Umar bin Hassan’s “American Dreamer” Video, Produced by Diggin4Brown, Debuts on Music Choice VOD

NYC entertainment company Diggin4Brown, founded by music producer Will Roberson, announced that the compelling single video “American Dreamer” by Umar bin Hassan (Last Poets) has debuted on Music Choice.

Rally Bop and Will Roberson peace OUT in "American Dreamer"

The shot-in-NYC HD video also featuresCappadonna (Wu Tang Clan) and the fast-emerging Jamaica-to-NYC artist Rally Bop. In the studio, the music was produced by Andre Betts(Madonna), Dink (Jay-Z) and arranged by Will Roberson.

“American Dreamer” is the first single off the new Umar Bin Hassan EP American Dreamer: Brain Storms Part 1.

AS news of the passing of veteran Reggae crooner Gregory Isaacs begins to soak in tributes are flowing in his honour. Isaacs passed away in London this morning from the effects of lung cancer. He had been ailing for some time.

Minister of Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange hailed Isaacs as one of the great pioneers of Jamaican popular music.

Isaacs...died of lung cancer in London this morning. (Observer file photo)

"His career was not only about singing: he was a singer, a songwriter, music producer, promoter and recording executive. Few Jamaican artistes can match this versatility, and even fewer were able to succeed in so many areas of entertainment.

I mourn his loss as the Minister responsible for culture, as a good friend of Gregory and as a fan of good Jamaican music, and hope that his struggle and eventual success will be a model for young Jamaicans in the entertainment sector to emulate,” Grange said.

Musicologist and columnist Garth White was also saddened at the news of Isaacs' death.

"Quite possibly the most arresting feature of Gregory and his compadre Dennis Brown, is how they managed to maintain their appeal through the various changes that our popular music passed through. Thir audience included young and old, both the afficionados from the classic roots reggae era to dancehall," White said.

Bertram 'Ras Mandito' Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artiste's and Associates, (JAVAA), said Isaacs would be inducted into the Jamaica Music Hall of Fame.

"Upon the passing of the Cool Ruler of Reggae Gregory Isaacs, JAVAA extends condolences to his family, friends and fans all over the world. Gregory Isaacs has charted an indelible chapter in the annals of the development of Jamaica's music with his own unique style and with timeless hits," Johnson told the Observer.

Gregory Isaacs was born on July 15, 1951 in Denham Town, West Kingston.

He won several talent shows as a teenager and recorded his first single as part of a duo with singer Winston Sinclair in 1968 before joining the the group The Concords.

In the early 1970's he launched his solo career and formed his African Museum record company with singer Errol Dunkley.

He was arrested in sentence for illegal possession of a firearm in 1982 and had serious problems with cocaine addiction.

REGGAE star Buju Banton is yet to put in place the necessary requirements to take up his $250,000-bail bond that was offered a week ago in the Sam M Gibbons Federal Court in the US state of Florida.

The Observer has been informed that meeting the strict conditions set by Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli last week Thursday is the reason the fourtime Grammy nominee artiste has not completed the bail process.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, was offered bail after 10 months behind bars, following his arrest last December at his Tamarac home in Florida.

As part of Banton's strict bail conditions, he will have to wear an electronic monitoring device and will be subjected to house arrest and 24-hour security, which should be paid for by him.

Under the terms of the house arrest, Banton can only leave his house for meetings with his attorney, for doctor's appointments, to purchase medication and for court-appointed hearings. He will also be subjected to drug testing.

He will have to surrender all his travel documents.

The conditions are such as there is a concern that the artiste may be a flight risk.

But yesterday, David Oscar Markus, the lead attorney on Banton’s legal team, said the artiste will be out soon.

“Buju is hanging in there. He is very thankful for all of the support and friendship. Hopefully he will be out soon,” Markus told the Observer.

After clearing this hurdle of satisfying the bail conditions, Banton’s legal team will have to seek bond in the immigration court to prevent his deportation to Jamaica. Banton’s entertainment visa was revoked following his arrest.

Banton’s bond offer followed his trial which ended in September with a hung jury. The artiste is facing charges of conspiracy to possess and distribute five kilogrammes of cocaine and possession of a firearm during the furtherance of a crime. A retrial will be held in December but a date is yet to be set.

