Sunny Sunita Daffeh, a 22 year-old has emerged the winner of The Gambia’s first-ever reality TV show dubbed ‘Rising Stars Africa’. She was crowned the winner after securing a total of 2176 votes, coupled with her extraordinary performance during the 14-week competition.

The event was jointly organized by Bangz Entertainment, a talent agency and media production enterprise in collaboration with The Gambia Radio and Television Services. The event was meant to discover and promote armature local talent or acts of any type, by providing a platform for contestants to showcase their talents.

In an interview with What’s On, Mariam Bangura, the brain behind the show, described the event as a huge success because it touches the lives of many Gambians, most of whom would not had the opportunity to showcase their talents without ‘Rising Stars Africa’.

Bangura disclosed that the winner of the contest secured the highest votes, couple with her brilliant performance also put her in a good position to win.

“Sunita won D100, 000 and she will be part of panel of judges in the next edition while, the remanding contestants will also be sign for jobs in Bangz Entailment, as mentors for dancers and singers.”

The next edition in 2017, she went on, will be more successful and bigger because they have learned from their mistakes during the 1st edition.  “The next edition will also bring people outside the Gambia to contest and we might work with different international television stations.”

She commended the President of the Republic, His Excellency, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya A. J. J Jammeh Babili Mansa, for creating an enabling environment to operate and show the world that Africans got talents.

The winner, Sunita expressed appreciation to the organizers of the event, especially Mariam Bangura for conceiving the idea to organise such a wonderful show in The Gambia.  She said with the D100, 000 she won as winner, she will invest it meaningfully.

The winner of the most talked about TV show added that practice has been her biggest influence and she loves what she does. “The philosophy I have taken is doing what you love, and today my philosophy has not proven wrong.”

Gambian phenomenal star- ST is set to launch his debut album entitled ‘Watotijay’ on December 10th at Pencha Mi hall.

The well crafted masterpiece album is on high demand by fans both at home and abroad.

At a recent press briefing, Modou Lamin Jammeh, a journalist with the Daily Observer, who is also part of the ST team, elaborated on their level of preparedness ahead of the event.

Sultan as he is fondly called described  S.T as one of the country’s most phenomenal  and recommended musician that continues to make waves in the country.

For his part, the manager of S.T Dembo Jobarteh underscored the tireless efforts management has put in place for the success of the event.

According to him, over the years they have worked with a number of promoters both in the Gambia and outside, maintaining that at the moment they are doing all efforts to make the launching  one of the best event of the year.

“This particular album has rocked the last Open mic and for the last years it was hit in the country.”

For ST the night is expected to be another thriller in the country entertainment scene. He disclosed that there are 12 songs in the album and some of songs in the album featured other Gambian stars.

“So let everybody come out and support the event as it is a Gambian thing. Am going to performed to expectation like never before.” he assured fans.

Born Sanna Singhateh in the late 80’s in Pipeline, ST as widely known by his moniker, without doubt is one of The Gambia’s phenomenal and dramatic sensations at the moment.

He started his music journey way back in 2006 in Brikama and went on to release his first recorded single called “Who is ST” in the same year.

A former student of Nustrat Senior Secondary School, ST was named after his late grandfather. ‘Aling Domoo’, ‘Adiata Nteleye’, ‘Suma Haftan,’ ‘Njunku’ and ‘Brix Boy Swagin’ among others are probably some of the hit tunes that come to  mind whenever his name is mentioned.

At his young age he grasped the feelings of Rap music by listening to renowned legends like Tupac Shakur, BIG, NAS as influenced by one of his elder brothers. It was in his junior years at school when he started recording his first lyrics, but due to strict parental restrictions, ST as a high school teenager then had to pause and focus on his school works. During this period, he developed more skills by writing lyrics for friends instead of rapping for himself.

Soon after completing high school, Da Gambian Dream as he was fondly called had streams of records spinning on radio stations all over the Greater Banjul, West Coast Region and beyond. His motivation to continue rapping was greatly influenced by rap lovers all around the world especially Gambians. On the other hand it was not a pleasant situation for the youngster before he gained freedom to Rap or sing. In January of 2010, he dropped his first local mix tape ”Ga On Fire” alongside P-Mack & Benjamin. The great benefits that the mix-tape brought along were huge; even though it was for him to assess his musical prowess on his path to stardom. The feedback and critiques were so impressive.

by Binta Jammeh

Jah Hero is a self taught musician, singer-songwriter, and producer from The Gambia, residing in Berlin, Germany. His music is a mix of Roots Reggae, Dancehall & Acoustic World Music, through which he reflects his message of peace, unity & respect amongst all nations and races. In early 2016 he signed up for being the opening act on Chuck Fenda’s March Europe Tour.

