What started out as two BPO co-workers looking for healthier beverage options during their lunch break has morphed into Ital Sipz, a natural beverage company whose Spirulz coconut milk-based brand ensures there’s no repeat of others looking for...
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands before becoming the first person to cook in the new, state of the art “experience kitchen” opened by the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival last Thursday....
Charles Grant is the embodiment of doing things to the best of your ability as you never know who may be watching. The University of the West Indies graduate, who holds a degree in hotel management, was doing an internship at a luxury hotel in St...
Jamaican duo FRIDAY NIGHT CRU is offering an introduction to their multi-genre style of music on their debut EP, Welcome to Friday. The project premièred on Friday with two tracks, 876 and Come Gimmie, along with accompanying visuals that flaunt...
Last Thursday not only marked the 73rd birthday of Jamaica’s king of comedy Oliver Samuels, but also the day he received a doctor of letters degree from The University of the West Indies, Mona, for his outstanding contribution to regional and...
Jamaican author Roger Williams is encouraging people to be kind to animals in his latest novel, Only Animals Allowed in Heaven. The plot follows a 12-year-old delinquent boy who is denied a spot in Heaven after he dies. There’s hope as he’s given...
As a child, Kristie Stephenson would be captivated by her grandfather’s ability to tell stories that brought people together. Today, Stephenson attracts audiences near and far through her own style of storytelling – chalk drawings. The artist, who...
There’s an otherworldly trance about The Weed Song by Zac Jone$ and Jesse Royal. Consider it an auditory cannabis paradise where producer Iotosh’s pulsating drums and hypnotic flute are the doormen who grant you access, Jone$’s chill and low...
YouTuber, FamousSoSick, has spent all his adult life on camera, but he’s actually quite shy. The content creator has released songs like Totally and Vybe (featuring Solstarr) over the past year but admits that he can’t see himself as a performing...
Stories of the black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Diasporic community are told in Our Dance of Revolution, a documentary tracking the history of black queer folk in Toronto, Canada. The Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS...
“We nuh mek nothing get we down once we have life,” an upbeat entertainer, Ganggoolie, tells The Gleaner. The dancehall artiste is recovering from a car accident in March which claimed the life of a Jamaica Defence Force soldier and left him with a...
Dancehall and reggae artiste D’Angel is penning a tell-all book about her life. The entertainer, who is celebrating 16 years in the music industry, wants to leave a keepsake for her fans about the highs, lows, lessons and never-before-shared...
Kyoka’s debut single, Hurt People, is endearing for varied reasons. At 24, she’s singing about her pessimistic perspective on love and becoming what she despises because of unhealed trauma. Her openness volumises when she says, “Smaddi check pon mi...
A circle forms around an older woman perusing JACANA’s four collections at its New Kingston opening last Friday. It’s veteran journalist Barbara Blake-Hannah, and her eyes sparkle above her mask as she absorbs the space as a member of the Cannabis...
Strict COVID measures were in place at this year’s graduation photo sessions at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, disallowing extra company, including close family and friends. But for 22-year-old David-Asher, Jon-Michael and Marc-...
“I think a lot of people started to fold psychologically, physically even, during the pandemic,” Yeza tells The Gleaner. She includes herself in this lot, as she went off the grid for a couple of months while she sought to overcome a “low...
‘Delayed but not denied’ is a prominent theme in the career of reggae crooner Chester Miller. The Canada-based artiste is currently promoting his single Unity, a project he had hoped to release five years ago. The Mikey Chang-produced track...
Bella Blair’s EP Shine is consistent with the musical brand she’s built since 2016: refreshingly original, genre-defiant and visually universal. The five-track set, which Blair said wasn’t strategically planned, debuted on September 10 with...
Kushites. It’s the name of a Nubian kingdom often credited for the region’s rich culture and awe-inspiring architecture, but also a fetching label for a marijuana enthusiast. For Chiney KiKi and Evie Pukupoo, it’s both. Even greater? It’s the name...
“It’s literally a local phenomenon,” choreographer-cum-film-maker Orville Hall told The Gleaner about The Bartender. It’s an accurate statement for the Dance Xpressionz dramedy series that has completely transformed Sundays thanks to its...
For the past two weeks, Kyng Tavii’s C!an has been blamed for trying to deactivate the social media accounts of influencers including Negus Imara and Able Boss. The narrative? Tavii instructs his superfan group to report the pages of those who...
Jamaican dancer Chad ‘Global Bob’ Torrington is known for taking dancehall moves worldwide, and now he’s taking foreigners to experience the island through Ease N Sekkle Yaad, a lodging and excursion service company. The brand, named after his...
For more than a decade, DJ Naz Gurlpower has observed patrons erupting with excitement at the sound of other people’s music, and now she’s on the receiving end of gun salutes and ‘money pull-ups’ because of her song Mad Gyal. Consecrating JimmyQ’...
Silk Sonic’s debut record, Leave the Door Open, soared to the top of several charts earlier this year, and Anthony Cruz is confident that his cover of the song will do likewise. The track, which is self-produced on Cruz’s label, Shan Shan Records...