A judge in Florida set the reggae star's bail at $250,000 bail and ordered him to pay for 24-hour security to ensure he doesn't leave his home except on emergency visits to his doctor or lawyer.

With the limited freedom he would enjoy, one wonders if spending that huge sum for just a little sliver of freedom is worthwhile.

But that is a decision that Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, will have to make. It is part of the penalty for getting involved in an alleged scheme to buy large quantities of cocaine from an undercover police officer.

Earlier this month, a jury was deadlocked in Banton's trial. He was charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute coke and a firearm charge that could have put him behind bars for life.

The reggae crooner said he had no real intentions of either buying or selling cocaine and only told the undercover agent of the plan to impress him.

Banton said he believed the agent had good contacts in the music industry and that boasting of the drug plot would make Banton look like a big man to music executives.

Banton's dancehall stylings have won him Grammy nominations and fans across the world who appreciate his gritty, forceful style of singing.

TAMPA, USA — If the US Government has its way, Jamaican Reggae superstar Buju Banton will remain behind bars pending the outcome of his retrial in December on cocaine and gun charges.

In documents filed in the Sam M Gibbons Federal Court, James Preston, the Assistant US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said that Banton, whose registered name is Mark Myrie, was a flight risk, while urging that a bond motion filed on behalf of the entertainer should be rejected, "without any further hearing".

Buju Banton might remain behind bars pending the outcome of his retrial in December

Defence attorney David Oscar Markus had on Tuesday filed the motion for bond, a day after Banton's cocaine and gun-possession trial was declared a mistrial because a 12-member panel of jurors was unable to reach a verdict at the end of three days of deliberation.

Among other things, Markus stated in the document that Banton was not a flight risk because of his fame, and that he was only denied bail before his trial that started on Monday, September 20 due to the revocation of his entertainment visa upon his arrest.

Markus stated in his filing that if the federal court were mindful to grant Banton bail, he would also seek bond in the immigration court to prevent his client's deportation so he could face his retrial.

The bail hearing is tentatively set for October 6, at which time a date for the retrial will be agreed.

But in his written objection, Preston charged that Markus failed to give legal support as to why his client should be released pre-trial, and noted that with this second motion for bond, Banton "wholly ignores the previous court order for his detention".

"The motion should therefore be denied," the prosecutor stated in the document.

Preston also rebutted the assumption by Markus that the Jamaican entertainer is not a flight risk because of his notoriety.

He added that Markus, in his motion, had failed to point out that the court had previously found that there were aggravating factors, based on the evidence, for Banton's detention outside of his immigration woes.

"The defendant has presented nothing new, other than a hung jury, for the court's consideration," Preston wrote, while adding, "The defendant again fails to rebut the presumption that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure that the defendant is not a risk of flight."

Banton has been in jail since his arrest last December 10 when he was charged, along with friend Ian Thomas and James Mack, for conspiracy to possess and distribute 5 kilogrammes of cocaine and possession of a firearm during the furtherance of a crime.

Both Thomas and Mack, who were arrested hours before Banton at a warehouse buying the drugs from an undercover agent, have since pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in November.

Reggae artiste's fans nervous but hopeful

TAMPA, USA — A second anxiety-filled day has ended without jurors reaching a verdict in the cocaine trial of Reggae artiste Buju Banton. The jurors resumed their deliberations yesterday morning about 9:50 Tampa time after being unable to reach a verdict on Thursday.

Yeaterday afternoon, anxious supporters appeared weighed down, some with their shoulders slumped, as the news was delivered by a worker at the Sam M Gibbons Court that no decision had been reached.

BANTON... fate in jurors’ hands

The development will mark a long weekend for Banton's many supporters who turned up at court and the many worldwide who have been on edge since the jurors started their deliberations in the trial that opened on Monday.

David Oscar Markus, the attorney representing Banton, whose given name is Mark Myrie, said he did not know what to make of the length of time it's taking the jurors to reach a decision. However, the defence team remained optimistic.

"We are just trying to stay positive and hope it will turn out OK," Markus told the Observer.

"We believe that there are jurors fighting for him, and we hope they stay strong," Markus added.

The jurors' verdict has to be unanimous. They will continue deliberations Monday morning at 8:45.