Born Joseph Mendy on the 20th of July 1980, Jah Hero grew up in The Gambia, where he started off as a DJ, and later formed The Roots Bongo Band with fellow Gambian musicians.

In 2009 he moved to London, where he began learning sound engineering, and recorded an album for the band. The first single ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ written, and performed by Jah Hero was played on BBC 1 Radio introducing his music in the UK.

In the summer of 2012 he temporarily moved to The Gambia together with fellow band singer Nina Beste, to promote the band’s album and to go on a national tour.

During his time in The Gambia, Jah Hero appeared on several local TV shows such as ‘Starline’, ‘Fatou Show’, and ‘Banjul Night Live’. He gave interviews, and press conferences about his journey, and the band on local radio shows and for newspapers, and he co-hosted the radio programme ‘Around The World With Nina’ on Paradise FM.

He also played for several Charity Organizations, including Open The Gate, to support the education of Gambian youth.

Having a German lead singer – Nina Beste – in the band, their message of unity, and respect amongst each other, was one of their greatest missions. Jah Hero has since kept this mission, and message in his music, and even features Nina Beste on several songs of his album, as well as collaborating on making Pop songs into Reggae covers.

In 2014 Jah Hero left the band, and moved to Berlin, Germany, where he has been recording his debut solo album.  His first single ‘Rise’ was released online by his management / indie label ‘Manjago Vibrations’ in September 2015.

He performed with a live band at Reggae shows in Berlin, and across Germany, and plays gigs with the Solid Vibrations Band from Berlin. Solid Vibrations is an international Reggae Band based in Berlin. The band was formed by Jah Hero & Gold-E Locks in 2015, and is currently backing artistes such as Chuck Fenda.

In March 2016 Jah Hero embarked on his first Europe Tour as the opening act for Reggae Legend ‘Chuck Fenda’, including several live band shows backed by his band ‘Solid Vibrations’. His first solo album ‘Chants of Freedom’ was released on the 16th of March 2016, and has since been well received by his fans and the Reggae Scene internationally, with airplay all around the globe.

 The winner of the just concluded Rising Stars Africa competition, Sunny Sunita Daffeh has received a cheque amounting to one hundred thousand dalasis from the organisers of The Gambia’s first-ever Reality TV show.

As winner of the first edition, she will be part of panel of judges in their next edition in 2017.  Rising Stars Africa, a 14-week Reality TV Show brought together over five hundred contestants within and outside The Gambia.

Mariam Bangura, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangz Entertainment, expressed delight to stage the country’s first-ever reality TV Show in the form of a talent competition.

“The competition did not only give the youths the opportunity to come out and display their God given talents, but it also  left a positive mark in the minds of skeptics, who though Gambians cannot do it. Today, I’m proud to say that the idea and vision I believed came to be a reality, and has opened many doors of opportunity for youth.” she stated.

She noted that seven months ago, she wouldn’t have thought that Rising Stars Africa Gambia Chapter will come to past.

“The only strength I had was my faith and trust in God and the support from my partners like GRTS which had the same idea and saw the greatness in my vision, for that I thank them and I will remain loyal to them.”

Bangura maintained that Bangz Entertainment’s vision is to discover young talents whose dreams are to become renowned musicians, actors, dancers, poets amongst others; whose ultimate dreams are to make a significant impact in the international scene.

“It is our quest to help them make their dreams come true”.

Sunny Sunita Daffeh, the winner of the competition, first thanked God the Almighty and all those who have supported her from the beginning to the end.

“I was not expecting to win but God has favored me from the begining to the last day.”

She also thanked her fellow contestants for their love during the competition.  “I did what I love and today and benefiting from the fruits of that labour.” she concluded.

by Omar Wally

Popcaan was named Best Reggae Act at last Friday’s 21st MOBO Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. This was the fifth nomination for Popcaan, whose real name is Andre Sutherland. He also won the award last year.

“Much respect to all my producers in Jamaica and England. Nuff respect to all the Popcaan fans. I appreciate the love that I am getting from the UK and I will always make you proud, like how I make Jamaica proud, okay,” Popcaan said in his acceptance speech.

Surrounded by a heavy detachment on stage, Popcaan added: “Big up Unruly Entertainment. This is my second MOBO award and I wanna say thank you to my fans. Without my fans there would be no MOBO.”

