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DON CORNELIUS, 'SOUL TRAIN' CREATOR IS DEAD
On Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Producer and host who created the dance show 'Soul Train', Don Cornelius has died. He was shot dead in his Los Angeles home in what appears to be a suicide.
Reports are that ne...
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Adamari (Qedamawi or Qadamawi) is Ethiopian for 'first', and may also mean 'old' or 'holy'. Haile Selassie was often reffered to as Qadamawi Haile Selassie I, The First, by reknown artists such as Bob Marley, Dennis Brown & Garnett Silk. Adamari is dedicated to the immediate and futuristic reinvention of mainstream dancehall music, reggae music, soca music, punta music, hip-hop music and other Urban or Caribbean music. As a young company owned and operated by young entrepreneurs, it is Adamari's ultimate ambition to serve as a popular catalyst for the present & future generations of musical entertainment & event production & digital distribution of popular music. [MORE...]
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http://www.adamari.net/VP
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Vp Music Group has released
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VP Records, based in Jamaica, Queens NY, is a pioneering force in the reggae music industry. From roots & culture to soca and dancehall, VP Records is the only record label that represents the full spectrum of Caribbean music. For the past 25 years, VP has stayed true to the grassroots from whence it came, always serving its core audience first, moving swiftly to keep up with the sounds of the street. At the same time, with the international success of artists like Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder, Elephant Man, and Tanto Metro & Devonte, amongst others, VP has expanded its leadership in the effort to present Caribbean culture to a mainstream audience as worldwide demand dancehall reggae rises to new heights.
It all began over 40 years ago with reggae pioneers, Vincent Chin and his wife Patricia (their initials leading to the name "VP"), in their native Kingston, Jamaica. Mr. Chin received his first taste of the music business maintaining the jukeboxes at bars around the island. This led his creative and enterprising mind to recognize the opportunity to sell the old records that would otherwise be discarded for new ones. The entrepreneurial couple quickly learned hands-on the business of music merchandising.
In 1958, the success of the Chin's jukebox record venture led to the opening of a landmark retail store at 23 Parade, Randy's Records in downtown Kingston. Within a few years, the Chins opened Studio 17, a production facility frequented by legendary artists Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs and others. In the mid-70s, the Chins moved to America and brought their business along with them to service the growing Caribbean market in the U.S
In 1979, Jamaica Queens, NY became the home of Vincent and Pat Chin's U.S. retail store, VP Records. From the start, the couple quickly became major producers and wholesale distributors of reggae as they established supply lines to record stores all across North America. During these years they earned the right to their slogan "Miles Ahead in Reggae Music," as they became the world's leading distributor of music from Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean.
In 1993, the Chins made the next obvious move and established an impressive record label. From Shabba Ranks and Super Cat to Beres Hammond, Luciano and Sizzla, VP Records became home to some of the top acts in reggae music. In 2002, VP further strengthened its efforts by joining with Atlantic Records in a long-term strategic pact to provide VP with the vast resources of major label promotion and worldwide distribution of Atlantic. Not since Def Jam's historic joint venture with Sony has there been such an important alliance between an independent label and a major distributor.
"Reggae has been mistaken for an underground phenomenon for much too long," said Atlantic president Craig Kallman upon signing the multimillion dollar deal with VP. "Reggae, and specifically dancehall, have been the most prolific sources of musical advances in R&B, hip-hop, club music, and even pop in the last twenty years. Dancehall is the most vitally creative force in global popular music today, and VP is uniquely positioned to bring dancehall to the world."
Releasing an average of 60 reggae and soca albums per year, VP has become known for carrying the hottest artists and the most current compilations. VP's Reggae Gold series has been the best-selling reggae anthology in Reggae year in and year out. The 2002 release of Reggae Gold included Sean Paul's breakthrough hit "Gimme the Light" as well as "Give It To Her" by Tanto Metro & Devonte, another major crossover record, which spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Reggae Gold 2003 includes the LL Cool J remix of Wayne Wonder's massive "No Letting Go" and Busta Rhymes' "Make It Clap" remix featuring Sean Paul, who led the dancehall takeover in 2003.
Other VP compilations Strictly the Best, Dancehall 101 and the Reggae Anthology series have also proven to be popular brands selling consistently year after year. While Strictly the Best focuses on the latest singles from singers and deejays on the hardcore dancehall circuit, Dancehall 101 provides a crash-course for those who are just discovering the dancehall genre, delivering "must haves" from every era of the dancehall explosion. The Reggae Anthology series explores major artists and producers in depth, with expert insightful notes and hard-to-find tunes that tell the full story of legendary figures in reggae dancehall.
