Garrison Hawk gets sweet deal with Coca Cola

Deejay Garrison Hawk was recently chosen to be featured alongside 35 other artistes as part of Coca-Cola's worldwide Coke Rewards campaign and his song, Sweet Music, has been one of the top five most downloaded songs in the promotion.Quite excited at the way things have turned out, the deejay says this success is in no way fleeting. His previous single, Gangsta Roll, had nudged him onto the world stage - the song reached #9 on the Hype TV top 20 chart and the track received radio airplay in Jamaica as well as in Europe, Japan, London, New York, and Miami.

When a club remix of Sweet Music leaked, it hit #11 on the UK pop charts. The song has also been featured in the video game Tropico:Caribbean Sims, which has sold several million copies worldwide.However, prior to all of the acclaim, some of Hawk's tunes wound up in the hands of legendary reggae producers Sly & Robbie as well as the heads of A&R at Warner Brothers UK.

Hawk wanted to take his songs and record them in a new style - one taken from his experiences in growing up in Jamaica and New York and touring Europe and Asia. Warner Bros loved his vision and signed Hawk almost instantly. Within weeks he was recording in Brixton, England with one of London's hottest young producers, Dan Carey, then it was onto Kingston's Anchor Studios with Sly & Robbie and back in Brixton. The result is a truly original hybrid of roots reggae, electronic music, English and American pop and vintage.

Born in Manchester, Hawk and his family moved to New York City and by the time he was 17, he was touring around the East Coast of the US with some major reggae stars. All the while, Hawk's family believed he was going to school and was on a path to a degree and a 9-to-5 job. A funny moment (probably not so funny for Hawk at the time) came when Hawk was performing with Shabba Ranks and Supercat in Connecticut and one of Hawk's uncles just happened to be in thecrowd. Exposed! Hawk's Ma and Grandma laid down the law, but that didn't stop the Hawk from flying.

After several unwise career decisions, he started handling his own affairs and set up Marathon Productions, writing, producing and deejaying under the name Hawkman. Several of the tracks received heavy play on New York's Hot 97 while Fakin' It and Addicted reached #1 on the European charts garnering the attention of world renowned DJs and producers, Roger Sanchez and Armand Van Helden, resulting in a collaboration on their AV8 club records series in 1999.

His breakthrough onto the world scene happened when he linked up with the alternative British artiste Tricky, formerly of the legendary group Massive Attack. As Tricky told Billboard Magazine, "Hawkman is my partner musically." Hawk co-wrote and laid down guest vocals on six tracks of Tricky's Blowback album and toured with Tricky in support of the record, performing in front of audiences of thousands of fans as well as on worldwide television and radio shows.

Source: Out A Road

Spragga Mourns 'Carlye', his eldest son

Spragga Benz has come to the defence of his son’s reputation, calling him a well-mannered ambitious young man with a future in the international film industry.

“Him no different or worse than no other yute. He beat the odds, he had six subjects, I have to give thanls to his teachers, that was the manifestation of all his hard work. I know they must feel proud and sad at the same time,” he mused.

Spragga's son, 17 year-old Camperdown High student Carlton Brown Jr. was shot and killed two Saturdays ago by cops on patrol in downtown Kingston. The cops allege that the youngster engaged them in a shootout after they approached him and another young man riding a bicycle in a dangerous area of the capital city. The cops claim that they recovered a gun from his body. However residents dispute this account, and at least one eyewitness, the other young man on the bicycle has told police investigators that he was told to run by the police and looked back to see Carlton's body on the ground after hearing gunshots.



Spragga said that it was the natural order of things for a father to predecease his son, but now that had been perverted.

“It shoulda be the next way around, but we de ya still,” he said.

He said that his son had a bright future ahead of him, but all that potential will never be realized now.

“Me neva get six subjects, mi never star inna movie at that age, mi never get a cheque fi US$50,000, so he was on a greater track than even me. And then these people appoint themselves, judge, jury and executioner and kill my yute. Somebody needs to be called to account for this if the situation never warranted the use of deadly force,” he said.

Spragga said that Cess Silvera, the director of the cult Jamaican classic, ‘Shottas’ called him and cried openly when he heard of his son’s death.

“The man ah shed tears, he told me that Carlye would have had a role with Queen Latifah in an upcoming movie and him cut up about it…I had to console him,” Spragga confided.

Spragga also said that he planned to request at least three forensic pathologists to observe the post mortem of his son. It is unclear when this post mortem will be performed given the current backlog in the system because of the steamrolling murder rate and overburdened government facilities.

Last night, a ni-nite was held on Hanover Street in downtown Kingston for the slain youngster.


Source: One 876 Ent.

