CANADIAN REGGAE IN REVIEW
By Antoinette Smith
Char David receiving his Award from Avetha
SALUTING REGGAE ARTISTS WITH A POSITIVE MESSAGE HERE IN CANADA Conscious Kings Part 3 took place on November 24th and by many accounts it was well attended . Mikey Dangerous said , “ I saw what I expected and I thank the fans for supporting ”. This year the event recognized artistes that keep the authenticity in reggae music while providing a positive message .
The host for the evening was the award winning DJ Cool from “ Afternoon Drive ” aired on Radio Waterloo every Monday from 4-6 PM . DJ Cool also received an Award of Appreciation for his commitment and support of the genre . Other recipients were Errol Blackwood , Colin Levy , Visionary , Winston Paddy , Neto Yuth , Ishacure and Mikey Dangerous . The event was held at Central Lounge with live performances backed by the Revolutionaries Band who did not miss a beat .
ONE LOVE HURRICANE DISAS- TER RELIEF CONCERT As everyone may be aware , this past hurricane season was quite a devastating one for the Caribbean . Many islands sustained major damage , which require enormous financial assistance to rectify .
REGGAEXCLUSIVE NEWS
Various initiatives were and still are being assembled within the Diaspora community and worldwide to assist in the rebuilding efforts . One such initiative was the One Love Concert held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts here in Toronto in conjunction with UNICEF Canada and Helping Hands International . Host for the evening was Jay Martin , who is a recipient of the 2017 Caribbean Music and Entertainment Award for Top Comedian among other accolades .
Entertainment was provided by Alison Hinds ( Queen of Soca ), G Loc , Dean Fraser , Agent Sasco , Christopher Martin and Tarrus Riley ( the latter 3 also performed two days later in Jamaica during the Jamathon , which is in support of the same initiatives ). If you are looking for further information or ways that you can contribute please feel free to visit www . oneloverelief . com or www . caribbeanlovenow . org .
RECAP OF THE 5TH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS The Caribbean Music and Entertainment Awards held its 5th edition on September 24th at the elegant Rose Theatre in Brampton , Ontario . As always a wide array of artists from across the spectrum of the Caribbean entertainment industry was in attendance . This year ’ s representation also grew with the inclusion of artistes from a few new categories , which added to further encompass and represent the region .
To give a brief recap , the always humorous Marc Trinidad was back as this year ’ s host . The ‘ Raymond McKnight Memorial Award ’ of significance was awarded to The Might Mystics who have been recognized as one of Jamaica ’ s Pioneer Bands . They believe that music is an outward expression of the inner you musically and they do deliver the best each and every time .
This year as mentioned , several new categories were added to the awards including the category of HipHop / Rap Trailblazer . The recipient of this award was no other than Michie Mee who is no
stranger to the larger Canadian entertainment community as she has been recognized as the first notable female MC and considered to be a national pioneer in the genre . The inaugural winner of the Hip Hop / Rap Category was Leondro .
Looking at the opposite spectrum , the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Jimmy Reid who is another entertainer who really needs no introductions to entertainment lovers . Over 50 years in the business with a catalogue that is timeless and support of the community is art immeasurable . In keeping with the philosophy of most Caribbean family , education is essential and the Caribbean music and Entertainment Awards recognizes this by choosing recipients who are pursuing higher education in Arts from production to stage . This year ’ s recipients were Chante Dillon and Shania Randall ( sponsored by JNBS ). There was also a Youth Arts Award which was given to Joshua Lucas who could
be seen throughout the summer at some of the city ’ s / country ’ s Marquee events .
Community Awards were given to The Heritage Singers who celebrated their 40th Anniversary of brining Caribbean Folk music and theatre to the wider Canadian community . Similarly Rootz Reggae Radio received an award for Community Internet Radio , which truly subscribes to the guiding philosophy that “ Music for All Races in All Places ” and the ability of having a worldwide audience at our disposal , our community spans all five continents .
Some of the other notable award recipients at the 5th Annual Awards were K . I Persaud ( Top International Chutney / Soca ); Razor B ( Top International Reggae Artist ); Alx Veliz ( Top International Latino Artist ); Top Radio Show Reggae winner was from our nation ’ s capital Ottawa , O ’ Shea Adagio ( The Vintage Love Show on CKCU FM ); and from one of the newly added categories of Jazz was Eddie Bullen .
We would also like to express our gratitude to all those who voted for ReggaeXclusive Magazine as we did win for Top Print Media which is slowly becoming a thing of the past . Do remember nominations for this award are open Canadawide and we look forward to even greater participation in 2018 ; to see a complete list of winners from all categories visit cmeaward . com .
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