分类： entertainment

KINGSTON, Jamaica — As Labour Day weekend approaches, fans of retro music across the island are getting ready for a one-of-a-kind throwback celebration: the oldies-themed party officially named Memories. Now entering its second year, the nostalgic gathering will take place at the iconic Reggae Jamaica Village on Church Road, located in Bog Walk, St Catherine — a longstanding hub that serves as the home of Reggae Fusion.

In a recent interview, event promoter Collisha Frame shared the creative vision behind the event’s lineup, explaining that every performer was carefully selected to bring the nostalgic concept to life. The roster includes seasoned selectors DJ Little Richie and DJ Al Pachino, alongside renowned Jamaican recording artiste Admiral Tibet. Frame emphasized that the curation process was tailored specifically to the event’s old-school identity, noting that the three acts are the perfect match to deliver an authentic retro experience.

What sets Memories apart from other local events, Frame says, is its unique positioning in the region. No other celebration in the area centers retro music in quite the same format, creating an atmosphere and collective energy that is unusually special. Attendees can expect a full lineup of chart-topping hits spanning three iconic decades: the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. To enhance the guest experience, the ticket price includes complimentary finger food for all attendees, letting visitors focus on enjoying the music rather than worrying about refreshments.

Frame and her organizing team have pulled out all the stops to ensure this year’s event runs smoothly, with preparation already well underway. The team has launched a multi-channel marketing campaign that spans both traditional advertising outlets and social media platforms to reach retro music fans across the country. Tickets are currently available for purchase online via xtickets.com, and Frame says attendees can expect full value for their money, with a chance to step back in time and relive some of their favorite musical moments.

Beyond the entertainment, Frame is calling on all community members and music fans to turn out for the event, which centers three core values that make it worth supporting. First, the gathering is fundamentally community-oriented, designed to bring local residents together around a shared love of classic music. Second, Frame points out that any celebration rooted in musical history is a treasure worth preserving, offering a welcome break from modern pop’s fast pace. Finally, attending and supporting the event helps contribute to the ongoing development of a welcoming, safe public space dedicated to local entertainment and leisure. For anyone looking to unwind and let loose over the holiday weekend, Frame says Memories is the ideal destination.

For emerging reggae and dancehall recording artist Queen Kamarla, every lyric and every public project is rooted in the raw, unfiltered challenges of her lived experience. A teen mother who never completed high school, Kamarla has turned a series of early life obstacles into fuel for a career defined by purpose and authenticity, and this month she opens up about her unorthodox journey in a new candid memoir, ahead of the launch of her highly anticipated first full-length album.

Titled *The Story of My Life Journey, Sharing a Powerful Story of Resilience*, Kamarla’s debut memoir pulls back the curtain on the struggles that fans rarely see behind her recorded music. The book offers an unvarnished account of how she balanced the demands of young parenthood, navigated lengthy, exhausting daily commutes to pursue studio time, and clung to her artistic craft through years of uncertainty and personal sacrifice. Throughout her narrative, Kamarla emphasizes a simple, profound core message: resilience is not an innate trait, but something that is built, one intentional choice at a time.

In a recent interview with Observer Online, Kamarla spoke to the motivation behind releasing the memoir, saying, “People see the music, but they don’t always see the struggle behind it. This book is my truth—my journey, my sacrifices and my growth.”

Already known within Jamaican music circles for her relentless work ethic and commitment to message-driven storytelling, Kamarla has steadily built a growing following in the reggae and dancehall spaces, drawing directly from her life experience to shape both her sound and her narrative. Beyond her creative work, she has a long track record of community engagement: a decade ago, she organized and led the Stop the Crime & Violence concert series, which brought together residents to advocate for peace and unity in some of Jamaica’s most volatile communities, including August Town, Olympic Gardens, Seaview Gardens, Rockfort and Tivoli Gardens.

Now, alongside the launch of her memoir, Kamarla is putting the final touches on her debut studio album *Respect Me*, scheduled for release later this month. Self-executive-produced, the 10-track project blends classic roots reggae foundations with modern dancehall stylings, and features high-profile collaborations with a slate of iconic Jamaican artists including I-Octane, Ginjah, Mikey General, Natty King, and Jigsy King. This is not Kamarla’s first turn releasing music: she has already dropped popular standalone tracks including *Hot Spot* and *Protected*, and her most recent collaborative single *New Beginnings* featuring Ginjah was released to positive reception last month.

