     New deejay on the rise, Shifta continues to bear fruit from the continuous promotions that he has embarked on since late last year. A mix CD with some of his latest material that he had been issuing to high school students and sound systems has resulted in increased visibility for him. He was quite enthusiastic when we spoke to him on the weekend, ahead of his departure for overseas engagements yesterday (Monday).

     ‘Since I gave out the CDs, my name has become more recognizable now. The videos that are showing have also helped to step up the promotions. I just performed at Juicylicious in Ocho Rios and I also hosted their video show. Last week I performed at an event held at Port Henderson Beach for Spanish Town High School. Before that I did Wolmers barbeque and I have gotten some calls regarding the upcoming Queens High school barbeque. So basically, people are recognizing what I am doing and are reaching out’, Shifta explained.

   In addition to stepping up his campaign, Shifta has recorded a slate of new songs on some of the hottest dancehall rhythms. His song Dancing Shoes is featured on Jazzy T’s new Big Band rhythm. A collaboration titled Like This Before featuring Nicky B is featured on Supa Hype’s Smash rhythm. A video for that song is expected later this month.

     Shifta says he has been recording a lot while voicing specials for various disc jocks and selectors. The ambitious youngster will hosted his birthday bash at Club Oxygen in Florida, on Tuesay. He will head to West Palm Beach at Club TKO on Saturday February 18 for a scheduled performance. Between February 24 and March 5 he will be in Holland and England to fulfill performance obligations.

Interestingly, Shifta once pursued modeling and sound system selecting. But it was the deejay idiom that he would later settle for. He studied Business at the Florida International University and majored in Marketing.

Shifta's latest hit single Stroll Out on the Bounce Back rhythm has been gaining momentum on local airwaves, and it is among a batch of songs from new and rising acts featured on the rhythm.

Sean Paul takes lead as the most successful Jamaican reggae artiste on the Billboard charts

     In 1974 at the height of the popularity of the Kung Fu martial arts films, Jamaican born singer Carl Douglas became the first Jamaican-bred act to score a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. He did that hat-trick with Kung Fu Fighting. Now some thirty two years later, Sean Paul sets a record for being the most successful Jamaican born artiste to dent the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To date, Sean Paul has lodged eight chart entries, including five top 10 hits on the Hot 100 chart.

     His journey began in 2002 when Gimmie the Light peaked at number seven. In 2003 Get Busy rocketed to number one, while Breathe featuring Blu Cantrell stalled at number 70. Like Glue got stuck at number thirteen, while I’m Still in Love With You featuring Sasha played out at number fourteen. Baby Boy featuring Beyonce clocked nine weeks at number one in 2003.

     Sean Paul’s most recent entries are the We Be Burning and Temperature. We Be Burning peaked at number six a few months ago while Temperature at last check, was number eight.

     Just in case you are wondering, Shaggy is the second most successful Jamaican artiste on the Billboard Hot 100. He had seven charted entries to date including two number one hits with Angel and It Wasn’t Me and a number three hit with Bombastic.

New talent to be discovered through inaugural Give the Youth a Buss talent competition

The competition which is the first and only one of its kind and is being organized to expose new talent in reggae and is open to all persons regardless of age, race and nationality. The competition will be judged based on natural ability, production quality, lyrical content, audience appeal and marketability.

‘The response has just been overwhelming” said Louie Grant, Vice President of Irie Jam Radio and executive member of the Give the Youth a Buss” selection committee. “We have received CDs from interested participants here in the tri-state area, from Jamaica, Florida, Atlanta, Canada and even Germany” Mr. Grant pointed out.

The competition will commence with weekly and monthly preliminary rounds. The top six monthly winners will then go head to head against each other in the grand finals which takes place in August. The finals will air live on Irie Jam radio and will be taped for rebroadcast on television in the US. The eventual winner will receive numerous prizes including national publicity in the US and Jamaica; a lucrative recording contract; a video production deal from a major film company in the US and the chance to perform at Irie Jamboree 2k6. Persons interested in entering can mail CDs to Give the Youth a Buss Competition, 56 Harrison Street, Suite 305, New Rochelle, NY 10801. MP3 files can be e-mailed to anthony@iriejammedia.com

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