‘Me and Mi Kru’ Indie Allen’s ‘Revelation’
reunion special was streamed
to fans on YouTube via the
Zoom Conference app.
She said the show was based
on the life of Benzly Hype and
his career in the 90s dancehall
group Innocent Kru.
“The first reunion in 10 years
— fans boasted in the live chat
corner of You Tube, enthused
and pleasantly surprised of the
overall turn-out,” Samuels told
Caribbean Life on Tuesday,
adding that the live party segment
featured special guests
Supa Hype, international DJs,
DJ JahMar and DJ Fade.
Benzly Hype said he was
“influenced to create ‘Me and
Mi Kru’ television show by
earlier experiences and trials
on previous movie sets.
“I wanted to tell stories from
my own my point of view,” he
said, disclosing that he wrote
the script, with Alveranga,
while in high school.
Benzly Hype said that if fans
support the show on You Tube,
“it will help promote brand
Jamaica and push corporations
like Netflix to endorse shows
like ‘Me and Mi Kru’ providing
Caribbean L 38 ife, June 19-25, 2020
production deals and more
work for actors in the Jamaica
film industry.”
Buchanan said: “I hope people
see what we go through to
put TV shows together and are
a little bit more forgiving of the
quality of these shows.
“They are not first worldlooking
because of a lack of talent
but, more so, really a lack of
money and sponsorships, and a
lot of things that go on behind
the scene,” she said.
“I’m glad we are doing this
reunion, so that people can see
and understand that there a lot
of love, a lot of heart and a lot
of energy that all of us put in to
it,” Buchanan added.
(2007); “Take a Bow” (2008);
“Live Your Life” (2008); “Disturbia”
(2008); “Rude Boy”
(2010); “Only Girl (In the
World)” (2010); “What’s My
Name?” (2010); “Love the Way
You Lie” (2010); “S&M” (2011);
“We Found Love” (2011); “Diamond”
(2012) and “Work”
(2016).
Spinditty said Bob Marley
was not simply a Jamaican reggae
singer “but instead a trailblazer
for the genre.
“He was also a cultural phenomenon,
a symbol of Jamaica,
and a Rastafari icon,” it said,
stating that Marley released
reggae, ska and rocksteady
music as a solo artist as well as
collaboratively with others.
Specifically, in 1963, Spinditty
noted that Marley formed
a group called Bob Marley and
the Wailers, together with
Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer,
later adding other Jamaican
musicians.
Five of Marley’s albums are
on Rolling Stone’s list of “500
Greatest Albums of All Time.”
But Spinditty said “Roots,
Rock, Reggae” (1976) was, in
fact, the only single to reach
the US Billboard Hot 100.
The following songs found
minor success at the time on
the R&B and/or dance charts,
according to Spinditty: “Exodus”
(1977); “Waiting in Vain”
(1978); “Could You Be Loved”
(1980) and “Sun Is Shining”
(1999).
Spinditty said Nicki Minaj
is known for her colorful wigs,
costumes and her accents “as
much as she is for her sexually
provocative lyrics and rapidpaced
vocals.”
“Some people regard the
singer and rapper as the ‘Black
Lady Gaga’ for her fashion
choices,” it said, stating that
the future Queen of Rap was
born in Port-of-Spain, the capital
city of Trinidad and Tobago,
to two part-time gospel singers
.With her family relocating
to the Bronx when she was
only five, Minaj spent her youth
building her skills in acting
and singing, according to Spinditty.
In 2009, it said the Trinidadian
musician was discovered
by rapper Lil Wayne and signed
to a recording contract.
She later appeared as a judge
on American Idol and contributed
to several major films.
In 2017, Spinditty said the
hip-hop artist set a Guinness
Rihanna accepts the President’s award at the 51st NAACP Image
Awards Show in Pasadena, California, U.S., Feb. 22, 2020.
REUTERS / Mario Anzuoni
Book of World Records for the
most Billboard Hot 100 entries
by a solo (female) artist.
