Despite facing legal issues in the past, Popcaan’s lawyer emphasizes his contributions to the community. Popcaan, known for his association with Drake’s label OVO Sound, has released albums and EPs under the label, consistently charting on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart.

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Kerry Omar Bell is a musician from a line of creativity. His great grand uncle was the distinguished poet Claude Mckay, a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. A fact in which Bell takes much pride. Like his Uncle, he was born in Jamaica and migrated to America in pursuit of the dream but carried with him his culture. Bell, ​was​ the leader and deejay in a band that has been recognized by the U.S. congress and along with his wife Mona, are championing the cause of dancehall culture in Las Vegas. For the past three years they have staged an authentic dancehall event titled Milk White Brunch and this year they plan to take it up a notch on September 18 in Sin City. Dancehall Report speaks exclusively with the Band leader who is also a professional electrician about his journey in music.

Where are you from?

Okay I’m from James Hill Clarendon, home of the great Claude Mckay.

How did you start out in music?

I started music in church because my grandfather was a pastor, so I was heavily involved in the choir and special events.

What is the name of your band?

The name of our band is Bonafide Reggae Band.

Where is the best place you have ever performed?

Wow the best place I’ve performed was in Hawaii with the band and an artist named Fiji. Those people really appreciate our culture and music. It’s the ultimate high and I performed in Los Angeles California with the great Wyclef Jean, another ultimate moment on stage.

Who are some of the artists you have worked with?

To name a few, Luciano, Damian Marley, Vybz Kartel , Mr Lexx , Busy Signal , Etana, Fiji , and Jboog.

How important do you think the music business is to a musician’s development?

Knowledge of the business is one of the most important parts. I wish someone had told me that in the beginning(laughs). Yes, especially in our genre, that’s why it’s very hard for some of our legendary artists to retire gracefully, but I think the younger artists now are learning the business side more and doing a lot better.

Where is the band now?

We discontinued the band and I just ventured off into more of the promotion side of the business to create more opportunities for my brothers and sisters in the business

And we formed a company one love promotions.

You are doing a party with your wife now to bring dancehall culture to Las Vegas?

Yes, that’s part of the promotion and yes we are bringing the big bad Milk All White Brunch Soiree on September 18th which is my wife’s birthday celebration too. This is the third staging of MWB but kind of the first year that we can really promote it fully because we started in the pandemic so it was kind of low key for the first two stagings. So this one we are very excited about what we have lined up. It’s a great team promoting Echovibes Entertainment.

What can patrons expect?

A great atmosphere, real Jamaican food, hookah services and the entertainment, oh my goodness we have the world team featuring World Boom and Harry Hype straight Jamaican settings, Ikel Marvelous and Flabba Dabba, the entertainment will be electrifying and Atlanta’s own ​R​ep ​S​quad. So just know you will be experiencing Jamaica in Las Vegas come September 18th.

If ​you are​​ coming to Las Vegas in the summer expect the heat, it’s a different kind of heat but for the good part it’s 24 hours of entertainment, lights, camera and action all the time.

Who are your top 5 reggae artists?

My top five reggae artists are Bob Marley and the Wailers of course, Beres Hammond, cocoa tea ,Barrington Levy , Steel pulse , it’s hard (laughs).

For dancehall it would be Beenie Man , Mr Lexx, Vybz Kartel, Agent Sasco ,and Buju Banton.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to enter the music industry?

My advice and always will be to love the music. It’s the only real way to last in this business and you have to be thick skinned. It’s not for the faint of heart, it’s a tough business but beautiful if it’s your passion.

The post How Kerry Bell, The Relative Of Renown Poet Claude Mckay Is Taking Dancehall Culture To Las Vegas appeared first on Dancehall Report.

“Legalizing marijuana changed the world, everybody just smokes, the energy of the whole industry just gets weeken​ed​ not focused, the work ethic changed, a lot of people don’t have that drive anymore,” he told Dancehall Report.

Marijuana first came to Jamaica in the 1850s–1860s by indentured servants imported from India; many of the terms used in cannabis culture in Jamaica are based on Indian terms, including the term ganja.

Prohibition

Cannabis was banned in Jamaica under the 1913 Ganja Law, supported by the white elites and the Council of Evangelical Churches in Jamaica. The laws were gradually tightened over time, with academics noting that the harsh 1941 and 1961 restrictions occurred during periods where the authorities feared unrest in the lower classes.

Marijuana legalization has changed the workforce elsewhere in the western hemisphere with firms taking a less taboo approach to the recreational plant. In a July 2019 Gallup poll, 12% of U.S. adults said they smoke marijuana.

The research found that:

• Men (15%) are more likely to smoke marijuana than women (9%).
• At 22%, 18- to 29-year-olds are the most likely age group to smoke marijuana — about twice as likely as those between the ages of 30 and 64, and seven times as likely as adults older than 65.
• Liberals (24%) are six times more likely to smoke marijuana than conservatives (4%), and twice as likely as moderates (12%).

