainers have the most online traffic; these are Bob Marley, Sean Paul and Shaggy.
The highly anticipated Smirnoff Dream Weekend got off to a jumping start last Friday as thousands converged on the bustling town of Negril in Westmoreland. The first event of the series, Smirnoff Flavours, was welcomed by eager partygoers and hailed as a success by promoters, the Dream Elite.
The venue was decked out in colours representing each flavour of Smirnoff Vodka, virtually transforming Chances Negril into a kaleidoscope of colour. The preferred mixes of the night were Smirnoff Stinger, the Apple Bomb and Red Passion.
Coppershot got things going as patrons trickled in from early afternoon as selectors dropped songs like Vybz Kartel's Touch me nuh and DJ Khaled's All I do is win. ZJ Liquid wasted no time. He hit the controls in fighting mode as he unleashed songs like Gyptian's Hold Yuh, Mavado's Mad Ova and Bounty and Ele's This is how we do it.
Marsha Lumley, brand manager Smirnoff, said she was quite pleased with the event. "Smirnoff Flavours was a hit. Our consumers and patrons had a great time and we're elated about that." Lumley said.
Next up was Twisted Spiritz which promised to a "spiritzed" time, and it delivered. Held at the Rainforest, the highlights at the event were the Smirnoff Be There moment dubbed 'the blackout/glow' and pounding beats from Coppershot, Crazy Neil and Johnny Kool kept the crowd moving.
Smirnoff Dream Weekend tickets were sold out by Monday and specially issued, limited, tickets valued at $12,000 went on sale at the redemption centre at Margaritaville Negril on Friday at noon and were sold out in less than an hour.
PJ Wright of the Dream Team said he was thrilled with the response and appreciative of the support of the partygoers.
NEW YORK, USA Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, the former Tivoli Gardens strongman who is facing drugs and weapons charges after being extradited here, is yet to settle the matter of his legal representation, despite the expiry of a 30-day period allowed by a New York Court to do so.
It was not clear why the matter has not been settled, but Coke's court-appointed attorney, Russell Neufeld told the Observer that "everything remains the same at this point".
While it was felt in legal circles here that Coke could face difficulties convincing US authorities that money to be used in his defence was not tainted, there were reports that he may not be required to do so.
Coke's appointed attorney, meanwhile, said the accused drug lord, could secure legal representation at any time, indicating that the 30-day period was offered at the request of attorneys who had shown an interest in representing the accused.
A three-man team of attorneys from New York and Florida have held meetings with Coke on the representation matter.
In the meantime, prosecutors continue to provide more documents on indictment of Coke on drugs and gun trafficking charges.
Neufeld has acknowledged receipt of the additional evidence.
Coke, who faces possible life imprisonment on some of the charges was extradited here in June after waiving his rights to a hearing in Jamaica. He was captured by the Jamaican police along the Mandela Highway in St Catherine after eluding the security forces for a month.
He had been on the run after an incursion into his Tivoli Gardens stronghold by the security forces on May 24.
The Jamaican Government had sought to block the extradition request for nine months, on grounds that information used to indict Coke was illegally obtained.
Coke is to return to Court on September 7.
He now has to deal with the effects his abusive actions have had on his career, as his music has been banned on radio stations in Barbados, Rihanna's island home, as well as other radio stations globally.
His Doublemint gum commercial has also been suspended pending the outcome of the charges. The Body By Milk campaign has also pulled his "Got Milk" advertisement.
Rihanna has had to cancel two concert performances in Indonesia and Malaysia scheduled for February 12 and 13 respectively as she is sporting bruises, a black eye and a split lip.
Scores of Russians have died in the past few weeks amid a heatwave that shows no sign of breaking.
Many of the dead have drowned after taking a swim - often after having drunk too much vodka.
For the past two weeks temperatures across much of western Russia have soared past 35C, in the hottest and longest heatwave in decades.
Russia is also suffering what is thought to be the worst drought in more than 100 years.
There has been virtually no rain since winter and crops are shrivelling.
"We've had 10mm of rain, scorching hot temperatures over 35C, which have just burnt all the crops up," says Colin Hinchley, a Briton who now farms in Penza near the Volga river, in southern Russia.
"Winter wheat crops are 50% of the yield, and spring crops, in some cases, are going to be virtually none."
A state of emergency has been imposed in 16 Russian regions, and the government is increasing loans to try to help farmers avoid bankruptcy.
"It's a major calamity, the situation is extremely serious," said Viktor Zubkov, the first deputy prime minister responsible for agriculture.
Schoolchildren drownIn the centre of Moscow, teams of tanker trucks roam the streets spraying water to try to stop the asphalt from melting.
At lakes and rivers around Moscow groups of revellers can be seen knocking back vodka and then plunging into the water.
The result is predictable - 233 people have drowned in the last week alone.
In one incident six schoolchildren drowned, because the summer camp employees looking after them were drunk.
The heatwave is expected to last another week. By then Moscow may well have broken through its highest ever temperature of 36.6C.
THE palatial upper St Andrew home of deposed Tivoli Gardens don, Christopher Dudus Coke was burgled this week. Police remain tight-lipped about the incident but confirmed that several appliances and items of clothing were stolen.
Quick action by the St Andrew North Police resulted in the recovery of several of the stolen items.
We recovered some of the stuff including three flat screen televisions, other appliances and clothes. We will not say where the goods were recovered in order to protect the residents of that community, a senior cop in the division told the Observer.
Cokes three-storey house is located in the upscale community of Plantation Heights.
The cops say they have increased their presence in the area after they received information that several thugs loyal to Coke were seen there.
PPL DEM SEH DI EXTRADITION LIST DEH PAN DI SED INTANET YAH... YES SAH NEW LIST DEH BOUT DI PLACE AND MI NEEDZ IT N WANTS IT UP BADLYYYYYYY...DEM SEH POLITICIAN, POLICE AND SOME UPTOWN BUSINESS MAN DEM PANNAEEEEEEEEEEE JAMAIACA TUN UPSIDE DUNG RITE YAH NOW...
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ps.... HEF A U OWN DI MAN RELEASE HIM HEADDDD