*The Story of My Life Journey* is available for purchase globally right now through all major digital and retail book platforms, including Amazon, Apple Books and Barnes & Noble. For Kamarla, the memoir and upcoming album mark not a finish line, but another milestone in a lifelong journey of growth. “I’m not stopping. I know where I’m going, and I’m working every day to get there,” she shared. Today, she stands as one of the most compelling authentic voices in modern reggae and dancehall, deeply rooted in the values of perseverance, authenticity, and purpose that have defined her path from adversity to artistic recognition.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — For most people, cheating death is an unthinkable, once-in-a-lifetime event. For rising Jamaican dancehall artist Cartadon, the harrowing experience was not only a brush with mortality — it was a scenario he had foreshadowed in music just 24 hours before gunfire rang out. In a shocking turn of events, the emerging deejay was pronounced clinically dead on arrival at a Kingston hospital after a drive-by attack, only to be successfully resuscitated by medical teams who refused to let him slip away.

Cartadon, a protégé of renowned dancehall star Squash, told reporters he was an unintended victim of the violence that unfolded in Mountain View, one of Kingston’s inner-city neighborhoods. He was among five people standing at the scene when attackers opened fire; two people at the location did not survive their wounds. Cartadon himself suffered three gunshot wounds, and medical staff initially believed he had succumbed to his injuries before a last-ditch effort to revive him succeeded.

What makes the incident all the more chilling is the eerie timing of his latest track ahead of the attack. The day before the shooting, Cartadon dropped a single titled *Protected*, whose lyrics explicitly predicted he would be shot but survive thanks to divine protection.

“It was like living through an action movie mixed with a horror flick,” Cartadon recounted. “I released *Protected* on Friday, and by Saturday I was shot up. In the song I sang that I would be attacked but the Most High would keep me safe. I never imagined it would actually come true — it feels like I spoke this into existence. I’m here now, thanks to God and the doctors who never gave up on me, but it leaves you paranoid, you know?”

Raised in Kingston’s tough, violence-plagued inner streets, Cartadon has long turned to music as an escape from the chaos surrounding him. He says his unwavering focus on building his career has kept him from being pulled into the cycle of negativity that shapes life for many young people in his community.

“Music has been my whole life from day one, it’s my life now, and it will be my life until I take my last breath,” he said. “I’m really excited about where my career is headed right now — I’ve got a solid team behind me and a stack of incredible new tracks ready to drop.”

Now, just weeks after surviving the attack, Cartadon is back in the studio hard at work on new material, collaborating closely with the international production collective Boston Boys Records. He is currently focused on promoting his latest solo single, *Kode*, as he works to build on the buzz that was growing around his name before the shocking shooting.

LOS ANGELES – A shocking new development has emerged in the high-profile murder case against rising R&B artist D4vd, born David Burke: US prosecutors confirmed Thursday that law enforcement recovered a large cache of child pornography on the 21-year-old singer’s mobile phone. Burke is already facing capital murder charges for the brutal killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposing remains were discovered stashed in the front trunk of his Tesla parked in the Hollywood Hills.

The Jamaican dancehall scene has a fast-growing new talent making waves both at home and across global audiences, and his name is Scalebaby. After a string of well-received solo singles and high-profile collaborative projects with heavyweight dancehall acts including Skillibeng and Prince Swanny, the emerging deejay has lined up a slate of major career moves that are set to cement his place in the competitive global reggae-dancehall industry.

In a recent statement on his upcoming projects, Scalebaby confirmed that he will hit the road as part of an upcoming tour headlined by Skillibeng, the popular “Crocodile Teeth” hitmaker, with the trek set to kick off in just a few weeks. To build hype, expand his global fanbase, and amplify his momentum ahead of the tour, the artist has dropped two brand-new solo tracks – Saratoga and Trouble – both of which have already earned rapid traction among listeners.

