Entertainment: With Dripping Blood, Carlene Davis joins IRAWMA Contenders

Dripping Blood, the latest album from gospel  Carlene Davis, is poised to enjoy further international acclaim, thanks to the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA), The annual awards show, initiated in  1982 by Chicago area media stalwart Ephraim Martin, has named Davis' latest album among the nominees for Best ... at the awards showcase, scheduled for October 4 at the Bailey hall of Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Davis is also a featured performer o nthe show.

The16-track set is already benefitting from a partnership involving VP Records and Universal Music, the world's largest music corporation and owner of the world's second-largest music publishing company. The album was released in July of last year, in turn five years after the previous album, True Worship,   and has been posting solid returns, with a number of promotional jaunts to North America and various points across the region in support of the disc

That partnership is paying further dividends  in terms of major chart action. The album entered the coveted Billboard Top Ten Reggae Albums chart in August at the number two position and since remained for over four weeks and was positioned at number 7 as of September 5.

The album's title (as well as the title track) comes, says Davis' husband and co-producer Tommy Cowan, from a personal experience whilst receiving communion, in which he "felt the blood of Christ dripping down on me from the Cross". Dripping blood features collaborations with Papa San, Jabez and Pastor Frnaz Fletcher of Church on the Rock.

 Also to be featured on the 2015 IRAWMA presentation are Etana, Dean Fraser and Tarrus Riley and awards co-hosts, Third World. The mission of the International Reggae and; World Music Awards (IRAWMA), established in 1982 acknowledges and honors the accomplishments and contributions of reggae and world music artists, including: songwriters, performers, promoters and musicians. Produced by Martin's International and  Associates, the IRAWMA has been staged in many major cities including: Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New Orleans, New York as well as both Montego Bay and Ocho Rios Jamaica. The impetus behind the IRAWMA is it's commitment to promoting greater participation and acceptance of Reggae, Caribbean and World Music internationally.

New "SON" Rising overseas

With the Jamaican edition now firmly entrenched  - and widely anticipated - on the entertainment calendar, the premier gospel festival, Fun in the Son,  has been spreading its wings. 

Last August saw the 2nd annual staging of the gospel event in New York City, on the buzzing North-east region of the legendary borough of the Bronx (home, so the claim goes, of hip-hop, but that's another history.) 

The event was realized through a sterling partnership between Fun in the Son conceptualizers, the Tommy Cowan-led Glory Music and Good Neighbors Community Outreach Agency and arises from the well-stated success of the former in promoting successful gospel showcases in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.  

Fun in the Son, with its emphasis on the "Son" started in the north coast resort of Ocho Rios, with the aim of offering a fun filled alternative to traditional spring break activities. Endorsed by the Jamaica Tourist Board, the event is recognized by many as a wholesome family festival. It has grown over the years to a "mega event" with a variety of engaging activities all under the banner of reaching young people for Christ .

Glory Music's Tommy Cowan, who is the event organizer, affirmed that the festival  is about changing lives and giving people hope, as the show's motto suggests: Know Christ and let Him be known.

While acknowledging that "some of it has been quite a battle, " the entertainment veteran remained upbeat, stating "Wherever there is a battle there is a great victory," He also was unreserved in acknowledging the contribution of Jamaica Broilers, longtime partners of the Jamaica event, 

Now, there are plans afoot to cover even more ground with additional destinations in the US as well as other Caribbean stops. 

The Fun in the Son "formula" is a blend of spoken word ministry with inspirational performances. In New York, Pastor Paul Peart delivered the former, with the musical ministers including Papa San, Glacia Robinson and Carlene Davis.  The previous Jamaican showcase was addressed by Andrew Palau, and featured headliner Hezekiah Walker as well as the aforementioned stalwarts and Kevin Downswell, Goddy Goddy, Kereen Gregory, Jermaine Edwards, and more .

There were additional thrills in the form of the Christian stunt riders Extreme Sports, a five-man team out of USA

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Music: Dripping Blood spreads

Dripping Blood, the latest album from gospel  Carlene Davis, is poised to  thanks to major label distribution.In addition to VP , the album is being handled by global industry giant Universal Music, which is in fact the world's largest music corporation and owner of the world's second-largest music publishing company. The album was released in July of last year, in turn five years after the previous album, True Worship,   and has been posting solid returns, with a number of promotional jaunts to North America and various points across the region in support of the disc

Husband Tommy Cowan, explaining the significance of the deal, said "the global footprint and stellar roster of a label such as Universal gives us a major boost in achieving our primary goal, which is getting the message of Christ's redemptive work spread as widely as possible, all over the world."

Speaking of the title, said that while taking communion, he had a vision involving the titular "blood" in which he literally felt the blood of Christ flowing down on him as he worshiped and praised the Lord after having had the wine. 

The single Dripping Blood is a bonus on the 16-track set, produced by Cowan for Glory Music, and

among the disc's other standout tracks are King of Glory, 10,000 Reasons, All About You featuring her daughter Naomi, Divine Authority, and Jubilee, with gospel deejay Papa San.

An accompanying video has also been made (shot and edited by Nathan Cowan) for the title track.

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Just Another Friday....Until: Jamaica's "1st Gospel Movie"

"Tomorrow is promised to no one"

that rubric of urgency is repeated throughout this earnest and energetically produced treatised from "Jamericans" Barrivision Limited, who have garnered no small measure of experience in creating features for television and the screen.

This one is billed as "Jamaica's first gospel movie" and while we can't affirm the claim, neither can we disprove it (a conundrum not unfamiliar to Christian witnesses). The action surrounds a classically dysfunctional Jamaican family, set in the run-up to Easter (hence the title). Mother and Father are virtual strangers - she's overworked; he's "married to the TV". Teen daughter is a recent convert to the faith and has the new convert's overarching - and overbearing - zeal. Late teen son, prefers the "worldian" way of long cellphone convos with a variety of girls and hanging with the upcoming gangsta and remains staunchly skeptical. Into this mix coems family from abroad. Like the first, this couple has a converted daughter, but also a mother and father to boot. Son  stly fun

the dire

As an evangelistic piece, 'Friday" works about as well as other pieces in the genre, both foreign ("Fireproof") and local (well....we'll have to check) but as a purely narrative vehicle intended to draw and sustain an audience's attention, it has some....... let's say issues. Some cna be chalked upt ot budget, even though film retains a cinema-worthy look for the most part (one sequence, with noted vocalist AJ Brown singing "Amazing Grace" is a let down). Mainly, the film loses its narrative drive after the "crisis point" - we won't give you the spoiler - and from ther to the end devovles into maudlin territory.

Still, its a worthy "first of its kind" one that brings hope to the genre as a whole and to Jamaican film practitioners and church community in particular.

the film officially premieres at Red Bones this Thursday. go check it, and draw your own conclusions
http://www.justanotherfriday.com/