The Season Has Begun!

Magnum Kings & Queens of Dancehall has returned for its third exciting season. Kicking off with a high energy launch on Tuesday November 24, 2009 at Indies Pub in New Kingston Magnum Kings & Queens takes it on the road again with auditions being held islandwide- Montego Bay, May Pen, Portmore, Ocho Rios and Kingston throughout December and January.

• Montego Bay - 5^th of December - Wexford Hotel.
• Portmore- 12^th of December,-Aphrodiziac Night club
• May Pen- 19th December -Leiba’s Esso
• Ocho Rios- 9^th of January, 2010- Amnesia
• Kingston- January 16^th - Oakton Entertainment Center

The objective of Magnum Kings & Queens of Dancehall is to discover, encourage and showcase the multifaceted musical talent of aspiring local dancehall artistes. The television show produced by Real Jam TV airs on TVJ for its third season in 2010 incorporates the dancehall fashion, lifestyle and culture.

This year the television show introduces its new host Professor Nuts, the well known and respected artiste who was the first to combine comedy, social commentary and music and is well known for his song ,‘In A Di Bus’. Missing this year will be General Degree whose music career has continued to ramp up and become more demanding of him. Always the heart of the party she is Jamaica’s favourite Fluffy lady, Ms Kitty will continue to bring her candid and direct input into the aspiring artistes and always looking out for the technical aspects of the promising king or queen, Skatta continues on with the show as well.

“My People, My People, My people!”- You will continue to hear your favourite television host Empress as she lights up another Magnum Kings and Queens stage bring her own style of DeeJaing, Singing, Comedy, Dance- she does it all while looking great too!

With Magnum celebrating its 10^th year – 10 long 10 strong - this season promises to have even more energy, more entertainment and more vibes. Gary Dixon, Category Manager for Lascelles Wines & Spirits says, “we are looking forward to bringing a whole new level to the show this year; with 10 Long 10 Strong at the forefront you can expect great surprises, great performances and our guest judges will also be adding new dimensions to the show.” Dixon could barely contain his excitement but was determined to keep the surprises for the new season a surprise. Also on board this year are Lucky Dollar stores.

The best Cure

…Reggae singer inspires at Guaracara concert

Screaming fans hold on to the hand of reggae icon
Jah Cure as he delivered a stellar performance.
Inset (from top): Prophet Benjamin, Jamelody, and
Romain Virgo. Photos: Cori Baynes

The banner of consciousness was flown high in the air and love and unity reigned supreme as thousands of screaming reggae lovers flocked to the southland for one of Jah Cure’s most memorable performances.

Entitled Cure Again, the much anticipated concert was organised by MIB Promotions and held at Guaracara Park on November 7. In addition to Jah Cure, the event also featured the talents of reggae's newest sensation Romain Virgo, as well as local entertainers Ja Melody and Prophet Benjamin. Opening the live entertainment segment of the show, shortly after midnight, was Royal Dainties, who set the mood of the event with a barrage of his conscious hits. Taking the stage immediately afterward was Ja Melody, who crooned to the women in song. He also called on the music fraternity to have more respect for local artistes and provide a live band to accompany them each time they were slated to perform at large concerts. Rounding off the local cast and the first half of the show was Prophet Benjamin, who launched a stinging musical attack on under-aged sexual activity, while at the same time urging young people, especially females, to make education their first priority.

As is customary with all MIB events, special emphasis was placed on security and the large contingent of heavily armed police officers successfully kept violence to a minimum. The momentum flowed seamlessly, as Romain Virgo opened the second half of the show. Virgo, who recently burst onto the Reggae arena, did not disappoint patrons with his 45-minute debut performance, which was packed with his most popular hits, including Cya Sleep, Rain is Falling, Love Doctor, You Murderer and Who Feels It Knows It. But the night firmly belonged to Jah Cure, who, a few hours after being arrested by police officers at the Hyatt hotel, ran onto the Guaracara stage around 3am, singing his hit, I Know Jah Jah Bless Me. When news of his arrest first hit the nation, it was rumoured that the artiste would be a no-show at the event.

But at the first sound of his voice, the massive crowd erupted into cheers and loud applause. He immediately launched into a musical journey, giving the crowd a wide variety of his music. From love songs to songs of spiritual reverence, there was something for each type of Jah Cure fan and all in attendance seemingly lapped up every minute of his performance. Some of the hits on his list included, Run Come Love Me, Searching for a Girl Like You, Cure Again, Sunny Day, King in dis Jungle and Journey. When patrons began filing out of the venue more than 90 minutes after Jah Cure first took the stage, the general opinion was that it was the best of his Trinidad performances since his recent release from prison.

Source: Trinidad Guardian

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM JAH CURE

SoBe Entertainment/Danger Zone Recording artiste Jah Cure has Just returned from performing at the show dubbed ‘It’s Cure Again’ in Trinidad and Tobago. Jah Cure’s trip to Trinidad and Tobago was not without incident however, as an unscrupulous promoter made efforts to prevent him from performing.

On Saturday November 7 while staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain Jah Cure was greeted by police officers along with the unscrupulous promoter who claimed that Jah Cure owed him money. The promoter with whom Jah Cure has worked with in the past was in negotiations with Jah Cure's management for another performance.

In order to settle the matter Jah Cure and members of his management team accompanied the promoter and the police to a nearby police station where the promoter's deposit was returned. The artiste was not arrested as reported by some media outlets and was able to fulfil his confirmed date at Guaracara Park on the same night. Jah Cure performed to over ten thousand people.

Jah Cure wishes to thank all his Trinidad and Tobago fans who came out to support him and guarantees them that despite this incident he will return to the twin island republic. Jah Cure and his management team would also like to commend members of the Trinidad and Tobago police force for their professionalism in dealing with the matter. Jah Cure is now home in Jamaica preparing for his upcoming dates in St Kitts, Barbados and Grenada.