ZJ Chrome blazing up the airwaves!

Creative, humble and enthused about music, ZJ Chrome has been blazing the airwaves not only on radio but with his own rhythms.

Having burst on to the production scene in 2007 with his Chromium rhythm which featured hits like Shake It Up from Munga and Twice A Day from Mavado, Chrome is continuing to make waves with his Cr203 Records. Born Shaun Chablal and hailing from Clarendon, Chrome has been a member of the Zip FM family for the last seven years playing the music before deciding to go into producing.

He told THE weekend STAR recently, "ZJ Chrome is the untouchable, meaning untouchable mixes, vibes, energy just the musical side of who I am. I got started in music when I was 13 and when I saw a man scratching a record on TV and I said I have to learn to do that and that became my motivator to become a DJ."

According to Chrome, he decided to produce music in 2007 when ideas for rhythms began "popping" into his head. The ZJ came on the scene with Chromium and followed up with sombre Recession. It was the dancehall banger Trippple Bounce with Hope and Pray from Mavado, Mr Officer from Kartel, however, that he cites as his big break into music. Triple Bounce earned Chrome a nomination for an Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) Award. The popular Madd Collab followed with the smash hit Clarkes, then the one drop Cardiac Bass and more recently Smokin.

own influence

While he doesn't build the rhythms himself, Chrome says he's always present to put his own influence in the music, directing patterns and ideas. He said, "anything that has creativity and vibes to it, I love it. People do say other people 'make for me', while it's truth, I'm fine with it. I'm not a musician but it's my creative idea that is being heard on the record. I just don't sit and somebody make me a rhythm and claim it's mine."

As to whether he expected to achieve such success with his works he said, "you don't go in with an expectation, just go in with whatever I feel and like and hope people like it too." According to Chrome, Smokin, which has songs such as Stulla from Mavado, Dumpa Truck from Kartel and Whine from Stephen McGregor, has been getting great reviews. Coming out soon, Chrome says will do a few singles with the likes of Kartel, Konshens, Assasin, Munga, Bugle and Serani and a new rhythm titled Dancehall EFX. For the future, the ZJ joked, "I see myself at home just resting watching the money pile up."

THE JAMAICA STAR

Jamaica's Mavado signs Lime deal!

Jamaica's Singjay Mavado is on a high after signing an endorsement deal with telecommunications giant Lime.

The singjay officially inked the deal this week and, according to his manager, Julian Jones-Griffith, is pleased by what they believe is another positive move.

Jones-Griffith told THE WEEKEND STAR they were approached by Lime more than a month ago and are now officially part of the Lime family. This will be the first major endorsement deal signed by the artiste. As part of his deal, Mavado will be involved in advertisements, billboards and appearances for the company.

a great move

According to Jones-Griffith, Mavado and Lime have been working closely together at their events such as the recently concluded Fashion Night Out. He said, "This is a great move for Mavado and really reflects positively on him and his image overall. There's been a marked upturn in the amount of corporate work he has been doing in the past year and we really appreciate the support from corporate Jamaica."

Mavado is among artistes who will be advertising for the company.

In recent months, the singjay has been striving to be a positive influence. He and long time rival Vybz Kartel closed the books on their musical war. Since then, Mavado has assisted in bringing peace in his Cassava Piece community. A change has also been noted in his songs that have been socially conscious such as Change Right Now.

Mavado is also in the process of building a learning centre in Cassava Piece, to be opened in January. In early September, the singer also hosted a special back-to-school treat for the children of Kingston 8.

The good news for Mavado keeps on coming as Jones-Griffith explained that the singer was nominated for 'Best Reggae Act' at the 15th Annual MOBO Awards show taking place at the Liverpool Echo Arena on October 20th. The singer won his first MOBO award in 2008. The artiste also recently started his 'Guinness Stulla Wednesdays' at The New Quad and will be making a video for the song, Stulla, shortly.

'This is a great move for Mavado and really reflects positively on him and his image overall'.

THE JAMAICA STAR

Kanye West Responds To President Obama For Calling Him A "Jackass"!

In an interview for XXL, Kanye West expressed his thoughts on the comment President Barack Obama made a year ago after the rapper interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards of last year.

In an off camera recording, the President was filmed addressing Kanye as a “jackass” for disrespecting Swift while she was giving her acceptance speech.