“Amazingly, seven of Minaj’s
singles were simultaneously on
the chart,” it said, adding “the
Caribbean girl from the troubled
family has become one of
the most influential people in
the world.”
Spinditty said Minaj has
experienced resounding success
on the mainstream pop,
R&B, and rap charts.
Examples of some of her
hits include: “BedRock” (2009);
“Your Love”; (2010) “No Frauds”
(2017); “MotorSport” (2017)
and “Chun-Li” (2018).
Gloria Estefan is a native
Cuban, born under the name of
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo
García.
As a child, she fled Havana
during the Cuban Revolution
with her family for a better life
in the United States, Spinditty
said.
It said her mother endeavored
to support the family on
a teacher’s salary after Gloria’s
father was diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis.
In 1975, the future Grammy
Award winner met fellow Cuban
musician Emilio Estefan, Jr.
while his band (then called the
Miami Latin Boys) performed
at a wedding that Gloria and
her cousin were attending as
guests, according to Spinditty.
It said that when the girls
sang two songs extemporaneously,
the band asked them to
join them as full-time vocalists.
The group subsequently
morphed into the Miami Sound
Machine. Gloria and Emilio
married three years later.
Decades after the Latin pop
artist fled Cuba, she would
earn accolades to include the
Presidential Medal of Freedom,
induction into the Songwriters
Hall of Fame, and the American
Music Award for Lifetime
Achievement, Spinditty said.
It said some of her most
notable hits (credited as a solo
artist or with the Miami Sound
Machine) include: “Conga”
(1985); “Bad Boy” (1986); and
“Cuts Both Ways” (1991); and
“Coming Out of the Dark”
(1991).
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Lisa Alveranga. Micahaela
Samuels / ShayandKayProduction
Continued from Page 37
be in the end,” he added. “We
just need to be ready for salvation
is still attainable for those
who will seek it.”
Having produced an impressive
body of work for such
recording artists as Grammy
winner Buju Banton, Sizzla,
Warrior King, Junior Reid, G
whizz, among other, Barrett
said he is aiming at fostering
the next generation of social
conscious reggae stars, including
Indie “who boasts a captivating
falsetto that proficiently
glides between the notes.”
Indie’s partial lyrics in Revelation
goes: “You can’t play
dumb/if your power’s to speak/
you afi shine your light/for the
darkness to see it/am afraid
we will never see peace/we are
living in the times of Revelation.”
Born Michael Allen on
Sept. 27, 1992 in the Montego
Bay, St. James, Jamaica, Indie
Allen is “a soulful singer with
a captivating falsetto, who is
an experience itself when seen
live,” according to Wikipedia,
the free online encyclopedia.
“Blending acoustic folk and
roots reggae to create a beautiful
balance of love and spirituality,
and who moves between
the heavy traditional drum
and bass to the soulful flame of
just the acoustic guitar,” Wikipedia
said Allen’s voice “gracefully
glides between a soaring
falsetto, and a rich provocative
tenor, with a singjay delivery
making his sound and vocal
dexterity truly unique.”
Allen’s first introduction
to music when was in high
school (Cornwall College),
where he was the lead vocalist
for an A cappella group, Wikipedia
said.
On his journey to making
his mark in the music industry,
it said he later relocated to
Kingston, the Jamaican capital,
where he became a finalist
in Jamaica’s top singing competition,
Digicel Rising Stars.
Allen has been mentored by
the likes of Michael Fletcher
and Mikey Bennett.
“Indie Allen’s unique vocal
abilities and captivating performances
have earned him a
spot in the minds of many with
his sound that is like a cross
between Bob Marley and Tracy
Chapman,” Wikipedia said.
It said Allen has performed at
shows around the world, some
of which include Nola Reggae
festival, Reggae Geel, “Best of
the Best”, “Jamaica Rum Festival”,
“Reggae Marathon” and
“Jaria Reggae Month.”
Continued from Page 37
MAKING IT BIG
Jamaican artist, Indie Allen.
Soundcloud.com
/Soundcloud.com