In February 2015, Jamaica’s legislature voted to amend the nation’s cannabis laws allowing possession of up to 2 ounces (0.057 kilograms; 57 grams) as a petty offense that will not result in a criminal record. Persons on the island are also able to cultivate five or fewer plants. Other allowances include:

• • Practitioners of the Rastafari faith may use cannabis for religious purposes.
  • Tourists with a prescription for medical marijuana may apply for permits to purchase small amounts.
  • The amendments open the possibility of a licensing authority to deal with cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana.

Jamaica has continued to prosecute traffickers and target the international cannabis trade but the country is the first to explicitly legalize weed for religious use which is closely tied to reggae music.

Robert also told Dancehall Report that another enemy of productivity is social media. “Social media makes the workforce become less productive, people take time to look at their phone and you realize 4 hours spent on social media for everybody, it also reduces the workforce time,” he explains.

Robert’s sentiments on social media are shared by Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who got news coverage in 2016 after she made similar remarks about social media, implying that social media has made people lazy.

“We are very quick with excuses. Work, routine, lifestyle, social media and the need to be on it 24/7. I have observed that we don’t have time to look at another person and talk to him/her because we are so busy on our phones […] How many people would actually look around to do a basic thing like leaving their phone for a minute and picking up a tissue [that] is lying on the floor, and putting it in the bin? People are leaning on conveniently attributed lethargy,” she said at the time.

Researchers found that social media reduces your ability to filter out distractions and can make it more difficult to remember things. In addition, there’s a phenomenon called phantom vibration syndrome. It is basically when people think/feel they received a new message on their phone but they really didn’t.

Merciless

Robert produced one of Merciless most successful songs and speaking about the DJ who recently died at age 51 at a Kingston motel, the veteran producer remembers how talented the ‘Mavis’ DJ was.

“I was really blessed to work with him, to produce ‘Mavis’, with the same beat as ‘Boombastic’,” he told Dancehall Report. Boombastic was Shaggy’s breakout single that entered the U.K. singles chart at No. 1.

“At mixing lab, we all used to work there and his(Merciless) Manager Godaffi came to me and I sad to him but Merciless a hardcore dancehall artist, if I am gonna do something with him I’m gonna do something different, I played him the beat and at that time I was working the Boombastic record and it was taking long to break,” Robert recalls.

“Merciless went into the studio and just recorded it (Mavis), and it worked, when Boombastic was number one on the British Chart I had 4 different No. 1 records at the same time Bombastic was No. 1 on the British chart,” he explains to Dancehall Report.

“Merciless was co-managed by a guy out of New York and they took two songs because I never had the time to work on any more songs. He needed to use this character and be competitive at another level. I liked Merciless, he was always willing to work. The dancehall culture produces a few great talents and he might be one of them and the youth might start to look into his history and his talent, his legacy will live on.”

On whether radio is still relevant to the music industry Robert told Dancehall Report says “yes!”

“Radio is gonna stay relevant, never goes away, I still listen to radio, radio still has a touch of reality, radio still has that presence, different way of approach, sometimes you don’t even feel like it real until you hear it on radio, you still have a lot of people still love to turn on their radio in the office.”

The post Music Producer Says Social Media And Legal Marijuana Is Affecting Productivity In Jamaica appeared first on Dancehall Report.

Raymond Ranger, is the choreographer that was tasked with teaching the cast of Bravo TV’s The Real housewives OF Dubai, some dancehall moves in their latest episode “Dancehall It Out”. In the episode, cast member Lesa Milan, who is a Jamaican, gets the other ladies to participate in a dancehall queen competition.

Raymond, who is also a DJ that goes by DJ Ranger says he went for the authentic and current dancehall music for the show, but says there were some delays experienced in clearing the records used.

“There was one song used to create their dance routine and it was Ding Dong – ‘Good Ting Dem’ ft. Popeye Caution,” he says.

“Other than that they had to wait for clearance for the songs used in the party, some selections from Jigsy King, Barrington Levy, Mavado, Elephant Man, Mr.Killa, Alkaline, DJ Crown Prince, Walsh Fire, Skinny Fabulous, & Ding Dong we’re used,” he continued.

Ding Dong shared a scene from the show where his music was used:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WORLD DING (@dingdongravers)

Raymond says he kept the moves basic with a variety of old and new dances.

“Moves taught to them were basic because we had to keep it real and make it easy for them to keep up.

Simple steps such as: The Snap. Log on, Willie Bounce, Wacky Dip, Bogle, Stukie , Genna Bounce, Flairy.”

Did they get the moves?

For the ladies to get the moves now was an interesting story. They were all having so much fun and so in tuned that it was surprisingly easy for them to catch on.

How did you get on the show?

Now, I got the opportunity to get on to the show via my years of being a true Ambassador in this land.

Let me also add the important fact that I’ve known Brooks & Lesa for some time now.

Over the years I have been posting videos on my Instagram/ Tik tok of me walking around and teaching people various Jamaican dance moves & various ‘colourful’ words which also led up to me being spotted as a perfect candidate for the role.

Will there be more display of Jamaican culture on the show?

Yes, our sister Lesa Milan will be raising the flag right through the show but I do not think there will be another full episode of Jamaican culture etc. We will just have to look out for her dropping it in every now and then as she usually does.

Who was the best dancer?

The post Meet The DJ That’s Teaching Dancehall Moves To The Real Housewives Of Dubai appeared first on Dancehall Report.