Assassin Talks about Love For Live Music and Staying True To Reggae and Dancehall.

Kingston dancehall deejay Assassin recently opens up about his love for the live form of music, as well as, staying true to his reggae / dancehall roots.

The Same Thing Again deejay told the Jamaican Star that he recently learn to play the Guitar and wrote a song with it.

“Me a one a di man dem weh nah sing pon nutten weh have any hip-hop snare inna it. I don’t knock variety but when we start losing our identity, there is a problem. For now, I only want authentic reggae and dancehall rhythms to work on.”

Assassin said his growing interest in live music may have triggered by his Agent Sasco movement. “It just all fall into place like that. From mi start the whole Agent Sasco movement, I find myself doing more of the live music. It is primarily that (live music) and the fact that I am playing the guitar really helps. You are more informed to help the process instead of sitting down and being lost.

Assassin who change his name to Agent Sasco earlier this year recently released new singles called Love You and Step Up Inna Life, with plans to release another one called Day In Day Out in January.
Source: www.urbanislandz.com

Pepsi Cola To Drive Sales Through Music

PEPSI'S 12-million-dollar sponsorship of Rebel Salute on January 15, 2011, signals the start of a major thrust that involves using music to push sales of its products locally. Head of Marketing for Pepsi Cola Jamaica, Carlo Redwood, explained that Jamaicans love music and in that regard partnering with the promoters of events that involve music is a natural step in that direction. "Globally, Pepsi has for a long time been involved in music. Now we are focused on getting involved at a local level," he said.

Pepsi commands more than 90 per cent market share but according to Carlo Redwood, this initiative is all about being more aggressive in the local marketplace. "Our sales continue to be strong as market leaders but in this initiative we are using music to continue to drive sales," he said.

According to Redwood, Pepsi will be heavily involved in music-based events in the New Year: "Come January you will see a marketing push associated with music," he said. As the year progresses, he continued, there will be more sponsorship and more promotions associated with music.

The sponsorship money for Rebel Salute was in part used to stage three Rebel Salute Road Shows in November and early December during which an emerging act was selected from hundreds to perform on the reggae festival that will be staged at Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth. The remainder is to be used for promotion and production of the show. According to Redwood, the shows will help to build momentum towards Rebel Salute.

Included in the promotion for Rebel Salute will be a campaign in St Elizabeth, Mandeville and Clarendon wherein consumers who buy Pepsi products from supermarkets or wholesale stores will get an opportunity to win instant prizes that include tickets to the long-running reggae festival.

Next year's renewal will feature acts like Nadine Sutherland, Toots and the Maytals, Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Jack Radics, Queen Ifrica, I-Octane, Khago and Romaine Virgo.
Source: Jamaica Observer