Caribbean Entertainment News Roundup

By NAN ET Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 6, 2019: Here are the top headlines making news on the Caribbean entertainment scene for this week:

Caribbean Roots Rapper For Africa Performance

Dominican and Trinidadian roots rapper, Cardi B, is set for a debut performance on the continent of Africa. She is set to perform in Lago, Nigeria on Dec. 7th and Accra, Ghana on Dec. 8th. Organized by Livespot 360, a digital agency based in Lagos, the festival will feature Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Shatta Wale, R2bees among others. Darey Art Alade, a Nigerian singer and creative director of Livespot 360 says Cardi B was picked to headline the festival because of her immense popularity.

Haitian Born Hollywood Actor Makes Appeal

Haitian-born Hollywood actor, Jimmy Jean Louis, is appealing to arts supporters to keep the CaribbeanTales Film Festival (CTFF) alive and kicking.

Jean-Louis, who is best known for his role as “the Haitian” on the NBC television series ‘Heroes,’ was recently part of the CaribbeanTales Incubator Program, now in its tenth year.

CTFF has a goal of $100,000. Donate here

Nicki Minaj’s Brother Faces Sentencing

Nicki Minaj’s older brother, is set to be sentenced in a child rape case on Dec. 18th. Jelani Maraj is facing up to life in prison. In Nov. 2017, he was convicted of raping his then 11-year-old stepdaughter and has been locked up since.

Maraj and his legal team appealed the case but a judge denied it. He claims that the charges are “bogus” and it was an attempt to extort Minaj out of $25 million.

‘Christmas is Coming’ with Shaggy And Sting

Following their chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning collaborative album, 44/876, Sting & Shaggy have reunited to release a new, festive reggae song entitled ‘Silent Night (Christmas is Coming)’ which is out now via all digital platforms. The duo’s new version adds a little Jamaican sunshine to the classic Christmas hymn ‘Silent Night’ and you can check it out below.

The Duo Of Brown And Kingston

Free-agent receiver, Antonio Brown, says he has teamed up with Jamaican American singer Sean Kingston to drop a debut album in 2020. Brown was released by New England after just one game earlier this season as multiple allegations of sexual assault became public record.

Kingston was also alleged to have committed sexual assault back in 2010 before the case was settled out of court.

Damian Marley & Third World

Legendary reggae band Third World has released the music video for their single ‘You’re Not The Only One,’ featuring Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley.

The song is featured on their Grammy nominated album ‘More Work to be Done.’ Marley also serves as the producer for the album.  The song’s video was filmed in Miami and features Third World, alongside Damian, his older brothers Julian and Stephen Marley, and Stephen’s son Jo Mersa.

Grenada Film Festival

The countdown is on to the second annual 12°N61°W Grenadian Film Festival (1261FilmFestival), set to take place from May 2 – 9, 2020. The festival is currently accepting submissions until January 31, 2020.

Created by Grenadian born filmmaker Meschida Philp, the 1261FilmFestival aims to provide creative spaces domestically and internationally for fellow independent artists that encourage resource sharing, artistic collaboration, and connection with a global audience.

The inaugural 2019 season, featured twenty-two Grenadian creatives, including filmmakers, actors, photographers, cinematographers, editors. Fifty (50) films from thirteen (13) countries, including Grenada, the Caribbean region, and internationally was screened. The 1261FilmFestival also facilitated workshops in film production, film distribution, crowdfunding for films, and script development workshops.

Submissions are only accepted online via FilmFreeway at filmfreeway.com/1261FilmFestival. There is a required submission fee. Filmmakers can send questions to the programming team at info.1261ff@gmail.com via the website at www.1261filmfestival.com.  Filmmakers will be notified on March 1, 2020, and the official schedule will be announced by April 1, 2020.