THANKS to comedienne Elva for introducing the word 'mantourage' to the dancehall lexicon. What a wonderful word to describe an entire 'district of men' who walk aimlessly behind homophobic artistes swearing loyalty and devotion and who have to be clothed and fed.

It's a regular thing to see artistes roll into a stage-show with a bus load of people and when we say a bus load, we mean a bus load. Just watching them bail out is an experience in itself. It's just people on top of people -- in some cases it looks like at least four persons share a seat made for two. And this is the norm for deejays like Vybz Kartel and the Alliance.

At the recent Follow Di Arrow stage show in St Mary, the horse and pony show with the 'mantourages' -- fortunately there were a few women to balance off things a bit -- was something else. As soon as Alliance/Gully artistes worked and made their exit with their district in tow, in came the Gaza mantourage with what looked like a never-ending stream of people.

The backstage area could hardly breathe.

While enterting the venue, we observed young act, Deejay Face -- remember her from Digicel Rising Stars? She arrived with her mantourage in tow, a whole coaster bus 'full a people' all duly accredited.

At events like these, the mantourage's presence is clearly the promoter's expense, as they usually have special armbands that sometimes give them even more access than working press. Repeatedly, artistes and promoters are at loggerheads because the artistes make what promoters consider unreasonable de-mands for up to 50 backstage passes. And, what is even more distressing is when all 50 persons think it's their right to follow the artiste on stage. We have witnessed some royal battles between mantourages and stage managers.

Read more: Jamaica Observer

A drive to garner financial support for Buju Banton's legal defence is centred on the sales of the official Free Buju T-shirts now on the market.

Designed by Doyle Crooks , who designed the majority of the merchandise for Buju's Gargamel line, the T-shirts have a set of numbers on the front which represent Buju's Prison number and printed in gold on the back is the statement 'Free Buju'. The number on the front is 86700-004.

"We opted not to use his image on this T-shirt because we felt that would be exposing his image in a way that wouldn't be appropriate in this particular type of situation," Banton's publicist Tracii McGregor told Splash.

"All the proceeds from the sale of the T-shirts will go towards Buju's legal defence. It's a way in which fans can show their support. Folks from all over the world have been buying the T-shirts from a couple of stores in New York, in Ohio and in Japan," she explained.

"We're not focused on demonstration; we are focusing on building a defence. Our goal is to show who Buju is as an artiste, as a human being and as a humanitarian person....which is why we're also now dropping the new single, Optimistic Soul, the video for which is now out also," said McGregor.

Expressing confidence in Buju's innocence, McGregor promised that all will soon be revealed and that Banton was in good spirits.

"He is doing great, doing a lot of reading and meditation. He is very confident that he is innocent and that he was set up. Buju is no drug dealer," she said.

read more at: The Jamaica Observer

Capleton's management has responded to attacks on the reggae singer by gay-rights groups in the United States.

Last week, his appearances on three shows in California were cancelled due to pressure from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. Renegade Productions, which booked Capleton for the shows, announced the cancellations on its website.

A release from Capleton's manager, Claudette Kemp, said the artiste was saddened that he did not get the opportunity to perform for his many fans.

"They have once again used their strong-arm tactics to intimidate concert promoters and venue owners, putting misinformation in the public about the artiste to further their own agendas. Capleton is very disappointed that his many fans, who cross all races and creeds, have not been able to see him at his scheduled shows in California this past week. He has performed at the same venues and festivals over the last two years with no incident bringing a message of love for all through Reggae music," the release said.

"The barrage of protest from these groups is unwarranted and has been addressed many times in the media in the past. The artiste has a forgiving heart for what has been done to him and will continue on the high path. Capleton will continue to spread a positive and spiritual message through music to the four corners of the Earth and continue to stand firm that universal love can unite all mankind."

The release further stated that Capleton will be performing at the Annual Bob Marley Day/ Caribbean
Festival 2010 in Miami on Saturday. There, he will be performing his new song, Haitians, a tribute to the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Other dancehall acts including Buju Banton, Sizzla and Beenie Man, have come under attack from gay-rights groups in recent times.

Source: Jamaica Star.com

Portmore Empire head Vybz Kartel has described his former protégé, Blak Ryno, as a confused individual after his recent departure from the crew.

Speaking to THE WEEKEND STAR yesterday, Kartel discussed his reaction to Ryno's abrupt departure from the Portmore Empire on Wednesday, of which he has been a member since January 2007. Kartel said: "Ryno is, in my analysis, a confused individual going through some sort of post-adolescence trauma, where in his pursuit to find himself, he's getting his priorities mixed up and as a result, is making decisions in a subconscious, bewildered state of mind."

The deejay further said that: "Portmore Empire and Gaza will continue to grow from strength to strength merely because I am Gaza." According to Kartel, persons can look out for his newest member Gaza Slim and his protégé Popcaan. The Portmore Empire started in 2007 after Kartel's departure from the Alliance in 2006. The Empire have consisted of members such as Popcaan, Singa Blinga, Dosa Medicine, Lisa Hype, Shawn Storm, Gaza Indu, Sheba, Jah Vinci among others.

Blak Ryno was an original member of the Portmore Empire and was seemingly one of the closest to Kartel, often citing him as a major influence and called him 'daddy' on numerous occasions. Ryno is the third deejay to have departed the Empire recently, the first being Lisa Hype, now called Lisa Hyper. Hyper was dismissed from the Empire late last year shortly after a compromising picture of the deejay began circulating on the Internet.

In January newcomer to the Empire, Gaza Kim - now known as Kym, willingly left the Empire after an incident which took place in the 'Big Yard' community off Mannings Hill Road. Kym was severely beaten on what sources say were orders by Kartel. Kartel later denied any involvement.

Source: The Jamaica Star.com