CARIBBEAN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS ROUNDUP

By  NAN ET Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Friday, June 21, 2019: Here are the top headlines making news on the Caribbean entertainment scene for this week:

St. Vincent Artist Inks Deal With Marijuana Company

A St. Vincent and the Grenadines singer, songwriter and producer has inked a deal with a global marijuana company.

The Searchlight reports that Kemuel “Karbon Jamz” Stapleton has signed his song ‘Contraband’ to Acres Agricultural Canada corporation, as part of their marketing and advertising campaign.

Acres Agri SVG is a cannabis company that has been training people locally on basic cannabis technology and has conducted scientific testing of local strains of marijuana.

“Contraband”, which was self-produced by Stapleton and co-written by Vinton “Hunta Flow” Ollivierre, speaks to the issue of marijuana consumption and has been in rotation on local radio stations in SVG.

Spice On MTV Award

Dancehall star Spice says she is “elated” that ‘Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta’ has won the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards for ‘Best Reality Royalty.’ The singer was on hand Sunday night in Santa Monica, California to receive the award along with her cast members.

Spice told THE STAR: “I feel elated to have had this opportunity because when I first joined Love & Hip Hop some persons questioned my reasons for doing so knowing of its controversial nature and even said it would have damaged my brand. Instead it has propelled me and my music to a whole new audience.”

Damian Marley Drops New Single

Grammy winning reggae star Damian Marley has come out of musical hiatus for the summer to drop the single “Reach Home Safe.”

The solid summer record is sure to get people excited for summer parties with fresh, cold beverages, sun-kissed moments and most importantly, loads of fun but the lyrics remain socially conscious as is true of Marley.

Billboard Reggae Charts This Week

Columbia, South Carolina reggae group, The Movement, takes the top spot this week on the Billboard Reggae Chart with their new album, ‘Ways Of The World.’ The album was only released on June 7th and features a self-titled track along with singles like Take Me To the Ocean, Orange Sky and Life Is a Circle. The two founding members, Josh Swain and Justin Miller, then relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they acquired a live rhythm section in the form of local Philadelphia musicians Jay Schmidt and Gary Jackson. The band has released six studio albums.

Sean Paul For Israel

Dancehall star Sean Paul, who also has Jewish roots, will return to Israel in July for a or a single performance. The Jamaican, Grammy-winning star will perform at Rishon Lezion’s At The Desert Club.

Nicki And Trinia Collabo

Trinidad born rapper Nicki Minaj and Trina have collaborated on a new track called “BAPS.”

“BAPS” is taken from Trina’s forthcoming album, The One, which is out today, Friday, June 21.

Nicki Minaj released Queen last year. She’s recently teased that a new single “Megatron” will arrive this Friday.

Here Comes Soca Gold Fitness 2019

Now you can soca your way to fitness.  Caribbean owned record label, VP Records, has partnered with Brooklyn, NY-based fitness organization, FITBK/FITQB to launch Soca Gold Fitness 2019.

The launch comes as the label also drops Soca Gold 2019 today, Friday June 21st which will also be celebrated at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Montego Bay on Saturday, June 29th, 2019.

Soca Gold 2019 will feature tracks like “Come Inside” by Sean Caruth; “Sweet Woman” by Tony Prescott; “Issa Snack” by Nessa Preppy;  “Savannah Grass” by Kes and many more. The two-disc CD set includes 17 tracks on Disc 1 and a Soca Gold 2019 Mega-Mix by Team Soca- DJ Spice on Disc 2.

Caribbean US Carnivals

Caribbean American carnival season is underway with two carnivals taking place this weekend.

This Saturday, June 22nd is the annual Charleston Carifest Parade in South Carolina.  Saturday’s Carnival Day Parade will be full of elaborate pageantry and masquerade, and will start on John Street, head to King, Sumter and Congress streets and then to Hagood Avenue, ending at Brittlebank Park (185 Lockwood Drive, downtown Charleston. For more see charlestoncarifest.com

Also on Saturday, the NOLA Caribbean Parade gets underway. The Carnival Parade, complete with Caribbean Carnival masquerade costumes, bands, dancers, Caribbean DJ trucks,and a paint VS powder experience starts on June 22 at 4 p.m. on Canal Street and ends at the festival grounds in New Orleans. See more at