Shaggy Parrot and the Reggae Band

Michael Robinson, Gleaner Writer
published: Wednesday | September 24, 2008

Grammy-award winning dancehall artiste Shaggy has got his feet wet in a brand new genre - children's literature. Shaggy Parrot and the Reggae Band is a book-and-CD set made for kids aged two to six years with a serious message about the environment.

Set in Ocho Rios, St Ann's Laughing Waters, the story follows a team of sea creatures and Shaggy Parrot as they form a reggae band to cheer up a waterfall. It seems the waterfall is upset because people have been polluting it, and Shaggy Parrot and friends come together to clean up and, essentially, whistle while they work.

Colourful illustrations by Trinidadian John Mendes feature local scenery and some of Jamaica's indigenous marine life. The CD, which boasts nine tracks by reggae's only diamond-selling artiste, contains portions of the story, with Shaggy, christened Orville Burrell, also reading for the title role. The music on the CD was created by Sean Paul's musical director, Rupert Bent III, Jana's brother, as well as members of Sean's Pauls' backing band, Badda Banz.

Teaching tool
Shaggy Parrot and the Reggae Band is the brainchild of Jana Bent, who was among the team of writers which included Kellie Magnus, Nicole Hoo Fatt, Rebecca Packer and Veronica Salter. Bent said she came up with the idea after reading a children's book introducing toddlers to jazz music. "My daughter really loved it," she said, and I realised we needed to do this for reggae. Once we were into the production we decided to go all the way with the educational aspect of it." The book covers several themes required by the Ministry of Education's syllabus, making it a valuable teaching tool as well.

Motivation
Magnus, creator of the Little Lion book series, said her motivation was a heartfelt desire to promote literacy at the early childhood level. "It was a great experience working with a team of Jamaican writers and musicians," said Magnus.

With a launch slated for November, the book will benefit two of Shaggy's favourite causes, St Andrew's Bustamante Hospital for Children and the Tatiana McIntosh Scholarship fund, which is based in Florida.

Beenie Man's 'Untold Story'

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter, the Jamaica Star online

Fans of the self-proclaimed King of the Dancehall Moses 'Beenie Man' Davis will get the chance to read his life story in the forthcoming biography Who Am I? The Untold Story of Beenie Man.

Written by Jamaican journalist Milton Wray, the sensational biography is scheduled for release in Jamaica in July, just in time for Reggae Sumfest. Wray spent 11 years documenting and researching the scandals and untold past of the popular figure in the more than 400-page biography. When Wray spoke with the STAR he described the work as non-stop drama, action and revelations.

"Beenie Man has a very fascinating story. His entire life is filled with drama from before he was born to recent times. He has not led an ordinary life. Everything he does is extraordinary ... I knew his story would be action-packed and entertaining. People love him, he's appealing and endearing, there is a fierce public interest in his life," Wray said.

Birth to stardom
Written in a story format, the work begins when Beenie Man's mother met his father, continues with his birth, chronicles his childhood, rise to stardom, his career, the public breakup with D'Angel and his recent tax woes.

Having met the artists on numerous occasions Wray contacted Beenie Man in 1994 about the novel. According to Wray, Beenie Man was very receptive to the work, doing extensive interviews and providing never before seen pictures. Wray took a sabbatical from Jamaican journalism to live and do research in New York City for more than a year.

While in the United States, he conducted interviews and collected vast amounts of information on Beenie Man and his international impact on the music business. While writing the book in Jamaica, Wray conducted interviews with relatives, friends, associates, music business personnel, rivals and the girlfriends of the artiste.

For Wray, the biography held a journalistic appeal for him and he says that Beenie Man's story can inspire ghetto youth. The writer promises an unvarnished view of the Doctor, as while Beenie Man did cooperate for the novel, he did not approve the manuscript and has not seen a page of the work.

"The intention was not to put out a public relations piece for the artiste. The facts are presented as they occurred, whether or not Beenie Man likes those facts. He has led a very controversial life, and he acknowledges that, he recently told me as much. I believe he is prepared for whatever revelations may come from this book," Wray said.

Revealing book
According to Wray, readers can expect a biography they will find hard to put down with never-before revealed details about Beenie Man.

He said, "Beenie Man is so candid, no airs, there's no pretense about him, what you see is what you get. He's such a consistent performer. People have fallen in love with him and nothing can stop them from loving him."

Who Am I? The Untold Story of Beenie Man will be distributed in North America, the European Union, the CARICOM region and Japan before the end of the year. For its Asian release the work will be translated into Japanese.

original article