So far the rapper had not answered to the President yet, although the two of them have met several times and have a solid relation. However, after a year, Ye has finally addressed the issue by asserting that he is sure President Obama had more serious things on his plate to think about than losing sleep over the well-known West-Taylor incident.

Kanye said, “When Obama called me ‘Jackass,’ after the Taylor incident, I thought that the [wrong] person [had] to be speaking off the record. Obama has way more important stuff to worry about than my public perception. He was trying to pass the healthcare bill. And if he said that to relate to the room or lighten the room up and the whole mood, then I'd be more than happy to be the butt of all of his jokes if it in the some way helps his overall mission.”

Ye concluded by claiming that, “I'm a soldier of culture. I'm resilient. I'm sure I'll still beat him in basketball.”

YORAPS.COM

Jay-Z Lands On Forbes 400 Billionaires List!

Hip-Hop mogul Jay-Z is one of 15 entrepreneurs Forbes magazine has predicted will be worth a billion dollars by the year 2015.

Jay-Z was named amongst an elite group of tech moguls, hedge-funders, athletes and entertainers who all have a chance of breaking into the Forbes 400 this decade.

According to Forbes, Jay-Z has a total worth of $450 million, through his Roc Nation label, his catalog, which returns to him in 2014, Rocawear and a stake in the New Jersey Nets.

The rap star/mogul was listed alongside movers and shakers like Facebook's Sean Parker ($900 million), Marc Pincus (Zynga $850 million), producer Jerry Bruckheimer ($850 million), Jerry Seinfeld ($800 million) and others.

Others on the list include: Eric Lefkofsky of Groupon ($750 million), hedge fund manager William Ackman ($700 million), Dennis Gillings of Quintiles ($700 million), Ray R. Irani of Occidental Petroleum ($700 million), movie producer James Cameron ($650 million), Michael Jordan ($500 million), Tiger Woods ($500 million), Craig Newmark of Craigslist ($400 million), Tyler Perry ($350 million) and Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn ($340 million).

Jay-Z met up with Forbes' billionaire founder and CEO/Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes and fellow billionaire investor Warren Buffett to discuss his success.

"That was the greatest trick in music that people ever pulled off, to convince artists that you can't be an artist and make money," Jay-Z told Forbes about his tremendous success as an artist and business man. I think the people that were making the millions said that. It was almost shameful, especially in rock 'n' roll.

"Here you got these millionaire guys who had to pretend as if they weren't successful at all or it would be like a detriment to their career. Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational," Jay-Z continued. "It always broke that notion that an artist can't think about money as well. Just so long as you separate the two and you're not making music with business in mind. At some point it has to be real when they touch it, when they listen to it. Something has to resonate with them that's real. When you're in the studio you're an artist, you make music, and then after you finish, you market it to the world. I don't think anything is wrong with that. In fact, I know there's nothing wrong with that."

Warren Buffett, 80, echoed Jay-Z's comments during the inaugural Forbes 400 Summit, which took place earlier this month at a restaurant near Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway offices in Ohama, Nebraska.

"Jay said it perfectly when he talked about how he's in there recording for himself, and the money comes afterwards," Buffett said. "I got to do what I love, and it doesn't get any luckier than that. I would be doing what I do now and I would've done it in the past if the payoff had been in seashells, or sharks' teeth, or anything else."

ALLHIPHOP.COM

Blak Ryno 'stings' in Trinidad!

Blak Ryno aka The Stinger last weekend lived up to his namesake, delivering another stinging performance to the packed house at the Sting Night Club in La Romain, Southern Trinidad.


The Dancehall recording artiste armed with a bevy of new material combined with his recent hits, served up a musical feast at the event dubbed ‘Dancehall Face-Off’. His fiery set had patrons clamouring for more, evident by the loud screams and banging against the walls of the facility as he unravelled his lyrical artistry.

The single ‘Real Stinga’, one of the deejay’s most popular hits on the twin island republic gained him some of the biggest forward of the night.

Armed with two new videos ‘Come A Mi Yard’, ‘Wine & Dip’ and several new singles, Ryno is back in Jamaica preparing for an intense promotional campaign.

