Arts & Culture

Barbados MP Questions Rihanna Contract

In Oil Paint, a Forgotten Trinidad

Mariquita Johnson painted perhaps two of the oldest paintings in Trinidad, but little is known of her life. Johnson’s “Around the Queen’s Park Savannah” and “The Angels” were both painted in 1905 and are among the country’s oldest paintings along …

In the Diaspora, a Beacon for Reggae

By Alexander Britell Every Saturday afternoon in Miami, the world of reggae finds a home at the WDNA 88.9 FM studio, where Jamaican native Howard Duperly operates his Reggae Ride program, a musical odyssey that takes listeners from the Mento …

Buju Banton Gets 10-Year Sentence

Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton has been sentenced to 10 years in Federal prison for his cocaine conspiracy conviction. Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, had seen a wave of support for leniency, and his 10-year sentence fell below …

Anxiety as Banton Sentencing Nears

Reggae star Buju Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, is set to be sentenced on Thursday in Federal Court on his drug-related conviction from February, and anxiety is growing among those closest to him. “I just hope the judge …

Rihanna to Promote Barbados Tourism

By the Caribbean Journal staff Singer Rihanna has signed a multi-year deal with the Barbados Tourism Authority to exclusively promote the country. The three-year partnership will begin on Aug. 5, when Rihanna performs a full-length concert of her “Loud” tour. …

Director Chris Browne’s Quest to Bring Jamaican Film to the World

By Alexander Britell Despite a number of landmark films shot in Jamaica, from Dr. No, the first James Bond film (along with several other Bond films) to Legends of the Fall, the domestic Jamaican film industry is very much in …

A Daughter of Calypso Returns Home

Keina Calliste By Lincoln Depradine Trinidadian Keina Calliste is the daughter of one of the Caribbean’s greatest calypsonians — but despite a family legacy in Grenada, she had never visited the island. “I like it,” she said. “It’s not that …

Rihanna Discriminated Against for Caribbean Heritage, According to Lawsuit

By Alexander Britell A former lawyer for Gucci who worked on singer Rihanna’s contract with the design firm claims her superior discriminated against the Barbados-born singer because of her Caribbean heritage, according to the text of a complaint filed in …

Director Stevan Riley on his Film “Fire in Babylon” and the Power of Cricket

By Alexander Britell For almost fifteen years beginning in the 1970s, the West Indian cricket team was the best in the world, and perhaps the best side in any sport. In an era of prejudice and racial upheaval, the Windies …

Singer Spragga Benz Leads Campaign for Leniency in Buju Banton Case

By the Caribbean Journal staff Singer Spragga Benz is spearheading a campaign on Twitter to encourage fans to send letters supporting leniency for Buju Banton, who is awaiting a sentencing hearing on his conviction on three drug charges. Banton will …

New Film Looks Back at the Golden Age of West Indies Cricket

Following their success in the first Cricket World Cup in 1975 and until the 1990s, the West Indies ruled the cricket world. The so-called “calypso cricketers” were a machine, which is now the subject of a feature film, Fire in …

Barbados Tourism Board Looks to Rihanna

Barbados’s Board of Tourism is looking to capitalize on international music star Rihanna’s Bajan heritage, with the board’s new chairman, Adrian Elcock, saying a Barbados appearance by the singer must happen on his watch. “We have to have a relationship …