VP's current dancehall success started 5 years ago with the inroads made by Beenie Man from his hit albums "Many Moods of Moses" and "The Doctor". Beenie's "Who Am I" single sold over 250,000 units, pushing his career into the international arena. Over the years, VP maintained visibility at radio with hits like Tanto Metro & Devonte's "Everyone Falls in Love" and "Give It To Her," Wayne Wonder's "No Letting Go," and T.O.K.'s "Chi Chi Man." VP's catalog also contains Grammy nominees Dennis Brown "Let Me Be the One," Gregory Isaacs' "Private & Confidential," Beres Hammond "Music is Life," Luciano's "A New Day," Freddie McGregor's "Anything For You," Capleton's "Still Blazing" and Bounty Killer's "Ghetto Dictionary-The Mystery," among others. Morgan Heritage teamed up with rock superstars Good Charlotte for a hardcore remix of "Jump Around" while Buju Banton's released the brilliant Friends For Life, his first album with VP. Sizzla's critically acclaimed "Da Real Ting" marked another major highlight for reggae music, as the powerful singer songwriter released an album that has stayed at the top of the Jamaican charts and become an instant classic. New talents like TOK, Mr. Easy., Sasha, and Tanya Stephens are ready to take the reggae revolution to the next level.
The artist that tells the real story of reggae's success is 2003's dancehall celebrity Sean Paul. VP Records was instrumental in launching his career in 2000 with the release of Sean Paul's debut album "Stage One," which featured his first radio hits "Deport Dem" and "Hot Gal Today." With his latest album and return in 2002, Sean Paul stunned the industry with his "Dutty Rock" album featuring current hits like "Gimme the Light," "Get Busy" and "Like Glue." The album has sold nearly 2 million copies in the U.S. and another two million copies internationally. It has charted in the top-20 in seven territories. In the United States, the record has sold over 2 million units since its November 12, 2002, release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set reached No. 9 on The Billboard 200 and spawned the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 and Hot 100 Airplay single "Get Busy." "Get Busy" was unleashed to the global market, where it has reached the top 10 in 12 territories, including Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., Singapore, Lebanon and Thailand. Sean Paul's biggest territories outside the U.S. are the U.K. and Japan, where the album has sold 200,000 and 120,000 units, respectively. "Baby Boy" Sean's duet with Beyonce Knowles, stayed at number-one on the pop charts for several weeks. The song was added to copies of Sean Paul's album, ensuring strong record sales through the holidays. In December 2003, to cap off an incredible year Sean became the first reggae artist to appear on the cover of VIBE magazine.
While 2003 has been an exciting year beyond wildest imaginations, VP Records has no plans to slow down the momentum. Dancehall will continue to prosper with upcoming albums by the wildly popular Elephant Man "Pon de River, Pon de Bank", up and coming female star Sasha "Dat Sexy Body". Dynamic duo Tanto Metro & Devonte, and dancehall's four man wrecking crew T.O.K (whose single "Gal You Lead" on Massive B's Wanted riddim) has already begun heating up urban radio, with albums scheduled for release in 2004. Beyond commercial radio, the streets will not be ignored with the growing street buzz for Sizzla's "Da Real Thing" album, Wayne Marshall's "Marshall Law" debut, and the many hot tracks released on VP's "Riddim Driven" series, which delivers all the latest hot juggling tunes direct from dancehall's freshest top producers.
For the past two years, VP have been awarded Billboard's "Best Independent Record Label" and for the past three years awarded "Best Reggae Imprint Label." The reggae indie was most recently nominated for Best Independent Record Label for the 2003 Billboard Hip-Hop & R&B Awards. The label's accomplishments have been highlighted in VIBE magazine as well as the NY Times, LA Times, Billboard, Time magazine and many other publications.
By staying true to their roots, VP Records has become a crucial link between reggae music and culture and an ever-growing market ofreggae enthusiasts around the world. After 25 years in the game, the Chin family looks forward to the next quarter century with confidence, knowing that they have built a business that is poised to take Caribbean culture to the highest heights.
VP Records has come a long way from when it was first established over 25 years ago. Just a look at the changing signs at the VP 'top store' in Jamaica NY shows how the company has evolved over time. VP today has become a recognized brand name in reggae music and will continue to develop and further extend our products for all the fans of reggae andsoca music to enjoy.
Greensleeves: A Brief Biography of The Legendary Indie Record Label:
Greensleeves began in modest circumstances as a record shop in West Ealing, London, in November 1975. A move to Shepherds Bush in 1977 saw the foundation of the thriving record label that is now based just west of London in Isleworth, Middlesex, with a sales and promotion office in New York.
Kicking off with two 7" singles, Reggae Regular's Where Is Jah and Dr Alimantado's classic Born For A Purpose, the Greensleeves label quickly established itself. Its first album, Dr Alimantado's Best Dressed Chicken In Town, was a runaway success and has never been out of print since. By 1980 the record shop had become largely a sideline to the record label. Greensleeves quickly established an identity with acts that provide a continuity between those fledgling days and today: the first few albums included work by Augustus Pablo (the acclaimed Original Rockers album) and Barrington Levy, both of whom still appear on the label.
The emergent dancehall culture of the early eighties led Greensleeves to form mutually satisfying relationships with Henry 'Junjo' Lawes, the pioneering early ruler of the genre, and with singer/producer Linval Thompson. This period included dub releases from Scientist, vocal albums from the Wailing Souls, Freddie McGregor, Linval Thompson and Don Carlos, and early works from Black Uhuru produced by Prince (now King) Jammy, another Jamaican producer long associated with the label.