His latest effort entitled ‘Shadez’ featuring Seanizzle on the Split Personality Rhythm continues to find favour on the FM airwaves. The song was produced by Seanizzle Records.

ONE876ENTERTAINMENT.COM

Mavado starts Stulla Wednesdays - Guinness, Quad join with artiste in hosting weekly event!

Singjay Mavado will be trying his hand as a promoter at his 'Guinness Stulla Wednesdays' which kicks off at the New Quad tonight.

This will be the singjay's first time promoting a weekly event, having hosted events in his community of Cassava Piece as well as his birthday party at various venues.

When THE STAR spoke to Mavado's manager Julian Jones-Griffith he explained that Mavado had been thinking about having his own weekly event for sometime. He said, "we've been thinking of doing it but it was really the operators of the Quad that contacted us about it, so it's a partnership between us. We came up with the name and picked the selectors we wanted etc."

PR and Marketing Officer for the New Quad, IB Konteh, told THE STAR, "we wanted someone who's hot in the business now to do a series with and Mavado naturally came to mind. We pitched the idea and he loved it and Guinness loved it. The club scene has really been missing a dancehall night for years now. Cactus used to do it and so did Asylum but we wanted to bring back an authentic dancehall vibe that's fun and everybody can come to."

The name was chosen from Mavado's latest song Stulla on the 'Smokin' rhythm. In a release sent to THE STAR the singjay said, "It seemed like the perfect name for the weekly event. Because it's so fresh and full of energy."

everybody will be happy

He also added in the release, "It's the ideal place for everyone to come and party. It's a club that is central and everyone is familiar with and Stulla Wednesdays will be catering to everyone. We can party right through without disturbance. We have hand-picked the best selectors every week so everybody will be happy."

To kick off the event music will be from selectors such as Tony Matterhorn
, Boom Boom and FAME FM's Arif 'Supa' Cooper. According to Jones-Griffith, fans can expect to see Mavado, as well as other 'Gully' members, partying at Stulla Wednesdays on a regular. However, he says it's open to everyone to come out and party saying, "you can expect to see a lot of people in the entertainment community there, not just Alliance related."

In the meantime Mavado has been busy in the studio working with Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor among others and has some overseas collaborations with an American rapper called Vado - among others.

THE JAMAICA STAR

Chedda and ZJ Bambino tops 150,000 views on youtube!

Darkcide Media recording artiste Chedda and radio personality Trevor Off-Key more popularly known as ZJ Bambino, continues to enjoy immense success with their ‘Fake Jeans Admit It’ video since its release over two weeks ago. The video now in rotation throughout the Caribbean region has racked up an impressive 150,000+ views on the popular Youtube video network and is set to make it’s official debut on African Television this week.


Shot throughout the enclaves of Downtown Kingston under the direction of Roger B Stillz, the video will premier on Steppin Razor TV later this week. Steppin Razor TV which airs on Citizen TV in Kenya and DSTV Channel 146 in the wider Africa is one of the continents’ premier entertainment television programme, showcasing stories of celebrities and their artistic achievements. The show also covers the spectrum of Jamaican entertainment, the history, successes & accolades.

Chedda whose given name is Tyrello Johnson and his management are now in talks with Iceyjace Film Factory to shoot a second video for his single ‘Cleanest’ with teen sensation QQ. The single was recently featured as one of the official tracks on the LIME Road Show held on Friday’s Fashion Night Out.

Meanwhile his latest effort ‘Gyal Clown’ produced by Rapid Burst Entertainment continues to find favour on the FM airwaves and is the first single from the soon-to-be released compilation of a similar name.

ONE876ENTERTAINMENT.COM

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Vybz Kartel and the Empire head to Europe next weekend!

Vybz Kartel and the Portmore Empire will be heading to Europe at the end of this week for a worldwind tour that will see him performing in three countries over a four day span.

He will be one of the headliners at the Amsterdam Reggae Festival at
the Heineken Music Hall in Holland on Saturday, September 25th. He
will also perform on at the Crystal Lounge in Zurich, Switzerland on
Friday, September 24th and he will climax his European swing with a
performance at the Elyesse Montmarte in Paris, France on September
26th.

Vybz Kartel was last in Europe three years ago where he also performed
in Amsterdam, Holland and in Paris, France.

ONE876ENTERTAINMENT.COM