Charly Black still has ‘Yard Link’
earn the Gargamel his fifth nomination.
Upside Down 2020 was released by Roc Nation on June 26 and rose to number two on the Billboard
Reggae Albums Chart in July. A single from the album, Memories featuring John Legend, entered the Billboard R&B Adult Songs Chart last summer.
The album has to date sold 8,948 copies.
With six nominations under his belt including a win in 2005, the late Toots Hibbert is sure to snag a nomination this year.
Got to Be Tough by
Toots and The Maytals was released by Trojan Jamaica/bmg on August 28, 13: days before the legendary singer’s death. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart shortly after Hibbert’s transition, and has to date sold 3,648 copies.
At 24 years old, Skip Marley could follow in the footsteps of his uncles Stephen, Ziggy and Damian Marley by copping a nomination.
His debut album Higher
Place was released by Island Records on August 28 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart on September 11. It has so far sold 1,786 copies.
Two singles from Higher Place, Slow Down featuring HER and Make Me Feel with Rick Ross and Ari Lennox, have made multiple Billboard R&B charts.
Popcaan’s Fixtape, which has collaborations with Drake, PARTYNEXTDOOR, French Montana and Dane Ray, debuted at number two on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart in August.
Released by OVO Sound/warner Records on August 7, Fixtape has charted at number 15 on the Canadian Albums chart, number 94 on the Billboard 200 Albums
Chart and number two on Billboard’s Reggae Albums Chart. Lead single Twist and Turn featuring Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR, is currently climbing several Billboard tables.
The 63rd Grammy awards takes place on January 31 in Los Angeles.
AT a time when many Jamaican youth favour the American slang over their native dialect, singjay Charly Black is promoting his country’s culture with Yard Link, a song released in early October.
The single is produced by Reggae Run Tings and Smoke Shop Studio out of Toronto, Canada. On it, the 40-year-old artiste unapologetically pitches Jamaica’s dancehall brand.
“It’s important for me to let the world know that Jamaicans are very talented and we have our own walk, talk, fashion. Basically, everything you can think of; it’s important and that’s why I wrote this song,” Charly Black explained in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
Yard Link was recorded shortly after Charly Black was introduced to Joe “DJ Smokey” Bishun, a Canadian of Guyanese heritage who operates Smoke Shop Studio. Bishun was familiar with Charly Black’s work, most notably Gal You A Party Animal, which became a monster hit in Latin America well after it was recorded in 2014.
While Gyal You A Party Animal made him a celebrity throughout Latin America and earned the thumbs-up from major regional acts like Daddy Yankee, Charly Black stated that his other songs, including Yard Link, also have potential for commercial success. He added that duplicating Gyal You a Party Animal’s success is not a priority.
“The fans over the world will always love ‘Party Animal’. It’s no pressure for me ‘cause I’ve been putting out great songs, they may not get the same attention as Party Animal at the moment but they are great, and the people just see that song as the greatest I’ve ever did,” he said.
Initially a sound system selector, Bishun played the Toronto club scene for several years. Though he has ties to the city’s hip-hop community, Bishun has worked with several Jamaican artistes as an engineer or producer, including Alkaline and Jdon Heights.
Smoke Shop Studio has released well-received ‘riddims’ such as the Soursop and Hangova.
King of Jamaican comedy Oliver Samuels will kick off the landmark celebrations of his 50th year in Jamaican theatre with a pay-per-view presentation next weekend.
The production titled The Oliver Samuels Thanksgiving Special has been timed to coincide with what would have been a traditionally busy period for the actor, who, had it not been for the novel coronavirus pandemic, would have been touring North America and the United Kingdom, sharing his brand of Jamaican comedy and culture.
Speaking to the Jamaica Observer Samuels noted that his 50 years in theatre have been absolutely wonderful and noted that while there have been bumps along the way he has enjoyed the journey.
“I would not have had it any other way. When you look at this year, we are blessed to be able to come to our audiences in this way given the restrictions due to corona. Annually, me and mi crew would be on the road. But because of this pandemic Michael Dawson of Whirlwind International Entertainment had this brilliant idea not to deprive our loyal fans and supporters of the entertainment they would now be expecting,” said Samuels.
Dawson is describing the online presentation as a modern-day Oliver at Large, harking back to the groundbreaking television series which aired on local television.
“It’s a kind of return to TV for Oliver,” Dawson shared.
“This was always in the making, but we never had the time. Now because touring is not on the cards, all we have is time, so it was perfect. We have updated some of the storylines from that original television series, so for example there is that popular episode where Oliver was at the airport but could not leave the country as he had no visa… well what happened when he got the visa? There are so many great stories,” he continued.
Samuels shared that the Thanksgiving special will feature some well-known faces of the local stage.
“We are having appearances by
Volier Johnson, Deon Silvera, Michael “Stringbeans” Nicholson and Peter Abrikian. Along the way there will be a potpourri of personalities who will be joining to either condemn or to praise me, so that should be exciting. That list includes Ity, Glen Campbell, Basil Dawkins, Teddy Price, Ruth Hoshing and Audrey Reid. The whole thing is setting up itself to be fun and excitement,” said Samuels.
The Oliver Samuels Thanksgiving Special will be available for pay-per-view via the streaming platform Jamaica Online TV. The production will be available to paid customers from the afternoon of Thursday, November 26, until midnight on Sunday, November 29. Each ticket purchased entitles the patron to one viewing, however patrons can choose when they watch the production over the weekend.