O'Neil Duncan - What We Need Is Love

Ce'Cile improves International stock, while keeping her 'street cred'

Few Jamaican artistes have been able to consistently churn out relevant material locally, maintaining a large and loyal fan base, while at the same time maintaining international appeal. Ce'Cile is one. Known as the 'Bad Gyal' of Jamaican music, Ce'Cile is fresh and clean with a new album called Jamaicanization, new videos and new dancehall tracks which will be essential to any popular DJ's playlist.

Over the past months, the artiste has maintained her presence locally with dancehall tracks such as Woot Woot (Smoking rhythm), Pree Mi (Blaze Fia rhythm) and, more recently, Tip Me (Green Faces rhythm). On the reggae side, she has released heavy hitters like When You're Gone (Cardiac Bass rhythm), Rise Up (Message rhythm) and Missing You (Monte Carlo rhythm). These are just some examples of the way Ce'Cile has managed to straddle both the reggae and dancehall genres.

The artiste has just recently premiered the video for When You're Gone/Missing You.

Not only has Ce'Cile been dominating the local airwaves with some hot tracks, but she has also been present on the local stage, being a crowd puller at shows such as Reggae Sumfest 2011, LIME Fashion Nite Out, LIME 'Skool Aid', and several other locals shows. However, Ce'Cile's presence is always mostly felt on the international stage.

Ce'Cile has had a constant presence in Europe and the Caribbean throughout her career, and this year has been no different. The artiste is a regular on the stage and in the clubs in countries such as Germany, France, Netherlands, Amsterdam, French Guiana, and Africa.

European tour

Ce'Cile kicked off the 'Jamaicanization European Tour' with performances at a host of festivals, including Summer Jam (Koln Germany), Juicy Beats Festival (Dortmund, Germany) Berlin Reggae Fest (YAMM Berlin, Germany) Fest in the Park (Belgium) and Amsterdam Reggae Fest (Amsterdam). Ce'Cile also made stops in French Guiana and Belize, and will continue with stops in places such as Guyana, St Kitts and St Maarten in the coming weeks.

Ce'Cile is most popular in Germany and has been one of the most dominant Jamaican artistes on the German charts for several years, and the only Jamaican female artiste on said charts.

She is nominated for Africa's Channel O awards in the category of Most Gifted Raggae Dancehall Music Video for She Say Dat (remix), a collaboration done with Kenyan artiste Wyre.

Ce'Cile shot the video with Wyre while in Kenya in March of this year.

The artiste has released Jamaicanization on iTunes and via mobile APPs. The album, which was released August 19 in Germany, has been previewed in magazines such as Grazia, and the German Playboy.

Ce'Cile is also one of the few Jamaican Dancehall artistes utilising Album Apps and her full album plus lyrics are available as application download for Android and iPhone users.

Jamicaicanization, not yet released in Jamaica, contains 16 tracks, 13 of which are new. So far, the reviews have been excellent.

Reggaeville.de states: "In fact, Jamaicanization is an album to listen to from beginning to end. It works for dancehall fanatics, it works for (more or less) mainstream audience, it works in a club as well as a background soundtrack while having breakfast, doing ironing, or whatever."

Unitedreggae.com says: "The album is, arguably, her most high-profile release to date and is also going to have a legitimate claim to being her finest piece of work to date."

Jamaicanization has also been doing well on the charts. Two of the songs on the album, Step Aside (Beep Beep) and Singing This Song, are No. 10 and 11 on the MTV German Black Charts, respectively. Ce'Cile is sitting pretty in the middle of the chart and is ahead of artistes such as Lil Wayne, Drake, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige, Singing This Song peaked at No 4 on said charts.

Jamaican fans can go to purchase or listen to the album at iTunes US or visit www.jamaicanization.com for more information.

Duncan Sings 'Life Music'

Published: Saturday | September 3, 2011 Jamaica Gleaner

The cover of the album 'I Know', the first solo effort of O'Neil Duncan.- Contributed

Life music singer O'Neil Duncan is returning to the local music scene with a new album, dubbed I Know. The first single on the new album is dubbed What We Need is Love, which points almost directly to the album's theme.

Duncan, who is no stranger to the music business, started out when he formed a group called Accapella Flames while attending Cornwall College in the early 1990s. After moving to Cayman a few years ago to teach, he joined another group called Clarity, which went on to win the gospel song competition in the Cayman Islands in 2006. The group also had success with the release of an album in the same year. Duncan was the principal writer and arranger of eight of that album's 10 songs.

versatile artiste

Duncan has proven himself to be a versatile artiste and has shared the stage with the likes of Cece Winans, Acappella, FC Barnes and Kirk Franklyn, to name a few. Now, Duncan presents his first solo album. I Know, which is scheduled for release on October 1, is packed with a host of inspirational treats, such as the song from which the album takes its name, The Wind Blows and Go Forth.

According to Duncan, while he has been categorised as a gospel singer, he sees himself as someone who sings life music. "The first single off the album, which is called What We Need is Love, is a good listen and will show you that this music is not just for Christians but has a wider appeal. When I write a song, I am trying to reach the man, woman or child on the street who is having personal issues. I seek to be an inspiration to them, and when they listen to my songs they are supposed to feel hope and understand that someone understands the plight they are facing in their life," said Duncan.

Duncan said he chose What We Need is Love as the first single on the album because of the situation in Jamaica. "When you live in Cayman and you watch the news and read the papers, sometimes you want to cry when you see how our paradise is slowly being destroyed.