The jurors yesterday resumed their deliberations after receiving further instructions from Judge Jim Moody when they inquired as to whether or not a crime was committed on December 10, 2009 when Banton's two former co-accused, Ian Thomas and James Mack, were held in a sting operation purchasing five kilograms of cocaine at a warehouse.

Moody told the jurors that a crime had been committed.

"Your job is to decide whether or not Mr Myrie was involved in that crime," Moody told the jurors.

Banton was arrested at his Tamarac, Florida home that same day and charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute the illicit drugs. He was also jointly charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, given that Mack had a gun when he was arrested.

Banton could be sentenced to life if found guilty and fined millions of dollars.

Thomas and Mack have since pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in November.

The prosecution is contending that Banton had conspired with the men to distribute the drugs. But the artiste's legal team is contending that he was entrapped by the Government.

Yesterday, supporters of the Jamaican Reggae artiste filed out of the court building after a long day's wait, some looking dejected.

They however continued asking fans worldwide to pray for the artiste's release.

Singer Wayne Wonder, a longtime friend who has recorded numerous hit singles with Banton, yesterday said that the Banton was not guilty of the charges against him.

"We have to believe because we know that the crime they charge him for that's not him. Buju sells music, that's what he sells," the singer told the Observer.

PM holds to position in dispute with Brady

THE public brawl between Prime Minister Bruce Golding and long-time Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporter, attorney-at-law Harold Brady took a dramatic twist yesterday when Golding, in response to a libel action filed against him by Brady, defiantly said he would not back down from statements he made in relation to the lawyer in the contentious Manatt, Phelps and Phillips (MPP) affair.

"The suit now filed by Harold Brady is frivolous and vexatious in law and shall be vigorously defended," Golding said in a short news release issued yesterday afternoon after word started circulating that Brady had filed the suit.

BRADY… (left) the matter is before the court. GOLDING… (Right) says Brady’s suit frivolous and vexatious in law. Graphic: Rorie Atkinson

Golding had last month told journalists during a press conference organised by the Press Association of Jamaica at Jamaica House that Brady was no longer a member of the JLP and that he had been asked to resign from several state boards.

The prime minister made the comments in response to a question as to who, as he had stated before, disobeyed his orders in the Manatt affair.

Golding had maintained that Brady misled Manatt — the United States law firm -- into believing that he was retaining its services on behalf of the Jamaican Government instead of the JLP, to lobby US authorities in the extradition case of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who the Americans have accused of trafficking in drugs and arms.

But shortly after the press conference Brady, contacted by journalists, said he was still a member of the ruling party. In fact, he said he was a member of its Central Executive, the JLP's highest decision-making body outside of its annual conference. Brady also denied that he was asked to resign from any state board.

Brady's response plunged the party into crisis, which got worse when JLP general secretary Karl Samuda confirmed Brady's comments.

Talking to journalists outside the JLP's Belmont Road headquarters in Kingston following an emergency meeting on September 16, Samuda said although Brady had not paid his membership fees, this did not prevent the lawyer from remaining a party member.

Samuda said that the prime minister was unaware of this fact when he made his announcement.

In his statement yesterday, Golding said: "On September 15, 2010, attorneys representing Mr Harold Brady wrote to me making certain allegations regarding my actions and instructions to him on the engagement of the US law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. Mr Brady's lawyers demanded a retraction of certain public statements I made on his involvement in the MPP matter. I will not withdraw from positions taken by me in relation to the engagement of MPP and Mr Brady's conduct in the matter as these positions are true and will be corroborated."

Yesterday, when the Sunday Observer contacted Brady, he confirmed that he was suing Golding.

"Yes, I am suing for libel," Brady told the Sunday Observer. "He said I am not a member of the party and I was fired from boards. The matter is before the court and I won't comment on that."

Brady also said he was being represented by attorneys Henlin, Gibson and Henlin.

Golding has consistently denied any arrangement between the US law firm and the Government, and has even challenged Manatt to produce any document showing that it was retained by his administration.

The firm was reportedly paid US$50,000.

The Manatt affair has dogged the Government since March when Opposition parliamentarian Dr Peter Phillips raised questions about the issue in the House.

Since then, Dr Ronald Robinson, who met with a Manatt official in Washington, DC, has resigned as junior foreign minister.