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Scenes from Street Vybz Thrusdays

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T13:37:42-06:00

Photos By: MILTON RAYNOR

Stop Gaza/Gully feud from growing in the schools

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T12:03:17-06:00

School administrators have joined those expressing dismay at the growing feud among the student population over support for rival dance hall artistes Mavado and Vybz Kartel.

The rivalry has pitted Mavado's Gully supporters against Vybz Kartel's fans who describe themselves as Gaza.

According to Ruel Reid, Principal of Jamaica College, this has created a serious problem in schools and the matter must be urgently addressed before it gets out of hand.

"We don't have to bring it to this level ... we have this thing out there about sound and artistes clashing, always some confrontation. As a society, we've got to move away from that and if the artistes are projecting positive images, it must not lead to division.

Meanwhile, Guidance Counsellor Lameta Lugg said major players in the music industry should take some responsibility for what is happening in the schools.

"I think the music fraternity has to step up, acknowledge that that there is a problem, there is an issue with the music that the children are listening to. In my opinion, it is demoralising ... it is the same music that will be pulling us down and the music fraternity needs to step up and do something."

Too many weapons in school

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T11:51:28-06:00

According to police statics made public by Children’s Advocate Mary Clarke police seized 15 guns and arrested 69 students for criminal offences at public schools throughout Jamaica during 2007/08 academic year.

Statistics for the present academic year were not immediately available, but stabbing and other violent incidents involving students continue to affect public schools. Among the most recent incidents was last month's fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old Grade 11 Fercourt High School student by a boy who attends another school in St Ann.

"Children live in communities where lawlessness abound," said Clarke. "Children pattern adult behaviour, and so when we are dealing with violence in schools we also have to treat with domestic violence. The home is the first school for a child and so we have to treat with community violence,” she was quoted as saying in the Observer.

What’s really happening in our schools. Are we sending our children into war zones instead of learning institutions? It makes a parent want to cocoon their child and not send them out into the big bad world.

Schools say lewd, sexually explicit music distracting students

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T11:36:58-06:00

LEWD, sexually explicit music and early exposure to pornography can have a lasting negative impact on children, psycopathalogist with Children First Camille Lemonious warns.

"Whatever we hear, that is what we become," Lemonious said, responding to a damning Observer investigation over a two-week period which showed schoolchildren and bus crews involved in explicit behaviour while exposed to lewd music in public passenger buses. "When children are in their formative years, music can seep into the subconscious without any effort. Children can't always distinguish what is right and wrong and so they will want to say, practice and experiment what they hear," she explained. "Without a doubt, these types of music will influence their behaviour."
She added that a number of these children will also underperform in school.

"For them to keep awake from 9:00 am 'til 3:00 pm is a big struggle. The interest is just not there," Lemonious said. "Yet if these same children hear a little music is 'pow! pow!' and hands up in the air! They just want to go home and party."

Some guidance counsellors agreed with Lemonious' theory.
"Some students are able to manage and focus on their schoolwork, but for the most part they are distracted," Courtney Thomas, guidance counsellor at St Andrew Technical High school, said. "It boils down to how well they can cope as individuals, but emotional distraction is a big thing for them. There is very little to frighten us anymore. They (children) live in a society where they are exposed to these things and so we have to deal with them in their individual way. In my view, we are an oversexed society in terms of our language, discussions, our music, in the communities - everything is just sex."

According to him once adolescents become exposed to sex, it will captivate and hold their focus.

Osbourne St Bernard Sutherland, guidance counsellor at Kingston Technical High school, has an interesting view. He said the students' behaviour on buses, particularly the girls', give them a sense of personal value and worth.

"It may seem strange, but some see this as giving them some sense of importance to be described in this way," he explained. This, he said, is especially true if they have no father figure.

"They feel a sense of worth if they can appeal to the boys in that way, to be able to make the boys feel a certain way. And what you find is that the music gives momentum to it."

Sutherland feels it is the responsibility of the society to bring children back to a sense of value and morality.

"It is the responsibility of the society - the church, school, media, community - all of us to give them a sense of value and to let them know they do not have to expose themselves to be appealing. It is going to require the effort of all of us."

Pauline Goulbourne and Garfield Jaddoo, guidance counsellors at the Jose Marti Technical High School in Spanish Town, said that some of the students involved in the bus escapades are the same students from the inner-city communities who will confess to going to all-night dances with their parents.

"Dances will keep right through the night and they tell you they went with their parents," Goulbourne said. "Sometimes you feel as if you can't quite reach them. Some of them feel they can't be anything in life, that they are worthless, and so we have to first build their self-esteem."

Jaddoo agrees that many students in and around Spanish Town who display these behaviours are in fact coming from communities where this type of culture is the norm.