The up-and-coming deejay isn’t stopping at two new releases, either. He has already locked in major collaborative recordings with two more top Jamaican artists: dancehall star Skeng and alt-dancehall vocalist Stalk Ashley. Both of these highly anticipated collabs are scheduled to drop in the coming weeks, and Scalebaby is already deep in preparations to film the official music video for his upcoming track with Skeng.

Reflecting on his rapid career growth so far, Scalebaby expressed gratitude for the opportunities that have come his way. “I have been blessed to be given the opportunity to work with some of the most talented artistes and producers in the game,” he shared. “Right now, my goal is to continue growing my brand by continuing to deliver good music. I’m making the most of every opportunity that comes my way, and I’m putting in all the work ahead of this big tour.”

His two latest singles have already become fan favorites: the tracks are now regular rotations at weekly street parties across Jamaica and are spreading rapidly across social media platforms, with early streaming numbers pointing to strong commercial performance. Scalebaby says he is building on the breakthrough success of his earlier collaborations with Skillibeng and Prince Swanny, projects that first introduced his sound to a massive international audience and opened countless new doors for his career.

For the emerging artist, Saratoga and Trouble are more than just new tracks – they are proof that he is a serious contender ready to claim a permanent spot at the top of the dancehall scene. “The features with Skillibeng and Prince Swanny opened many doors for me, but Saratoga and Trouble will cement me in the game as a serious contender,” he explained. “I feel very excited about the feedback I am getting about these tracks. I feel like one of them or both will hit the charts very soon because the numbers look really good already, and the fans are saying I have found the sauce. I can’t wait to perform these songs live on tour, but until then, we are just doing the groundwork.”

This isn’t Scalebaby’s first taste of commercial success, either. Prior to his latest string of releases, he earned significant chart traction and a growing global fanbase with tracks including Killa Dem Sick, Bigger, the Skillibeng-assisted Cemetery, and Foreign, his collaborative hit with Prince Swanny. As he puts the final touches on his tour preparations and readies his upcoming collabs for release, all eyes are on the young dancehall talent to see what he delivers next.

For over 15 years, Jamaican reggae artist Major Brandish — born Gladstone Brown and raised in east Kingston’s Rockfort neighborhood — has built his career on authenticity, a commitment he brings to his vulnerable and message-driven new single *Love Again*, released last month via ShartyB Records. Drawing from the deep personal pain of a past romantic heartbreak, the singer crafted the track to turn his own struggle into a lesson that resonates with audiences navigating similar experiences.

In a candid conversation with the *Jamaica Observer*, Brandish explained the core philosophy driving the song: while romantic hurt can leave lasting scars, he argues that allowing that pain to curdle into hate only harms both oneself and the people around one. Growing up in Kingston’s inner city taught him critical lessons in self-discipline, emotional control, and most importantly, how to cultivate self-love in the aftermath of heartbreak. Rather than closing himself off from future connection, Brandish emphasizes that hurt is merely a common life obstacle, not a permanent barrier to opening one’s heart to new love. “Not everyone will have the opportunity to hurt you, some do come to love you and care for you, and you just do the same,” he noted.

What sets Brandish apart from many of his peers in the entertainment industry, he says, is his willingness to center raw, personal emotion and positive messaging in his work. Many artists shy away from sharing their private struggles with heartbreak, but for Brandish, this openness is not a matter of courage — it is a core part of staying true to himself. “Ninety per cent of them go through it because they are human; they go through heartbreak too, and expressing it is good for the soul, and it frees you up,” he explained. His artistic mission is simple: to preserve the authentic, joyful, reality-centered reggae that rooted his upbringing, with intentional positive messaging that uplifts listeners.

Looking ahead, one of Brandish’s biggest career highlights is coming this June: he is set to perform at *Legends of the Caribbean – A Tribute to Dennis Emmanuel Brown*, scheduled for June 26 at Ottawa’s Meridian Theatre in Canada. A lifelong fan of the late “Crown Prince of Reggae” Dennis Brown, Brandish called the opportunity to honor the icon a profound honor. Brown, who was named Bob Marley’s favorite singer, has been a household name for Brandish since early childhood, remembered for his enduring focus on love and celebration of Jamaican culture. When asked about his favorite Dennis Brown track, the singer says he cannot pick just one — he has too many beloved songs from the legendary artist that shaped his own musical journey.