Nanko

After topping the local and overseas reggae charts with his debut single Lucky You, fans can expect even better recordings from newcomer and Downsound recording artiste Nanko. This column caught up with the artiste recently with his debut album in progress.

His latest single, From Ever Since finds the crooner trekking on unfamiliar territory. "The song is about anybody who misses someone deeply. You might not see the person physically, but spiritually they are there", Nanko explained.

Downsound's Josef Bogdonavich feels that From Ever Since can be another breakthrough hit for Nanko. "Nanko has got a lot of really good songs waiting to be released and From Ever Since is one of them", said Mr. Bogdonavich.

Nanko is booked for a number of shows in the Caribbean as well as in the US.

Stanpipe goes old school on Can't Stop Loving You

New Rastafarian deejay Stanpipe has drawn from the old school ingredients on his latest single Can't Stop Loving You. The track which features a sampled recording of Freddie McGregor's early 1990s hit Stop Loving You, is quite catchy and Stanpipe's delivery is reminiscent of the old-school deejay style, made popular back in the 1980s.

Now based in Florida, Stanpipe whose real name is Robert Chin, is seeking international recognition. His father, Leroy Chin, founder and owner of the Sons Junior International Sound System in Brooklyn New York, along with uncle and selector Cornel Chin, played a vital role in exposing Stanpipe to the hardcore dancehall crowd. This prepared him for the transition to performing before a live audience.

He is gradually building up his repertoire of original compositions in and around the New York tri-state area. He describes his music as a blend of love and reality. "I want to unite the world through my music, because only music can bring the people together."

Stanpipe

Baby Cham scores his first number one single in Jamaica in two years

Bow was the last number one song in Jamaica for Baby Cham, going back to early 2004. Fast forward two years later, and Cham has scored another chart topper, Ghetto Story, from his longtime producer Dave Kelly.

Ghetto Story is the number one song on the BBC1 Xtra Dancehall Chart in London and is also in the top spot on the Miphone Mega Jamz Dancehall chart. It's Kelly's first number one song in Jamaica as a producer since Dude by Beenie Man featuring Ms Thing, which also hit the charts in 2004.

And some extra chart trivia: Baby Cham's previous number one hits in Jamaica include The Boom, Ghetto Pledge, Another Level (featuring Bounty Killer), Man and Man and Desperate Measures.

Where is he now?

Deejay Screwdriver, whose hit single No Mama (Sharon a Pregnant You Pregnant) was a big hit back in the late 1980s, is living in Florida these days. He has the new number one song on the South Florida Reggae chart with the Joe Frazier-produced Owe We.

Flashback

Going through copies of the old RJR Top 40 charts earlier this week revealed some interesting facts that I'll share with you. The top 5 songs on the chart exactly 12 years ago on
February 4, 1994 were:

Pianist- General Degree (Main Street label)
Brown Eyes-Sanchez (Shocking Vibes label)
I Wanna Be Your Man-Chaka Demus & Pliers (Mango label)
Hot Like the Sun- Lt. Stitchie (Main Street label)
Murderer-Buju Banton (Penthouse label)
In that same year, Future Troubles chopped his way to number one with Kung Fu, and Wayne Wonder teamed up with Spragga Benz on his first number one hit, a cover of Dedicated. Buccaneer also scored his biggest hit to date with Neighourhood that same year.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World