WESTERN BUREAU:
THREE BIRDS were taken care of with a single stone at the Ashanti Oasis Restaurant in
Hope Gardens, St. Andrew on Friday night.
If the matters dealt with had actually been birds it would have been a family tragedy, since the three issues dealt with were inter-related.
On the film side, the Masani Productions' Danger To The Public was officially launched, while there was a pre-release of Lincoln 'Sugar' Minott's latest album Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar. In addition, the event served to publicise the Deanery Avenue-based House of Dread 'Coronation Show' on November 1, which will be headlined by Capleton and boasts a slew of performers.
The interconnection comes with Sugar Minott being featured on the Danger To The Public soundtrack, as well as a world tour handled by Masani Productions in the works. In addition, parts of the 'Coronation Show' will be filmed for inclusion in the movie.
"We do not have the budget of Hollywood, what we have is the determination to tell a story," Masani said. Danger To The Public is based on the Canadian Immigration Act. If you are convicted of a crime, no matter how long you are there, as long as they say you are a danger to the Canadian public you are deported," she said.
The movie revolves around a man who suffers just such a fate and is set in Canada, the United States, Jamaica and England. Shooting begins in Jamaica with clips from 'Coronation Show', on which several of the persons featured on the movie's soundtrack will perform, and will continue for two weeks.
PREMIERE
Masani said that Danger To The Public will premiere at the 'CARICAN Film and Music Festival', which takes place next year, and will tour through Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana. "Those are the places where the Canadian Embassy operates," she said.
The 'Coronation Show', which in addition to Capleton also features Sugar Minott, Tony Rebel, Anthony B, Finnigan & Rankin and Natty Pablo, among many others, will be preceded by a football match, which pits a celebrities team against the House of Dread aggregation. "It is not an individual effort, it is a community thing," the House of Dread representative emphasised.
Sugar Minott's Youthman Promotion outfit is not an individual thing either, although the main man is still Minott himself. In outlining the content of Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Minott commented on his musical heritage, tracing his roots from his days as a sound system selector to being called the lovers' rock king in England.
This album, his sixth in Jamaica but 75th overall, is a mixture of themes and styles, he outlined. Although he is certainly not
decrying the nowadays dancehall, he does have one problem.
"De only ting dat hurt me is de respec'. Is to be appreciated an' respected for what you do, even if you don't get a million dollars," Sugar Minott said.
Of course, the night would not be complete without performances and Mr. Minott himself, as well as Firefox from the Youthman Promotions camp, in addition to Finnigan & Rankin and Natty Pablo, did the honours on the microphone.