Alkaline, Kranium, Spice and Protoje were the other nominees in the Best Reggae Act category.

In the past two years Popcaan has had a presence on the British national chart. He scored a top 10 hit on Melissa Steel’s Kisses For Breakfast, and was also featured on DJ/producer Jamie XX’s I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times and Aluna George’s I’m in Control.

The MOBO Awards (Music Of Black Origin) recognizes “artistes of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music”. It is billed as the ‘biggest celebration of urban talent” in soul, reggae, hip hop, grime and Afrobeats.

Source Reggaedancehallworld.com

International dancehall/reggae artiste, Beenie Man will be recognised for his contribution to the global music industry when he will be presented with the first Icon Music Award at the third staging of the Ocean Style Icon Award Dinner during the Ocean Style Fashion Showcase Weekend.

International fashion-model turned-actress Selita Ebanks will also be recognised with the Icon Fashion Award, for her contribution to the fashion industry.

“The Icon Award gives us an opportunity to celebrate some of the success of our industry leaders from the Caribbean. This year, we are pleased to present the award to two recipients, dancehall and reggae veteran Beenie Man and Cayman-born fashion model and actress Selita Banks – both whom are recognised around the world in their respective fields, and who have proudly represented the Caribbean on a global scale,” stated Ocean Style founder Douglas Gordon.

Beenie Man and Selita will be presented with their awards at the Ocean Style Icon Award Dinner on Friday, November 25 at the Secrets Resorts and Spas in Montego Bay during the Ocean Style Fashion Showcase Weekend.

The weekend will see several local and international celebrities making their way to the Second City for four days of fun, fashion, entertainment and golf.

The dinner will be hosted by presenting sponsors Stocks and Securities Limited, Mont Blanc and Reggae Tech, and covered by MTV.

Source Jamaica Gleaner

The Grammy Nominees for the 2017 Best Reggae Album for the year 2016 is not out. Again there are no top dancehall album making the short list.

This year artistes such as Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Alkaline and Agent Sasco all released new album but they did not make the shortlist.

The biggest surprise from the nominations is Devin Di Dakta’s ‘Reggae For Her’ album featuring J.L which is produced by Sly & Robbie.

Here are the top six Nominees.

1. Sly & Robbie Presents… Reggae For Her – Devin Di Dakta & J.L
2. Rose Petals — J Boog
3. Ziggy Marley — Ziggy Marley
4. Everlasting — Raging Fyah
5. Falling Into Place — Rebelution
6. Soja: Live In Virginia — Soja

Who will take home the 2017 Grammy for Best Reggae Album?.

Source Reggaedancehallworld

Recording artist Jahmiel is set to perform in Cayman Island for Winterfest 4.0. Celebrating a successful year Jahmiel is seeing fruits of his labour pay off.  With a growing catalogue, Jahmiel has become one of the most sought after artist out of Jamaica.

With his lyrical versatility, positive messages and ability to deliver vibrant performances, Jahmiel schedule remains hectic. Performing on some of the major festivals in Europe, US and the Caribbean Jahmiel looks forward to delivering another stellar performance this Friday, December 8th in Cayman Island.

Jahmiel is set to share the stage with some of music major recording artist such as Kymani Marley, Yazz from TV series Empire and R&B star Avant. Jahmiel has recently released a new single on Seanizzle 47th Floor titled “Clear the Way”.

Source Destine Media

Fashion Weekend Gambia (FWG) recently staged its 5th edition at a spectacular event held at a hotel in Bijilo. The two-day event held from 25th to 26th has brought rapid change in the fashion industry as it revolves with tremendous changing trends in every show. However, this years’ event was described by many as a super fashionable and glamorous show with creative design collections.

Sainabou Secka, a Gambian-Sweden based designer with her Melanin Queens designs, said the opening of FWG 2016 means a whole lot to her.

“This is my first time on the show and it was an amazing experience to see the models showcasing in my collections, which is classic and simplistic casual wears. This year’s editions showcased some new designers and old ones who have made names for themselves through FWG since inception.”

The two-day jam-packed event saw twenty-five designers all with one target that is to cut a slice of the cake on the fashion table. They include the likes of Melanin Queens, The Badjiz Designs, BJ Creation; SND, House of Lilly, T-Fa; Idas Ideas, Ndey Fatou Ceesay, Salam Batik, AJavo(SN); Nyanya, Medoune; Lilleo, Button Up Creations, Tiga; Daraja, Sowe Pullou, Taali, Phuzion; Sega Designer (SN), Ziza, Paja, Soboye (UK) and Yaws.