Pandemonium on the Parkway

EASTERN PARKWAY WAS M-A-D
I thought that we were so over this war-war thing and mi cyan believe say mi lef Jamaica weh gunshot sing like Peabo Bryson fi come a farin fi get shot. The parade did a gwaan good, mi go down a the Crown Heights section where it kick off, and mi leave and go on a next avenue and teh Jamaica float sell off. Mi see Elephant Man ah do him ting, mi did buy some Jamaican food and mi de de good good and ah enjoy myself, den all of a sudden, the almshouse just start, shot start sing out like Rihanna, mi see people ah jump barricade like dem a run a hurdle race like Melaine Walker and all these things. We black people are some excellent athletes. Anyhoo, mi just tek weh myself and gully creep outta the excitement. Mi did de the West Indian parade inna 2006 when a man did get shot in the leg and another one get stab. In previous years, the event has been marred by tragedy. In 1999, two children died when they were pinned between floats, and hours later a man was run over by a float and killed. In 2005, a man was shot to death according to media reports. Later, Kriq ah go post the picture dem, yu might see me.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘VADO AT JAMBOREE?
Mi girlfriend call me last night and say she heard a discussion on radio where Mavado was saying that the people dem cut his vibes, and she say the listeners dem start call in and ah deal wid him a way and a cuss him out rotten. Mi no really live here so mi not even know ah which station that and all these things, but from what mi remember, him did end him set suddenly and mi did feel say the organizers dem did cut him time. Mi need fi get a call dem to Bobby Clarke fi find out what really went down why him come offa the stage, alll mi friend dem ah ask when Kartel ah come a New York.

NO REGGAE BOYZ MATCH THIS WEEKEND
Bwoy, mi vex, look how mi coulda stay ah New York some more days because mi did schedule fi fly down on Thursday fi get ready mentally fi the big match versus Mexico and now mi a hear say Burrell pull a fast one and get the Mexicans dem fi get we fi come play dem up inna Mexico City. It coulda work because mi hear mi cousin ah say we ah go get three home match straight but mi still vex, after Stadium nuh mash up enough fi Burrell pull off dem stunt de.


THE PEOPLE WAAN FI KNOW...

Mi friend from Jamaica send me a text ah ask if a true say Mavado ah spar wid Jay Z brother up here and if 50 Cents give him US$20,000 fi go pon shopping spree?

Why was Beenie Man so upset that him go perform before Elephant Man and lef him inna one big hole on the stage?

Which browning mi see ah force up herself on Coco Tea backstage after IRIE JAMBOREE?

How Flippa Maffia ah go so hard? Two songs inna the top 20 of the Jamaica Music Countdown? No sah, gwaan Flippa! Philly ting sell off but mi used to the free ticket ting and mi nah go so far.


Source: One 876 Ent

Zebra to roam free on Saturday, Sept. 6

Dancehall deejay Zebra will be a free man this weekend as he will be released after a seven-and-a-half year incarceration. He became eligible for parole on March 5, 2005, however, his earliest possible date of release is September 6. There will be a big concert and party in Tawes Pen, St. Catherine to mark his return to freedom.

Zebra, whose real name is Garfield Vassell, rose to popularity in the early 1990s and was immediately noticed because of his similarity to veteran DJ Tiger. His hits include ‘Picture Frame’, ‘Hype Type Of Love’, ‘Redder Than Red’, ‘Rupert’ and ‘Dem Unfair Eh-No’.

However, his life began to unravel when his deejay career began to flounder a bit. First, he was arrested for an assault at common-law and charged stemming from an incident involving his then girlfriend, Sherilla Williams. The two reportedly had an argument at their Oakland apartment and Williams was allegedly beaten.

Zebra was later charged with indecent assault following an incident which occurred on October 17, 2000. He reportedly fondled a 15-year-old girl, pushed her onto a bed and tried to have sex with her.

The DJ was charged with the rape of an 18-year-old university student, who was assaulted in bushes near Barry, St. Catherine, in January 2001. According to reports, at about 5:00 a.m., Zebra, while using his car as a route taxi, picked up the student in Half-Way-Tree and proceeded to Spanish Town. Police said he dropped off the other passengers and then took the girl to Barry where he raped her.

Zebra was convicted of one count of rape and admitted on November 19, 2001. He was eventually sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for rape, assault at common-law, indecent assault and breaching a probation order.

Two years ago, he created a minor stir with the release of the single Stocky on the Key One Records label.

Source: One 876 Ent.

“TEFLON” CHARGED FOR ILLEGAL GUN

Twenty-three year old entertainer Shaneil Watson, otherwise called “Teflon” of Jacks River, St. Mary, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition at his home yesterday.
Reports from the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) Liaison Officer for St. Mary are that about 5:30 p.m., about members of a police team carried out an operation at Watson’s house. During a search, a .45 Colt pistol with 7 rounds of ammunition was found.
He was subsequently charged and is scheduled to appear in the Port Maria Resident Magistrate’s Court on Monday, September 1.

The Oracabessa Police are investigating.