Brooklyn New York's Barclays Center is set to host a landmark moment in dancehall history as Vybz Kartel headlines Reggae Fest on April 11 and 12, marking his first return concert in the United States in 20 years. The event, led by prominent promoter CJ Milan, has already generated significant momentum, with tickets selling out rapidly upon release.
Milan, who secured Kartel as the first solo headliner for Reggaefest, a party event that started in Manhattan and now travels across the U.S., opens up about the significance of the booking. “Usually, I like to put something for everybody, but Kartel is a generational (artist). You can rock out with him.”
The journey to finalizing the show started with Milan's ambition and he record of staging successful reggae events in New York City. “First of all, nobody could get in contact with Kartel,” Milan revealed in an exclusive interview with World Music Views. “I called every manager, and then I got frustrated. When I get frustrated, I do it myself.”
Taking matters into her own hands, Milan connected with veteran dancehall producer Skatta Burrell, who is also Kartel's road manager, a move that expedited the process. “It went really fast,” she said. “Then a couple of people (from Kartel's team) came down for Massive.”
She recalled a pivotal moment in negotiations when producer TJ Records sought clarity on logistics. “TJ was asking me questions about certain things and said, ‘How soon can you get to Jamaica?’ I said I need three days.”
Determined to present a compelling case, Milan went to the studio, curated a Kartel mix, and synchronized it with footage from her last Barclays Center show, crafting a persuasive presentation.
In an exclusive interview with World Music Views, dancehall legend Vybz Kartel opened up about his highly anticipated performance at the Freedom Street concert set for December 31, promising fans an unforgettable experience. Known for his dynamic persona and lyrical mastery spanning two decades, Kartel detailed his plans, which include a series of wardrobe changes and performances that span his entire career. Fans will witness the evolution of Kartel, from the early days of the “Teacher” to his current status as the “World Boss.”
The History Of Reggaetón, Reggae and Dancehall as told by Maxine Isis Stowe, the former Columbia Records executive, sits at the intersection of Reggaetón, Reggae and Dancehall. She played a pivotal role in signing acts like Shy Guy singer Diana King, who she had a similar vision for her as Rihanna achieved, if only Diana could have let go off the small island influences and assimilate her sound more into American pop and sing more like fellow Sony artist Mariah Carey.
“When I saw Rihanna break through, I thought that was what I had in mind for Diana. I would say that Diana’s reluctance to be fully Americanized was her limitation because her voice was big enough, but culturally she couldn’t let go,” Stowe said.
She is also known for her significant contributions to the development of dancehall in the 90s and early 2000s in the US, serving as A&R and executive producer for several chart-topping hits and albums, resulting in over 5 million in album and single sales. This includes Ini Kamoze’s “Here Comes The Hotstepper,” Mad Cobra’s “Flex,” “Bad Boys Soundtrack,” “Cool Runnings Soundtrack,” "Chant Down Babylon" album by Bob Marley, Half Way Tree by Damian Marley and more projects that have achieved Platinum and Gold status in the US.
Roger Steffens on Bob Marley: One Love Movie and Reggae's US$2 Million Archives.
Colin Gayle is the manager of Grammy Winning South African star Tyla. He is a Jamaican who found success in the music business working with acts like Kenny Lattimore, Jazzy Jeff, Jill Scott 50 Cent and more. Colin Gayle has over 25 years in the business and is a Co-Founder and CEO of Africa Creative Agency.
Aidonia opens up about his album "Occupied Mind," major label deal, and willingness to do a 'Best of Both Worlds' project with Masicka.
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In 1982, Grammy nominated reggae band Musical Youth achieved global success with their hit “Pass The Dutchie,” a song based on The Mighty Diamonds’ “Pass The Kouchie.” Three decades later, members Dennis Seaton, Michael Grant, Kelvin Grant, Frederick Waite Junior (Junior Waite), and a representative of Patrick Waite’s estate initiated legal proceedings in 2004 against their lawyers according to court documents obtained by WMV. This, after losing a previous dispute stemming from a 1984 agreement outlining the division of royalties between the owners of the copyright in the original work and the derivative work.
Bob Marley Tops Billboard’s 2023 ‘Year-End’ Reggae Charts—For Fourth Year In A Row.
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Forensic Musicologist Brian McBrearty says he believes the copyright lawsuit filed by Steely and Clevie against the reggaeton community is silly and has no basis.
The riddim making duo submitted a copyright documents for the 1990s dancehall hit song “Dem Bow” by Shabba Ranks in a Los Angeles Court, but Brian, speaking exclusively with WMV says that will not be enough to stake claim over and entire genre even if the riddim is similar to "Dem Bow" genre songs.
A California judges set to decide if the case will go to jury on Thursday September 22 based on evidence presented by the plaintiffs and the dismissal request by lawyers the defendants which include Pitbull, Drake, Justin Timberlake, Karol G, Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee and more. If the case goes to trial, a forensic musicologist like Brian will be called in to determine whether or not there is a common thread between 1800 reggaeton songs and Steely and Clevie's 1989 riddim 'Fish Market'.
