TIKEN JAH FAKOLY CONTINUES REGGAE TRADITION —04/28/15
Tiken Jah Fakoly of Francophone Africa has been compared to the legendary Bob Marley for his music and philosophy. He has been living in Mali since being exiled from his native Ivory Coast in 2003, receiving death threats in regard to his lyrics. He notes that reggae music continues to be force in cultural politics around the world. He is working on his 13th album and has recorded recently at Marley’s Tuff Gong studio. The new album includes covers of Marley’s Zimbabwe and Peter Tosh’s African.

JAMAICAN COMEDIANS FEATURED AT TORONTO EVENT—04/29/15
Jamaican comedians Tony “Paleface” Hendriks and Ity and Fancy Cat will travel to Canada to be featured at the international Feast of Laughter, which is being held in Toronto. The two comics will join Marcia Brown, Jamaican-Canadian actress and producer, as well as a new Jamaican comedy pair based in Toronto, Pinky and Chrisy. Blakka Ellis will host the event.

BUNNY LEE TELLS REGGAE’S STORY—04/30/15
Pioneering musical artiste Bunny “Striker” Lee is promoting a book and documentary he has created to tell the story of reggae. Lee, a pioneer in ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall and record production, says the works cover the history of reggae from its beginnings to the present. Lee is uniquely positioned to tell the story as he arguably has the largest catalog and clientele in the history of Jamaican popular music. He has worked with Derrick Morgan, Stanger Cole, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Johnny Clarke, and Bob Marley, among many others.

“JAMAICAN MAFIA” WON’T BE SEEN IN ITS NATIVE COUNTRY—05/01/15
Mykal Fax, the co-producer and screenwriter of the acclaimed and highly anticipated film “Jamaican Mafia,” says that it is “ironic” that he has obtained theatrical distribution deals in several countries in the Caribbean, but not in his native land of Jamaica. He stated that after a private screening of the film, Palace Amusements, the distributor in Jamaica, decided that it was too violent to be shown in their theaters. Fax is upset by the position taken by the Jamaican distributor against his film and noted that he had watched several very violent films at Palace Amusement theaters in the past.