Hypa Active clique... wanted to win the scholarship to attend Edna Manley College for the Visual and Perfoming Arts to enhance their dancing moves

The lives of Dwight Coates (Red Fashion) and Rohan Youngsam (J-Fame) have been changed forever. The duo known in dancing circles as Hypa Active Clique, came out on top at the just-concluded Dancin Dynamites finals.

In addition to the cash prize of $400,000 cash and other prizes totalling more than $1 million, the duo had their sights set on the prize of a scholarship to attend the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts. "Our main reason for entering the Dancin Dynamites competition was because we wanted to win the scholarship to attend Edna Manley so we could further our dancing. We really wanted to push our career further," an excited Youngsam told this writer shortly after the finals last Sunday night.

Asked how he felt about winning Coates said, "It feels really wonderful. We put in a lot of hard work and determination and we have come out on top. We want to say thanks to all of our supporters, fans, all the people who voted for us, the whole Clarendon and Vitamalt for sponsoring us."
Hypa Active Clique hails from May Pen, Clarendon. "We bring it fi di whole a Clarendon and we can't believe say we deh pon top," said Youngsam.
Andrea Reynolds, brand manager for Vitamalt, was also excited about the duo's win. "We had outfitted Hypa Active Clique in the early parts of the competition. As they said to me earlier this evening, if you want to win, you have to drink Vitamalt, Reynolds commented.
Jennifer 'Jenny Jenny' Small, executive producer for Dancin Dynamites said the main objective for staging the competition was to highlight the talent of dancers across the island. She said that the objective has been realised.

"We have so many singing competitions and yet the dancers didn't have their own stage. Now dancers are getting their own gigs. We are not only the reggae capital of the world, but we are also the dancing capital of the world and we are proud of that," Small said.

Martina poised and ready for the big times
Singer Martina is poised and ready for the big times. She hopes to add her name to the growing list of female entertainers who have made an impact in reggae. A Capricorn by birth, Martina is blessed with an impressive vocal talent and charm.

Quite a versatile artiste spewing dancehall, reggae and R&B-flavoured jams, she is one not ready to limit herself to any one genre of musical styling.

Born Debbie Doyles, it was while in high school that Martina was first bitten by the entertainment bug. After winning numerous talent shows she found herself performing as a back up singer for dancehall artiste Papa San during his dominant stance in the 1990s. Since then, she has performed and recorded with various dancehall artistes including Mad Cobra, Vybz Kartel, Mad Anju and Aidonia.

Martina made her recording debut with the track You Lie for Beres Hammond's Harmony House label. Other producers whom she has worked with include Cordell 'Skatta' Burrell, Mario 'Mario C' Campbell, Rohan 'Jah Sno Cone' Fuller and Daseca.

Collaboration-wise, she teamed up with Beenie Man on Real Gangsta Don't Play on the Anger Management project and with Anthony B on Cheating. Both tracks enjoyed good rotation at radio and gave Martina the recognition that she craved.

Her single Private Dancer on the Applause rhythm later followed and has since set the pace for Martina who has been working aggressively to guarantee her place in the competitive industry. With her raw talent and determination she has carved out a niche for herself not only as a singer but also as an actress. She has appeared in the CVM TV series Teenagers. She also appeared in the film Bashment.
Martina, who has toured the Caribbean and the UK, is currently working with the Pay Day Music Productions camp.

Mario C on the go with Equator and Rain Drops

Award-winning music producer Mario Campbell, better known as Mario C, has two new projects which have been making some noise at radio. The producer who won the EME Award earlier this year for Best Dancehall Producer, has been working hard in the studio to match the success he enjoyed last year.

Last year, his 357 Records imprint scored big with Beenie Man's Back It, Give it Up by Beenie Man and Barbee and Anthony B's Tease Her.

Mario C's latest projects are The Equator and Raindrops. The Equator is a high -nergy dancehall beat which features some of dancehall's hottest acts including Beenie Man, Anthony B, Voicemail, TOK, Future Fambo and Erup as well as upcoming artistes from the 357 camp including, Versatile, Martina, Jahvinci and Kantana. There are also tracks by Cezar and Monster Empire.

The Raindrops is a one-drop rhythm project which features songs from D-Major, Iceman and Christopher Martin, Voicemail, TOK., Cezar, Gyptian, Da'Ville, Martina, Jahvinci, Peter Morgan, and Sizzla among others.

BITS AND PIECES

The girl trio MBC is still putting out some new singles. The group recently shot the video for its single Busted. Currently under the guidance of Paul Computer, Paul Henton of Boot Camp Records, the girls in MBC are Diamond, Foxy and Miss Chin.

Trinidadian reggae artiste Marlon Asher has released the video for his single World of Scandals. The video, which features Ugandan singers Henry Tigan and Empress Rita, was shot in Uganda and incorporates live video footage from the riots in Kenya in December 2007.

Over in Guyana, Andrew Harris is about to break into the local designing circles with a casual male line, and according to him, it will be an entrance worth witnessing. The former model turned designer will launch his Bachelors Collection at the Guyana Fashion Expo, which is being organised by Facts & Roses and overseas-based designer, Roger Gary and will be held later this month. Andrew says his pieces have a Caribbean flair but they are distinctly Guyanese.

The second staging of the Wadadli Music Festival which took place recently in Falmouth, Antigua was a true display of the island's diverse culture topped with the impressive performances of reggae stars Glen Washington and the island's reggae ambassador, Causion. The free event, at the St Paul's Rectory Grounds, was attended by a lively and enthusiastic audience of approximately four thousand.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World