FWG is truly a beacon of hope in the country’s fashion industry. The event is helping young designers with a platform to showcase their collections to local and international buyers on what Gambia can offer in fashions trending market.

The cutting edge in fashion is without doubt that The Gambia is on the right track in making the Smiling Coast of Africa a fashion hub that will not only cater for young designers to showcase their designs, but also help in creating entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as business networking to better maximise the potential in some of Africa’s most brilliant minds in fashion creativity.

Most of the designers that showcased in this year’s edition, told this media that they are proud of the organisers of FWG2016.

They pray for the continuity of the annual event so as to gives them the strength to add new trend, glamour, sophisticated elegance and style to the show.

by Alpha M Kamara

Born Amadou Secka, Vypa or simply Skinnyboyfly, as his stage names, is a Gambian superstar. Young, cool and calm, his versatility and creative talent is just amazing.

Vypa’s persona shows positivity. He is a man with a vision of putting his motherland (The Gambia) on the global music map. Starting his rap career during his senior years with some of his schoolmates, he eventually formed a rap group called the ‘Hoodhustlers’. The group released its first project, which was a CD compilation titled ‘Voices of the Ghetto’ in 2007, before ceasing to exist as an active group. Later on, Vypa went solo releasing couple of solo projects.

It was in March 2009 when he released his first solo project, a mix tape called “Hustlematic scriptures (the prequel), with one ‘Life to Life’ featuring Rugie and another heavy flow as lead singles. It’s made up of a collection of tracks he had been working on, as it’s more like a compilation CD.

The rising star released his second mixtape, which was more like a compilation called “The Apocalypse (death of realism) in 12 June 2010.

With nationwide hits like “Must Get there featuring Sing-A-Teh and ‘Amore’ featuring Lenna”, his popularity shut beyond borders. These hits gained successful air plays on local radio stations, and on the internet they went viral. Vypa went on to shoot two videos on the ‘Apocalypse’ mixtape called ‘Rock Your World’, featuring Snow Ezy and ‘Amore’ ft. Lenna’, being featured constantly on The Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS).

One of the projects he is involved in is the movie soundtrack titled ‘Jiwu’ ft. Jali Momodou for the movie ‘Kodho’, a local movie produced and directed by Efe Omo Egori of SupaGrafix media.

In 2011, he released a hit single ‘Skinny boy fly’, later shooting a classy HD video for it in May 2012, creating an internet buzz, which exposed him to his fellow Gambians abroad. It also gave him a good start in the international market among other nationals, making him a household name locally. The video gained constant air plays on the local TV station and international satellite TV stations like the UK BenTV, which led to the nomination of ‘Skinny boy fly” video, winning the best video award in the first-ever local video awards held in The Gambia.

He also released a new single titled ‘Marro’ ft. Sandeng in June 2012. It was often played on radio that it earned him a place at the country’s biggest local music festival, the Open Mic Festival (OMF), which boasted of a selling crowd of 30 to 35 thousand.

This was followed by another promo single with Senegalese international artiste called Fafadi. Their music titled “Swag” was produced by international producer, Hakim of Sunland, who has produced for world class superstars like Akon, Youssou Ndoure, Vivian, among others.

It was among the most popular singles in the local scene, gaining him two nominations for awards.

In addition, Vypa released another promo single called ‘Hot boy’, accompanied with a video too. This was soon followed by the release of a new mixtape called ‘NUTS’, which was released on the 14th October 2014, and went on to shoot two videos on the mixtape.

He released two other promo singles ‘Young Nikka’’ and “The Anthem Nyunla” later remixing the anthem featuring Fata with an accompanying video, gaining another big boost in the music scene. The popularity of this song captured people’s imagination beyond borders, as it became a big hit internationally, including neighboring Senegal. As a sign of his international recognition, the ‘Nyunla’ video made it as number 2 among the top ten list of SOUND CITY, one of Nigeria’s biggest music TV channels. His latest effort is the release of another promo single titled ‘’Young Nigga’’, with both an E.P and album.

One of his phenomenal stage acts was at the 2015 OMF, where he treated tens of thousands of spectators to a scintillating fanfare. OMF, no doubt, is one of Gambia’s biggest music festivals, which annually draws tens of thousands of fans at the Independence Stadium in Bakau. During this event, Vypa shows progress, creative ability, free-flowing style and smooth delivery in grand style.