I know from experience that love can conquer all evil and that's why I chose this song to lead the album. What Jamaica really needs right now is love," said Duncan. The video for What We Need is Love was shot in Coronation Market last week by ace video director Asha of Fareye Films, and will be released locally and intentionally in a few weeks.

YANIQUE RISES FROM MAGNUM KINGS AND QUEENS

Yanique is clearly a rising star and continues to make her mark in the media…

Kingston, Jamaica August 12, 2011:- Popular host of Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall Yanique Barrett has grown from strength to strength since cementing her role on Jamaica’s number one Dancehall show.

The young talent has made several big moves recently such as the hosting of Ne-Yo ’s Compound Island concert in Negril over the emancipation weekend and becoming a personality on hit Jamaican radio Fame FM. The curvaceous diva is excited about her recent career moves: “I am so thrilled at the recent happenings, the Ne-Yo concert was big and now I am on Fame FM; it’s just excitement all around”

The Champaign Life concert which was held at Jungle in Negril over the Emancipation weekend was part of a two part series which began on Friday July 29 with a ultra-VIP welcome party at Boardwalk Village and The Champagne Life concert on Saturday July 30 which featured several of Jamaica’s top artistes such as Hezron, Beenie Man, Voicemail and the big man himself Ne-Yo.

Over the last few weeks Yanique has also been heard on Fame FM hosting the popular program E-Blaze. She has interviewed top artistes such as Tiffa, Ne-Yo, D’Angel, Voicemail and several others. The newly minted radio personality is happy at the chance of working at such a great radio institution: “Fame FM is foundation radio. Every day that I go to Fame I learn something new and it’s always an exciting experience. I want to make a positive contribution to the station and I am so happy that they saw talent in me and had the faith that I could work on such a popular and reputable station”.

Yanique is clearly a rising star and continues to make her mark in the media and on the party landscape. Yanique is booked to host the International Reggae Wine Festival this weekend plus several events in the coming months and listen to Fame FM where the curvaceous diva continues to make her mark and is always blazing.

HEZRON'S REGGAE SUMFEST 2011 PERFORMANCE

Sumfest Final Night Hits The Right Note

Sumfest Final Night Hits The Right Notea hit

• Int'l Jamaican acts wow the crowd

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

Western Bureau:

Anticipation simmered, slowly building to fever pitch, as fans anxiously awaited Reggae Sumfest 2011 International Night 2 headliner, Nicki Minaj's first performance in Jamaica on Saturday night.

Hip hop's resident queen and HNIC (Head Nicki in Charge) opened her act on the final night of the 'Greatest Reggae Show On Earth' to a rousing response to the hit song Roman's Revenge.

It was 1 a.m. when Minaj hit the Sumfest stage, on the heels of Hezron, Protoje and Gyptian. Holding true to her image, she ignited an electrical current that permeated the air, delivering a scorching performance.

Little Nicki Minajes stood in the audience singing in unison with their idol.

Gyptian held the audience's attention from start to finish. Mama Don't Cry was a crowd favourite, but I Can Feel Your Pain was met with an even louder response. There was no pain, just joy from those in attendance.

Reminding the audience of his first song, Gyptian performed Serious Times, then introduced his new single. Closing with his international breakthrough song, Hold Yuh, Gyptian easily received the loudest ovation to that point of the show.

Hezron got the audience involved with She's My Woman, his performance was aptly appreciated both by younger and older audience members, but it was his closing mainstream hit, Forever and Always, that earned him a huge ovation.

Not for everyone

Not all artistes have great stage presence, and not all deserve to be on Reggae Sumfest; new artiste Trudy was an unfortunate example.

Chalice was to close the show in a typically professional manner. The older audience members hung around and Chalice did not disappoint them.

Earlier performances came from Ramize, Ashley Martin, Denyque, Cherine Anderson and Laza Morgan.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

Outstanding performances bring Reggae Sumfest to a close

BY CECELIA CAMPBELL-LIVINGSTON Observer staff reporter Livingstonc@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, July 25, 2011

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The 19th staging of Reggae Sumfest came to its climax Sunday morning at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay with some outstanding performances.

US-based rapper Nicki Minaj, on her first performance in Jamaica, managed to excite the crowd with her expletive laced songs.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had those same expletives come from the lips of our own Jamaican performers. Two nights before, singjay IOctane admitted on stage that he was warned by the police not to perform the ganja-loving Puff It. Yet Minaj enjoyed the privilege of one expletive after another without any form of warning or sanction.

Nonetheless, her many fans, who seemed totally carried away, didn't mind. Whatever she dished out they were more than willing to lap up. Among the winning numbers she performed were Dungeon Dragon, Bottoms Up, My Chick Bad, Your Love, Monster, Bedrock and Moments For Life. Minaj also scored with her attempts to talk Jamaican and she totally wooed the crowd with her stage dramatics and appealing presence. If there was one negative about her performance where the fans were concerned, it was the shortness of her stint, as some openly commented on how quickly she exited the stage.

Earlier in the evening, young reggae songbird Cherine Anderson delighted by showing her musical versatility. She played the guitar as she sang the lyrics to Good Love. With the guitar segment out of the way she danced her way into the media section where she gently pulled onstage an Italian male visitor. 

After Cherine's steamy performance Hezron was next. Always about the ladies, the artiste, backed by his harmonious back-up singers, easily wowed his way into the hearts of the thousands of females present with his sexy soul-filling love melodies. If churning the lyrics to songs, such as You Are Always On My Mind and Wait Until Tonight wasn't enough, he went the extra mile giving several ladies in the audience a rose much to their delight.

— Additional reporting by Simone Morgan

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Outstanding-performances-brings-Reggae-Sumfest-to-a-close#ixzz1T9W4QoEu