"We engage them in group counselling, workshops with parents, community groups and things like that," Jaddoo said. "But sometimes it is being undermined because they go back into the community and see the same things. But you have to encourage them regarding what they want to accomplish. Music is a part of us, it does influence behaviour, but it is how and what you listen to," he said.

Sean Paul takes the Soul Train Award for Reggae

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T11:29:51-06:00

Sean Paul took home the award for Best Reggae Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards, held on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

The Best Reggae Artist catagory was a first this year for the award show. Nominees for the 2009 Soul Train Best Reggae Artist Award included Mavado, Serani, Tarrus Riley, and Ziggy Marley.

Yardflex would like to join in with those congratulating Sean Paul

Lindsay Lohan Calls Her Dad a Loser

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T11:20:56-06:00

After Michael Lohan released recorded tapes of his daughter Lindsay Lohan's cries for help, the 'Mean Girls' actress struck back at her father, branding him a "loser."

"My fathers [sic] such a loser & those recordings are from years ago," Lohan tweeted. "To release personal things is foul enough, but to edit them ..."

"I used to think ... that he needed the book for dummies on learning how to be a father. Haha-he's [sic] needs the book for dummies on HOW TO BE A MAN," she wrote in a second update.

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YardFlex — 2009-11-06T11:06:53-06:00

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YardFlex — 2009-11-06T10:24:15-06:00

‘To Di Worl’ – Olympic Documentary wins Milan Sports Film Festival

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T08:51:31-06:00

‘WHY DO JAMAICANS RUN SO FAST’ the documentary film by Spanish/Jamaican company Nice Time Productions on the triumphs of Jamaica’s Beijing Olympic athletes, has triumphed over 120 entries from the world’s leading sports TV stations and film makers, to win the Garland of Honour in the category of “Olympic Spirit” at the 2009 Milan Movies, Sports & TV Film Festival in Milan, Italy.

Shirley Hanna, Executive Director of Nice Time Productions said the Award was presented on Wednesday, November 4 to producer Fernando Garcia and director Miguel Galofre, who attended the Festival in person and received the gold award. The Garland of Honour is one of three special categories of Festival awards. The Excellence Award was won by the official film of Olympic Games of Beijing “The Everlasting Flame: Beijing Olympics 2008” produced by CCTV - China Central Television – China and presented to the director of the film Gu Jun and to the General manager of the CCTV Dr. Guo Benming.

WHY DO JAMAICANS RUN SO FAST features footage of all the six Beijing Olympic Gold medal victories, as well as interviews with the medal winners at home in Jamaica, features of the communities in which they live and comments from leading Jamaicans. A reggae music soundtrack completes the joyous feel of the documentary.

The film received applause and acclaim when it was premiered in February 2009 at the CPTC as part of the scaled-down Reggae Film Festival, and it was later selected as the opening night feature of the Kingston On The Edge arts week. In September the film was one of the top three winners in the Best Documentary category of the American Black Film Festival held in Miami , Florida .

Nice Time Productions is currently in production of a documentary on dance hall “Hit Me With Music” and a second film on Jamaica ’s prison rehabilitation programmes.

VIEW TRAILER

Vybz Kartel Condemns the Sale of Violent 'Gaza Buttons' to Children

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T08:38:06-06:00

ST. CATHERINE, JA (Ms. RAINE INC.): In response to current reports of 'Gaza buttons' and paraphernalia depicting the violent images of Dancehall deejay Vybz Kartel and the so-called Gaza/Gully feud being seized from vendors at several Corporate Area schools, Adidja 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer issues the following statement:

"Vybz Kartel does not sanction or condone the selling of Gaza buttons with violent images and statements, especially to children and teenagers. We do not own the Gaza name but recognize that unscrupulous and unethical persons may be seeking to profit from the popularity of the Gaza name by engaging in these terrible practices. We urge the relevant authorities to move quickly to protect innocent children from those who would seek to corrupt them.

Vybz Kartel is in the business of music, and through Vybz Rum Limited,the business of alcoholic beverages. We are not involved in the business of merchandising, nor do we benefit from the sale of clothing and other paraphernalia which may bear the Gaza name."

Today's Daily Word - Friday, November 6, 2009

YardFlex — 2009-11-06T08:22:40-06:00

Prosperity

I am blessed by the goodness of God.

Prosperity manifests in my life in myriad ways--not only as money. As I count my blessings, I realize that God's goodness is everywhere. I give thanks for my food, shelter, friends, family and livelihood. I focus on my blessings rather than dwelling on any perception of lack.

The more I look for things to be grateful for, the more blessings I find. By noticing these blessings and giving thanks, I am positive, productive and prepared for good.

The more good I perceive, the more I receive. As I appreciate all of God's blessings and dwell in abundance and contentment, even more goodness comes my way.

I choose to live in God's abundance, accepting all the blessings life has to offer.