The mid-eighties were a particularly strong time for the label: it's hard to name a reggae star of the era who wasn't associated with the label. Among best-remembered highlights of the era are several albums from Eek-A-Mouse (including the classic Wa Do Dem), 10 albums from Yellowman (including his most famous, Zungguzungguguzungguzeng), Josey Wales' The Outlaw Josey Wales, Johnny Osbourne's Water Pumping, Junior Reid's debut Boom Shack A Lack, and Frankie Paul's early success Pass The Tu-Sheng-Peng.
An eight-year period of home grown productions reached its peak with Tippa Irie's UK top 30 hit Hello Darling in 1986. Other Greensleeves UK acts to score heavily were Wolverhampton's Capital Letters, who hit big with Smoking My Ganja and President Amin (a national hit in Spain), Pato Banton, much of whose early work was released on Greensleeves, and reggae-rapping duo Clint Eastwood & General Saint who were highly successful with Another One Bites The Dust (nine weeks at No.1 in the UK reggae charts) and Stop That Train (No.3 in the national charts in Holland).
Greensleeves was quick to embrace the new digital music from 1986 onwards, issuing Wayne Smith's Under Me Sleng Teng, the record that started it all. In 1988 a long-held association with Augustus "Gussie" Clarke, who had previously supplied the company with albums by Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, and the Mighty Diamonds, suddenly broke big: Gregory Isaacs' Rumours single was the best selling reggae record of 1988 and created a new hi-tech raggamuffin genre all on its own. For two years, Gussie's music ruled reggae, and his productions on Gregory, JC Lodge, Dennis Brown, Home T, Cocoa Tea and Shabba Ranks, and Greensleeves' own signing Deborahe Glasgow, dominated both the label and the reggae world.
For several years Greensleeves licensed the leading American reggae label RAS, with releases from Black Uhuru (including a UK Top 50 entry for Great Train Robbery), Freddie McGregor and Israel Vibration. It continued to distribute the RAS label, and in addition provided UK/European distribution for other leading US reggae labels Heartbeat, Shanachie and VP, for a number of years until deciding to concentrate on its own Greensleeves label in the late nineties. In the late eighties the company also released a world music series, including three albums from Zouk masters Kassav'.
In the early nineties productions from the New York reggae scene began to be issued on the label, and Shaggy's Oh Carolina reached the UK No.1 slot in March 1993, providing Greensleeves with their biggest single to date. The single also reached the top 10 in Holland and Belgium on the Greensleeves label. As a result the innovative NY production team Robert Livingston and Sting International have now built up a substantial following throughout the world and Shaggy himself has been elevated to deserved pop superstar status.
One of the keys to Greensleeves' continuing success has been its willingness over the years to release music from young producers and artists. This is particularly evident from the host of high-profile stars that have emerged on to the reggae scene over the last few years. They include Red Rat with his debut album "Oh No ... It's Red Rat" (1997) and the enigmatic Sizzla who released his classic album "Black Woman & Child" to massive critical acclaim (1997) and has struck gold again with his recent albums "Royal Son of Ethiopia" (1999), "Bobo Ashanti" (2000) and the new "Rastafari Teach I Everything" (2001).
The end of the nineties also produced two national chart hits for Greensleeves. Beenie Man scored his first pop hit with Who Am I (Zim Zimma) which stormed on to the UK national charts at No. 10 in 1998. Following this, dancehall sensation Mr Vegas proved himself a cross-over success: his debut album became Greensleeves' best-selling artist album to date, the title track Heads High reaching No. 16 in the UK pop charts in 1999 after his MOBO award success that year.
To celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2000, Greensleeves re-released 25 classic titles from its catalogue, remastered, re-packaged and at an attractive price. This "Greensleeves Classics" series has been continued with further re-releases on a regular basis.
On its publishing side, Greensleeves has published ten top 20 hits in the UK in the last ten years, including two No. 1's, and Greensleeves Publishing has now developed far beyond its original subsidiary role to the record label. With a well-established network of sub-publishers throughout the world, it has become a substantial business in its own right, currently handling over 12,000 songs, including two recent Top 20 hits in the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.
The new millenium has seen the emergence of the charismatic Elephant Man, whose first three albums on the label have been among the copany's biggest successes recently. Greensleeves has also signed , the most talked-about new star to emerge in Kingston recently, Vybz Kartel, whose debut album was released late 2003. The other recent development on the label has been the success of the Greensleeves Rhythm Album series, meeting the ever-present demand of hardcore reggae fans to own all the cuts on the best new rhythms by releasing them on a single album. Number 27 in the series, "Diwali" produced by Steven "Lenky" Marsden, even crossed out of the base market to reach the sort of sales figures normally only achieved by top artist albums in the genre and spawned the recent Wayne Wonder hit No Letting Go.
As always, Greensleeves keeps its eyes firmly on the future and looks forward to introducing the world to the next generation of artists and producers.
Website: www.Vp.com
MySpace: myspace.com/vprecords |
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Los Angeles Time