Fresh from his recent series of club dates in Japan, Mr Vegas is brimming with excitement about his latest chart topper Taxi Fare. The single which was produced by Richard 'Shams' Browne for the B-Rich label, is sitting comfortably inside the top 10 of the local charts.

Vegas

Mr Vegas explained the idea behind Taxi Fare, "Basically we were inside Asylum on Tuesday night and I overheard an argument about girls not paying taxi fare," said Vegas, "A bredrin of mine whose name is Buffy came to me and said it would be a good idea to do a song about the argument about taxi fare.

I went around to Shams' studio and he was working on the Baddis rhythm, and Lexxus was there at the time. We decided to do the song. By the time we finished recording it, we knew it was going to be a hit," he explained.

Vegas, who hit the top of the charts last year with the comeback hit Last Week (Constant Spring), went to Japan to promote his latest album of the same name. The album was released last November in Japan. Asked how he felt about his stint in Japan, Vegas said, "Japan was just pure good vibes. It was the real hardcore dancehall clubs that I performed at. We just rocked the clubs from corner to corner."

The album Constant Spring is expected to be released in Jamaica and North America by March. He recently recorded the song Dance With You featuring Machel Montano. Said Vegas, "There is a strong possibility that we will be touring together, as his album is expected to drop around the same time as mine."

Buju Banton teams up with Def Jam artiste Sam Scarfo

Over the years, the Gargamel, Buju Banton has collaborated with overseas acts including Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Heavy D, Wyclef Jean and rock group Rancid.

Banton's latest collaboration is Who Want It, which features Def Jam recording hip hop artiste Sam Scarfo. Who Want It is the first single from Scarfo's debut alubm Renegade. It was produced by Bink, who is known for his work with Jay-Z, Lil Kim and Fat Joe among others.

Anthony Cruz' Half Way Tree is scorching

The video for Anthony Cruz' Half Way Tree is due to hit television screens this weekend and the single has been burning up the airwaves of late.
Featured on the revamped Ballroom Floor rhythm, Half Way Tree speaks about the various types of girls that one will meet when they venture into Half Way Tree, St Andrew.

Cruz effectively paints a picture of joy and good vibes, insisting that the best girls can only be found in that area of the parish.
"I have met hot girls from the Half-Way-Tree area who I have dated, so I can relate to what I am talking about. If you go to Half-Way-Tree you meet girls from all over. Hot girls, uptown girls, downtown girls and even girls from out of town," Cruz said recently.

Chart Updates

Sean Paul takes a ten point jump on the Billboard R&B Singles chart with Temperature as the track rises from number 59 to 49. Over on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Temperature zooms from 74 to 49.

Mary J Blige is back at number one on both the Billboard 200 and R&B Hip Hop Album charts with her latest disc The Breakthrough. While over on the Billboard R&B Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart, Blige's Be Without You spends a fourth week at number one. The single cracks the Billboard Hot 100 at number ten giving Blige her fifth top 10 entry on that chart.

Debuting at number two on the UK Singles chart is Nasty by Notorious BIG featuring P Diddy, while Artic Monkeys score their second number one on the UK Singles chart with When the Sun Goes Down. The number one album in the UK this week is Stars of CCTV by Hard Fi.

Deborah Cox is on top of the Billboard Dance Music Club Play chart this week with her remake of the Luther Vandross recording House Is Not A Home. Cox has hit the top before with tracks such as Things Just Ain't the Same, Nobody's Supposed To Be Here and Absolutely Not.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World