Quickies: Destination Negril this Heroes Weekend

A number of promoters from western Jamaica and Kingston have joined forces to create a party series in Negril for the Heroes Weekend holiday. The Negril Heroes Weekend was actually proposed to happen in 2010 and was introduced via Facebook. Even though it sparked a lot of interest, it did not materialise. However, the idea for the party resurfaced after the promoters saw the void in Heroes Weekend and capitalised on the opportunity to create Destination Negril.

Destination Negril will consist of three beach parties from October 14-16. It starts with Jersey Shore at Margaritaville on Friday, October 14, and features a line-up of western Jamaica's top DJs. Admission to Jersey Shore is $700 presold and $1,000 at the gate. Sunkiss Bikini Goddesses is the only drink-inclusive party on Destination Negril and is slated for Saturday, October 15, at Jamaica Tamboo, located on the beach strip. This will be Sunkiss' second staging in Negril and will feature ZJ Chrome, Bloodline and DJ Absolute.

The final party on the weekend is Bikinis and Models, a bikini party at Long Bay Beach Park. Admission to Bikinis and Models is $700 presold and $1,000 at the gate, while ladies in bikini $500 before 5 p.m.

500,000 like Jamaicansmusic.com

On September 26, the Facebook page for Jamaicansmusic.com was blessed with its 500,000th fan's stamp of approval. While some Jamaican artistes have accrued more Facebook fans, such as Bob Marley (31.3 million), Sean Paul (2.6 million) and Shaggy (550,000), Jamaicansmusic.com has been deemed the most popular Caribbean brand page on Facebook and recently reached the remarkable half-million 'likes'.

Jamaicansmusic.com, started in 2008, is dedicated to all forms of Jamaican music, from mento to dancehall. CEO Alex Morrissey, a 22-year-old techie, was waiting for the half-million mark for months, installing a countdown counter on his page. "As a young entrepreneur, I feel elated and privileged to accomplish such a remarkable feat," says Morrissey.

Morrissey combines apps, games and interactive advertising on his Facebook page to inform, entertain and engage his audience, most of which comes from the United States, Indonesia and Mexico, according to Facebook Insights. In addition, the Facebook page has over 50,000 Jamaican fans.

Morrissey owns other media properties to laterally co-promote his brand, including a streaming division which provides live streaming for events and concerts, as well as an online magazine IrieZine (www.iriezine.com) and Jadio, a 24-hour streaming radio station with a mobile BlackBerry app. In addition, he produced the 'My Music' app co-branded with Digicel, where people vote for popular songs and are prompted with the option to purchase the songs on iTunes.

Apart from Facebook, the Jamaicansmusic.com website has approximately 150,000 unique visitors a month. It recently underwent a comprehensive overhaul and different segments are rolling out weekly until the official launch at the end of October. Some of these features include a robust music area, where labels and artistes can create their own personal promotional spaces.

Edna Manley teachers go jazz

The illustriously talented Faculty of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts will be on show tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the School of Music Auditorium. The concert is part of the School of Music's 50th anniversary celebration.

The faculty includes some of the best music professionals that Jamaica and the wider Caribbean has to offer, such as head of the Pop and Jazz Department Michael 'Ibo' Cooper, guitarist Maurice Gordon and Italian guitarist Samuele Vivian, among others. The public will be treated to a professional night of music for only $1,000.

This is a highly anticipated and rare event for the college and local music community, where the staff members will show their talent in the area of jazz. This also contributes to the variety of music events on the local entertainment scene, which is often saturated with popular music.

A number of promoters from western Jamaica and Kingston have joined forces to create a party series in Negril for the Heroes Weekend holiday. The Negril Heroes Weekend was actually proposed to happen in 2010 and was introduced via Facebook. Even though it sparked a lot of interest, it did not materialise. However, the idea for the party resurfaced after the promoters saw the void in Heroes Weekend and capitalised on the opportunity to create Destination Negril.

Destination Negril will consist of three beach parties from October 14-16. It starts with Jersey Shore at Margaritaville on Friday, October 14, and features a line-up of western Jamaica's top DJs. Admission to Jersey Shore is $700 presold and $1,000 at the gate. Sunkiss Bikini Goddesses is the only drink-inclusive party on Destination Negril and is slated for Saturday, October 15, at Jamaica Tamboo, located on the beach strip. This will be Sunkiss' second staging in Negril and will feature ZJ Chrome, Bloodline and DJ Absolute.

The final party on the weekend is Bikinis and Models, a bikini party at Long Bay Beach Park. Admission to Bikinis and Models is $700 presold and $1,000 at the gate, while ladies in bikini $500 before 5 p.m.

Hefla Nyah promises to 'Take You There'

Fast-rising reggae artiste Hefla Nyah is creating a buzz with his latest single Take You There (Jamaica), which praises the beauty of Jamaica, its wonderful culture and the resilience of its people. The single is currently enjoying strong rotation both locally and abroad and has brought the St Mary native much attention.

"Since this tune hit the airwaves, it has been generating a lot of good vibes, a lot of people love it. I am happy I did it; for me Take You There is an expression of love and patriotism for my homeland. I truly love Jamaica, so I had to do a song about my country," he said.

A video was recently shot for Take You There (Jamaica) at several scenic locations in St Mary and St Ann under the guidance of top-flight music-video director Nordia Rose. Since its completion a few weeks ago, the video has been sent to several television stations locally as well as overseas. The video is also receiving strong support on YouTube. Take You There (Jamaica) will be available on iTunes before the end of the month and is being distributed by VP Records.

Tiana encourages 'bruk out'

Tiana continues her great form in 2011 with the release Bruk Out & Whine on the JA Production Overproof Riddim. Tiana's new single adds to the popular songs that the Justus Bustus/Roach produced Overproof Riddim has served up over the past month and a half and once again puts the singjay's sex appeal on full display. The video for Bruk Out & Whine was unveiled last week, showing a beautiful beach setting.

In Bruk Out & Whine, Tiana deejays: "Di man dem a mad ova mi body/Dem a text and a Tweet seh Mami, yuh body a di winner fi di Grammy/Yuh body a di winner fi di Grammy."

Additionally, Tiana displays her lyrical dexterity and confidence in the song by saying: "Watch mi whine and dip pon di dance floor/Like a grine mi a grine, mi di man dem adore/Pretty looks and ma shape equal to allure/So mi kill dem wid di tease, man dem bawl out more!"

She continues: "Mi get mad when Overproof buss inna mi drone/Haffi get some hard anytime mi go home."

Reid and Bloods tour US

Brother duo The Bloods, who recently returned from a one-month tour of Europe, are once again back on the road. Junior Reid, along with his sons Andrew and Wada Blood, will be doing a five-city tour of the United States which will see them performing in Amboy, Los Angeles and Oakland, all in the state of California, as well as Denver, Colorado and Seattle in Washington.

This performance comes hot on the heels of the recent relaunch of Junior Reid's JR Productions and the recent return from their extensive European tour alongside Sly & Robbie. Junior Reid has also just recently seen the release of his collaboration on DJ Suss One's Fifty Cent-endorsed single entitled Champion with hip-hop giants Lloyd Banks, Jada Kiss, French Montana and former world boxing champ, Floyd Mayweather.