DANCEHALL MINDED NEWSLETTER- MAY 2002 Wasssssssup? Thanks for all the supportive emails on the last newsletter, and my apologies for the tardiness on this one. PLEASE let me know if you want out on this newsletter. I don.t want to SPAM anyone, just email me at Jacquie@dancehallminded.com . I will take you off IMMEDIATELY. MUSIC AMBASSADOR: Gearing up for the Ghost album late this summer, .Speechless. single is dropping in next week or two. Ghost.s Celine Dion cover .If Walls Could Talk. is also making noise in JA. Tony Curtis album, .Stronger. about to drop this summer too. Check max@musicambassador.com for more info. GREENSLEEVES: There is no rhythm running Jamaica harder than the Diwali right now. The CD features cuts like Bounty Killer.s .Sufferer., Wayne Wonder.s R&B influenced .No Letting Go., Spragga Benz. .Gonna Fight. and Assassin.s .Ruffest and Tuffest.. Also check out the Harddrive riddim out now with songs like Elephant Man.s .Online., TOK.s .Pengeleng. and Lukie D..s sweet .Hot Like a Fire.. Famine Riddim, the King of King.s follow up to Martial Arts is out now. Also, 25 Years of Greensleeves Records celebration is still happening. June 25th Look for reissues of: Shaggy- .Original Doberman., Keith Hudson .Rasta Communication., Mighty Diamonds .Get Ready., Junior Reid .Boom-Shack-A Lack., Home T/ Cocoa T/ Shabba Ranks .Pirates' Anthem., Ranking Toyan .How The West Was Won Hit me up at Jacquie@dancehallminded.com for more info or check out www.greensleeves.net . PRESSURE SOUNDS: Newest release .PSALMS FOR 1. by Prince Far 1, produced by Lloydie Slim and mastered from original tapes. Playing supplied by the Aggravators and the Upsetters. Far Many of the great Jamaican session players are featured Chinna Smith on Guitar, Horsemouth on Drums Robbie Shakespeare on Bass. Rhythms layed at Bunny Lee's studio and Lee Perry's Black Ark. Look out for the Royals album to drop soon.http://www.pressure.co.uk for more info VP: Sean Paul.s .Dutty Rock. is almost done. He still working on a song with the Neptunes, so expect the album in late summer. Meanwhile the first single, .Gimme The Light. on the Buzz is gaining momentum at radio. Look for video to be shot soon Little X. Can.t stop playing the Sizzla double CD, .The Story Unfolds.. Songs from .Black Woman and Child., .True God. and .Babylon Ah Listen. all the way to .Get to the Point., this CD shows Sizzla.s entire musical spectrum. Its definitely a MUST HAVE. Bounty Killer.s double CD .Ghetto Dictionary. is out now too. Big party set for next week as well as instores in the NYC area. For more info check http://www.vprecords.com. Reggae Gold record review is below. VIRGIN: Beenie Man promo 12 . is out with the 2 Neptunes tracks, including .Fresh From Yard. with Little Kim, the other with Sean Paul and Lady Saw. Beenie.s second album on Virgin, Tropical Storm is set to release beginning of September. Rumour has it that hes been working with Murder Inc..s Irv Gotti and guest vocals with Janet Jackson on the track .Feel It Boy. (I.m gonna bite my tongue, but I can already see the controversy on that one). BIG YARD: Rayvon is shooting video for .My Bad. May 31st in LA. The Big Yard website is launching this week. Be sure to check it out at http://www.bigyardmusic.com . Shaggy is currently working on his new album, looking to drop in Fall. Saw him recently at Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica working on some tracks with producer Sting International. JAMDOWN: This Double album features three riddims :Triumph Riddim, Good Vibes Riddim, Greenbay Riddim. Reggae Xplosion 2002 is also out. Check http://www.jamdown.com for more info. NEWS: STONE LOVE: A very impressive 30th Anniversary of Stone Love .The Champion Sound. kicks off next month going into next year. Details to come. Stay tuned FULLY LOADED: Mark your calendars and come down to Kingston this summer for Fully Loaded, Ft Clarence Beach July 28th. This event gets the Dancehall Minded award for event of the year. Line up to be announced soon. FADER MAGAZINE: Please pick up the newest issue of the Fader Magazine with a emphasis on Jamaica. There are articles on the origin of the 45, Don One, Sound Systems (I wrote that article), Bounty Killer, the making of the movies Rockers, and even garage diva, Ms. Dynamite. The magazine looks AMAZING and definitely worth picking up. Oh, and speaking of Garage, if you know of the Heartless Crew from the UK, they are working on album for EastWest in UK. Currently they are in the studio with Jamaican