The San Fransisco native admits he is not acquainted with reggae and dancehall culture and only became interested upon hearing about the Steely and Clevie Case. He also says he has been hired by record labels and advertising companies to ensure there is not infringement in songs they may use.
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From World Music Views: His name is Abdul Karim Abdullah, founder and CEO of Afrofuture, a festival and company which had to change its name from ‘Afrochella’ due to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the organizers of the more popular Coachella Festival which grossed more than $100 million this year . After a successful five year run as the “Coachella of Africa” Adbul and his team had to discontinue the the use of the name.
The late 30s African music boss insist painstakingly that ‘Afrochella’ had nothing to do with Coachella and says “we wanted to speak to sounds of Africa. ‘Chella’ is a latin term that means “sound of” and we wanted to communicate African sounds”
As both festivals move on with Coachella, a spring time show on the U.S. West Coast over two weekends with multiple genres on stage and artist from all over the world, Afrofuture have its inaugural show in Ghana during the Christmas holidays with a direct focus on African music and culture.
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The Issa Trust Foundation puts on a concert every year in aid of charities at the Couples Resort. Paul Issa talks with JR Watkis about the state of reggae, his upbringing in Jamaica and the work of the Trust.
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Billboard Power 100 Woman Sherrese Clarke Soares owns Despacito, YouTube's most viewed song. She is an American Private Equity executive, born to Jamaican parents and is a major player in the music acquisition race as founder/CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners. The former Morgan Stanley intern acquired all of Despacitio singer Luis Fonsi real name is Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero’s catalogue for a reported $100 million through her company HarbourView. Sherrese talks with WMV about her journey in the music business. Watch fill-in the interview on YouTube.com/worldmusicviews 📲 FOLLOW: @worldmusicviews 📰 VISIT: http://worldmusicviews.com 🎧 PLAYLISTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPiFfJ0UTqE&list=PLvSdBM1nKeD1p-0IaLLBp6IRwUFJY1SIa
Vin Rock Of Naughty By Nature About Hip Hop History and the dancehall connection. We talk about the birth of Hip Hop and when it became commercially appealing, Tupac's impact, NWA etc.
217 songs charted on Billboard’s Afrobeats U.S. chart and many of them, like Last Last by Burna Boy, Calm Down by Rema and Selena Gomez and Essence by Wizkid, Justin Bieber and Tems swung over to the Hot 100 pop charts. For those who say Afrobeats is having a moment like Kranium in a Fix interview, that moment just won’t let up as the songs get better and the artists break more records in the U.S., while dancehall’s usual U.S. airplay picks have not been forthcoming since Koffee’s Toast in 2020.
Igor Katz co-founded Ineffable Music which is the second largest independent reggae record label globally. One of their secrets to success is capitalizing on the live music industry using technology and a knowledge base among a diverse team.
Every week there are 4 recurring compilation albums on the Billboard Reggae Chart, ‘Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers’, Shaggy’s “Boombastic Collection”, “Dutty Classics” by Sean Paul and UB40’s Greatest Hits. Whenever a song is played from these collections even if played from the original album, it goes towards to compilations weekly tally. Igor's top artist Stick Figure has three albums that are also mainstays on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart; “Set In Stone”, “World on Fire” and their most recent set “Wisdom”. He talks about the business strategies uses by Ineffable Music and defining new metrics for success in the record business.
To watch the full interview on YouTube click here.
JoAnn Squillace and Stephen Drummond join WMV to talk about a list of reggaeton songs that have been brought into evidence to support the ongoing copyright infringement case against several latin artists, producers, publishing companies and record labels filed by Dancehall producer pioneers Steely and Clevie.
Since this conversation over 1000 new songs were added to the lawsuit. The tracks which are alleged to have infringed upon the 80s dancehall riddim “Fish Market” produced by the duo are presented into evidence on the basis that they sample copies of the composition or simply copied the composition without permission.
Reggaeton King Daddy Yankee alone is accused of copying the Fish Market composition on over 43 songs including his 41x Latin Platinum hit Con Calma with Snow which interpolates Snow’s dancehall hit Informa.
Brazilian singer Annita, who was just released from Warner Music after she ranted on social media about wanting to leave the label has 14 songs on the evidence list named Exhibit A.
So far 107 summonses have been served to defendants this year alone as the trial is set to get under way but in a motion filed on Friday attorneys Jean G. Vidal-Font and Bradley J. Mullins who are reprenting latin superstar Juan Luis Morera Luna p/k/a Wisin and Drake real name Aubrey Graham, applied to dismiss requests for the artists to come to court to answer to the infringements on the grounds that they were not served at their right addresses.
Bad Bunny and Drake‘s MÍA which has 1.4 billion YouTube views has been named as one of the songs that copied the Fish Market riddim.
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