I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given.--Luke 19:26
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Xtras boss gunned down at home

YardFlex — 2009-11-05T11:15:01-06:00

Sandra ‘Sandy’ Supersad, general manager of the popular Corporate Area chain of boutiques, Xtra’s, was gunned down Wednesday evening as she drove into her gated apartment complex on Waterloo Avenue in Kingston.

Supersad had reportedly driven her Suzuki SUV into the Waterloo Lawn complex when two men, who had been seen loitering around the complex, forced their way through the gate and approached the vehicle. She was shot three times at close range. Supersad was rushed to the University Hospital of the West Indies in the same vehicle. She was pronounced dead.

Eyewitnesses say the gunmen fled the scene on a bike.
Shock, horror and disbelief was registered on the faces of friends and family members who quickly streamed into the hospital as news of the incident spread across the city.

Supersad’s murder follows sharply on the heels of the brutal killing of the general manager of Tools Hardware, Elva Mullings, who was gunned down in her driveway in Portmore St Catherine exactly one month ago — Monday October 5.

Was Jah Vince beaten or not?

YardFlex — 2009-11-05T11:05:04-06:00

Check out this Star story…never a dull moment in mix up entertainment.

'Why?' is the response from singer Jah Vinci when asked about rumours circulating on the Internet, that he had been beaten and was planning to leave the Portmore Empire.

Rumours have been circulating on the streets for a while that the singer is unhappy in the Vybz Kartel-led Portmore Empire, but got more intense when it was circulated on the Internet that the singer had been beaten. According to a popular entertainment website in an article that was released yesterday, Jah Vinci was allegedly beaten in his face after commenting that he was unhappy in the Portmore Empire.

denied the rumours

When contacted by THE STAR yesterday however, Jah Vinci whose real name is André Kirk Rhoden, categorically denied the rumours of his beating and about him leaving the Empire. The Portmore Empire has been credited for 'bussing' his career in music. "A lie dat, a rumour" said Jah Vinci, who is known for songs such as Watch Yuh Friends and Wipe Those Tears.

He further commented, "last week mi hear sey mi hand broke and all kinda ting. I've been getting all kinda calls from people sey mi lef Empire - it's not true. Everything is good."

Rumours also claimed that Vybz Kartel, who heads Jah Vinci's management team, was taking huge portions of the payments he received.

However, sources revealed that Jah Vinci complained about this, which led to his beating. There are also claims that photos were taken of the singer after his beating.

November 16 trial for Mr Lexx

YardFlex — 2009-11-05T10:58:17-06:00

Christopher Palmer aka Mr Lexx case was put off for November 16 after he appeared in courton Monday of this week.

Mr Lexx was arrested and charged with rape in New York last month.

The DJ appeared in court in Queens, New York and his $US 2,500 bail was extended until his next court appearance.

Lexx was arrested after a woman reported to the police that he sexually molested her. It is alleged that the woman was in her room at a hotel in Queens, when the deejay forced himself on her. The police arrested the deejay the next morning.

The deejay, who is known for songs such as Full Hundred and Cook, is stuck in the United States until the matter is settled in court. He is reportedly working on some musical projects while there.

Bobby V brings int’l flava to Mavado’s birthday bash

YardFlex — 2009-11-05T10:49:44-06:00

International singer, Bobby Valentino, will be one of the special guests at Gully god Mavado’s Mavado's Birthday Bash "Jagra - Real McKoy," on December 5th at Temple Hall Estate, St Andrew.

Mavado and Bobby Valentino worked on a remix of Bobby's Billboard smash "Hands on Me" together earlier this year, as well as collaborating on other yet-to-be released projects. The "Hands on Me" remix is a big hit on the local Dancehall scene and fans can definitely look forward to seeing Mavado and Bobby V sing the song
for the first time together anywhere.
"I cant wait to come back to Jamaica to see my ladies," said Bobby V, who has performed once before in the island. "Last time I was there it was crazy love and I'm thrilled to return and help Mavado celebrate his birthday in style. I'll be singing all the favourite hits for my females, we just gona do it up big for the Gangsta on his birthday!"

Also celebrating with the Gully god will be huge names
from the local artist and sound system scene like Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Busy Signal, Wayne Marshall, Flexxx, Chase Cross, Munga, Demarco, Vegas, Stacious, Spice, Lady Saw, the Gully Squad, Stone Love, Swatch, Sky Juice and Boom Boom/

Security is the prime concern of Mavado for his event as he is determined to have another incident-free party where his thousands of fans can come and enjoy the festivities in a safe and secure
environment. Police personnel and private security will be on site at all times to ensure the safety of patrons and their property.

Atlanta-native Bobby Valentino's first single, "Slow Down," became a top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 R&B single Billboard R&B Singles. Lately he has seen huge success from his single "Beep" and for his unforgettable chorus on Lil Wayne's mega-
hit "Mrs Officer."