producers Dave Kelly and Jeremy Harding. Look out for them! KUBERA: New magazine out of Atlanta to drop soon called Kubera mag. For more info, please check out http://www.kuberamag.com premiering August. MARTINS INTERCULTURAL REGGAE AWARDS: Well they have been around 21 years and most of you guys probably never heard of them, so I.m here to tell you..they are a company out of Chicago who keep them every year and this year they tried JA.in Ocho Rios. Despite poor turnout, they had some cool performances by Bushman, Warrior King, and TOK. Maybe they should keep them in Kingston next year so artists don.t have to travel so far and during a weekday when the big artists (who usually get PAID to perform abroad during weekends) would be more likely available to donate their support . MOST SLEPT ON TUNE: The Dot Com riddim.s RED SQUARE feat Spragga Benz, Sugar Slick, Assassin and more) called .MORE GIRLS.. Man, this is one song the major reggae companies have SLEPT ON. WLIB is giving it a lot of love though and so is the Saturday night jock on the Graveyard shift at Fame who brought it back 4 times last week. Can.t stop playing this song. Can someone please put it on a 12. and send it to radio, I PROMISE it will do better than most of the stuff out there now. FEATURED REVIEW: REGGAE GOLD 10 Years of Reggae Gold, and definitely VP.s biggest seller just arrived in the mail complete with a promo bandana and complimentary Soca Gold CD, and an invite to a party that was blessed with performances by TOK, Tanto Metro/Devonte, Sean Paul, and Mr. Easy (Mr. Easy clearly took the show for the night). This comp has Tanto and Devonte.s .Give It To Her., perhaps the biggest radio single VP has ever groomed (yet could have been much bigger if they only did a video for it--BIG BIG BIG congrats on the z-100 add ). Also big hits are .Gimme the Light. by Sean Paul on the Buzz and T.O.K..s .Money to Burn. on the Buy Out. Can.t leave out Baby Cham.s .Middle Fingers. on the Return as well as Beres Hammond.s sweet .Come Down Father.. Then there are the obscure songs like Terry Linen.s cover of R.Kellys .The Worlds Greatest., (I definitely prefer Elephant.s Stone Love version, at LEAST its funny) and Shabba.s .Pretty Please.. This song sounds good (hell, when is a Tony Kelly production ever wack?) But, check the lyrics.HELLO, since when does the great Shabba Ranks have to resort to beg gal pu$$#? And what has this world come to when Sanchez is singing about .Jiggas. and .We don.t want no chi chi man bo. yah?. If this what we can expect in 2002 from Sanchez, I think I.ll continue to buy the latest recycled .Greatest Hits. Sanchez album that VP recompiles every 2 years. But overall, when you consider you get the big radio tunes plus JA hits like Warrior King.s .Pagans. and the Mr. G song on the .Nine Night., and all of the rest of the aforementioned tunes, this album is a solid compilation. FEATURED TOUR: ONE LOVE FESTIVAL The Agency Group has put together a reggae tour for the summer featuring greats TOOTS & THE MAYTALS, LUCIANO, ISRAEL VIBRATION (West Coast only), TONY REBEL (Midwest and East Coast only), TANTO METRO & DEVONTE and DEAN FRASER. Acting as house .soundsystem. (DJ) will be the legendary STONE LOVE. This line-up brings together the best in all genres of Reggae, including: Roots, Dancehall, conscious reggae and urban pop. Certain dates will also feature guest appearances by other Reggae and Calypso artists, including: Morgan Heritage in Cleveland, Sparrow in Columbia, MD and Chaka Demus & Pliers in Atlanta. Sean Paul IS NOT on this tour, although many promoters still advertise him. Contact peter.s@theagencygroup.com for more info. Another tour to look out for is MORGAN HERTIAGE on the WARPED TOUR. ONE LOVE TOUR ITINERARY: May 24 - San Francisco - The Warfield May 25 . San Diego . San Diego State May 26 . Los Angeles . The Greek Amp. May 27 . Santa Barbara . SB Bowl May 29 . Albuquerque . Sunshine Theater May 30 . Denver . The Fillmore May 31 . Kansas City . City Market June 1 . Cincinnati . Bogart.s June 2 . Chicago . House of Blues June 3 . Detroit . Majestic Theater June 4 . Cleveland . Tower City Amp. June 5 . Boston - Avalon June 6 . NYC . Hammerstein Ballroom June 7 . Philadelphia . Electric Factory June 8 . Newark, NJ . Symphony Hall June 9 . Columbia, MD . Merriweather Post June 11 . Norfolk . Norva Theater June 12 . Winston Salem, NC . Ziggys June 13 . Myrtle Beach, SC . House of Blues June 14 . Orlando . House of Blues June 16 . Atlanta . Masquerade Music Park