2004 was a most interesting year for Jamaican music particularly that genre known as dancehall which enjoyed tremendous international exposure though much of this did not translate into records sales.

Beenie Man's efforts to achieve what could well have been multi-platinum status were stymied by the actions of a well coordinated campaign mounted by gay rights activists. While he might have been one of the biggest losers as a result of the protest, he was not the only Jamaican artiste to be affected. Whether this campaign will result in permanent damage to our music industry is left to be seen. What is clear is that many important American and European media outlets backed off of our music after giving it a warm embrace. The big question is whether they will return.

On the positive side, there were those who saw the enormous potential of Caribbean culture and sought to lure massive investments in media outfits to promote it. Fredric Morton, a senior vice- president at the MTV group and a man with deep Caribbean roots, is motivating his company to lend its tremendous brand value to a Caribbean Entertainment Channel. Those who have been reading this column over the years would have known that I have been a passionate believer in the establishment of a Caribbean Television Channel. Now it seems that this will soon be a reality.

Sumfest, Teen Splash, Summer Sizzle, East Fest and the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival were huge successes; the same could not be said of Sting last year, at least from the attendance standpoint. Laing and the rest of the Supreme team seemed blindsided by the resurgence of "one drop," and bet the farm on the idea that the fans would turn out in huge numbers to support a new and chastened Sting.

It appeared that many of the fans did not want to see a Sting dressed up as Rebel Salute. There are horses for courses, these detractors claim. Yet Sting scored big in the area of security by recruiting the legendary Reneto Adams and the no nonsense Charles Campbell to spearhead the efforts in providing protection. The success in this area will no doubt bring back many of those who stayed away this time because of security concerns.

Chris Cargill and Brian "Ribby" Chung once again displayed their magic touch with the opening of the Quad. 2004 witnessed the introduction of some truly interesting hangouts including Cuddy's, operated by sporting legend Courtney Walsh.

Surveying the scene of 2004, some suggested it was "déjà vu all over again." For the purists it appeared that things were getting back to basics. Personalities like Fanton Mojah, I Wayne, Jah Cure and Mr Perfect emerged, signalling what many considered to be a return to sanity. The Drop Leaf, a project of super hot producer Donovan "Don Corelone" Bennett proved to be an outstanding rhythm this year spawning quite a few hits. Internationally the Kelly Brothers, Dave and Tony once again proved their hit-making prowess with two of the biggest dancehall hits this year: Dude and King of the Dancehall both performed by Beenie Man.
Elephant Man could be seen everywhere staking out a strong international presence for himself and his high energy performance with some of the biggest international stars this year, Elephant Man is now in the big leagues.

Kevin Lyttle and Rupee clearly demonstrated that Jamaica is not the only territory from the English- speaking Caribbean capable of producing artistes with crossover appeal.

Richie Spice certainly found his voice in 2004. Here is a man languishing on the periphery for quite some time suddenly coming to life with songs he had released years ago. Spice's career resurgence shows once again that one can certainly be ahead of one's time.

One must also applaud the folks over at Fifth Element who seem to be doing something right. Spice was definitely a major success story of 2004.

It does seem that with the international prominence of Jamaican music there might be a need for two Jamaican music categories instead of one. At the Grammys some contend that the nominees this year do not reflect the realities of the streets. This assessment might not be entirely accurate but I can understand the sentiment My position is that two categories would solve this problem thus giving the veterans their justly deserved due while giving the nod to young talent. We need two separate categories for reggae and dancehall.

As one who had his first taste of the media as a13 year-old sports reporter while attending St George's College, I am always fascinated by the synergies between sports and entertainment. I will never forget the sports and entertainment extravaganza of 1975 which saw newly crowned Wimbledon Champion Arthur Ashe playing at the National Arena in Jamaica while Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson were performing at the National Stadium.

I know it is now difficult to get our events on the major sporting calendars and that synchronising the schedules of athletes and artistes can be a nightmare but shouldn't we still try to stage a major music and sporting festival? Just a thought how can we capitalise on the success of Veronica Campbell and the rest of our athletic stars while cashing in on the international prominence of Sean Paul, Elephant Man, Beenie Man and Shaggy? It is certainly something we can start thinking about for 2005, even if it might not become a reality this year.

2004 will certainly be remembered as the year we lost Coxsone. Yes, the legendary Clement Dodd slipped away from us but left a rich catalogue of songs. A recent study revealed that the Real Rock, one of Coxsone's classics has been the basis for more hits than any other Jamaican composition.

This year could see the relaxation of restrictions on advertising for subscription television in Jamaica. The question is, who will be allowed to carry the advertising? The carriers or the content providers? Sure, we all know that in many instances they are indistinguishable as cable operators own channels, yet satisfying the aforementioned question will be very important in the new media paradigm. It is also likely that we will be seeing the introduction of a Public Broadcasting System, once properly regulated and placed outside the reach of partisan political meddling this can be a godsend. The BBC, despite its recent black-eye from the Hutton report, has shown that a well-run public broadcasting service can be the closest thing to impartiality in the media as is humanly possible. Of course there are other models of public broadcasting around the world, notably in the USA, Canada and Australia. What is clear is that we are shaping up for a very interesting year.

I should use this opportunity to wish all the best to those who, through their comments, have encouraged me to write this column every week.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Myrna Hague a speedy recovery and to thank Uncle Sonny Bradshaw for his usual kind concerns. Myrna and Uncle Sonny, we await your return home.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World