Renee Ratcliffe takes the big one!

Photo credit: Nationnews.com

A huge, huge congratulations to a truly inspiring islandista Renee Ratcliffe on taking the biggest prizes for mas in this year's Crop-Over festival.

After years of knocking at the door, Renee bested the veterans queens of the mas - Gwyneth Squires and Betty West, coming out on top to win the prestigious Festival Designer of the Year and Large Band of the Year for her Jump Promotions' presentation Spirit of the Gap.

Truly, Renee deserved to win and as a still young designer, her victory augurs well for the future of the festival. I got a look at Jump before they moved off from Warrens and the presentation had just that right balance of artistry and sexy we have debated times before here on Islandista.

Not to mention that Renee is someone with a fantastic spirit. As a cub reporter I interviewed her some years back after she had suffered two debilitating heart attacks and a stroke when she was just 28 years old and contrary to the expression "serious as a heart attack" she was bussing big jokes about it all!

Congrats again - it's your time Renee!

How will Tivoli terror affect JA's entertainment scene?

That is the question entertainment and cultural promoters and performers must be asking themselves after a quiet week in Kingston, Jamaica entertainment-wise.

The 'terror in Tivoli' has inflicted wounds not just on the hundreds injured and scores killed, but on Jamaica's economy and Kingston's vibrant entertainment scene.

The Jamaica Observer reports that a host of entertainment events, from regularly scheduled parties like Uptown Mondays, Weddy Wednesdays and Dudus' own Passa Passa, have been cancelled.

Larger one-off or seasonal events like the scheduled WI v South Africa test cricket, the final staging of May Daze and the Jamaica Observer's Food Awards, have also been moved, cancelled and postponed.

Islandista-wise, Saint International's StyleWeek is a major casualty. StyleWeek was originally set for this weekend but the organisers called it off, issuing a statement:

Summer Carnival season 2010 is here!

Ye, ye, last year we announced this in May but we are just busting this year! We even more hype than usual!

And the bands aren't holding back either - two bands from traditional August carnivals - Antigua's Myst and Barbados' Berger Boyz, have already launched, all in April... so why should we hold back!

In the words of Queen Fay-Ann ... let's go!

The Vincies and Lucians already have things well underway for their July carnivals which are July 5th & 6th and July 19th & 20th this year.

In SVG, Ahdrenalin is going hard with their presentation 'Western Mayhem- the Decline of Western Civilisation'. Check some of our faves.

[caption id="attachment_2273" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Material Girl (Photo credit: Ahdrenalin.com)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2274" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Wings of Hope"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2275" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Exotic Delusion"][/caption]

Interestingly enough, even though the eagle-eyed Saucy over at Trinidad Carnival Diary has picked up at least one remix from Trini band D'Krewe, with Ahdrenalin's Nights of Debauchery being a dead ringer for D'Krewe's Sorceror, that costume was not even near our favourite so I guess it just goes to show...

Check out some more of our faves from St. Lucia Carnival's Just for Fun and their reimagining  of the Great Loves of the Past under the cut.

Farewell Rex

No, he's not an islandista but every islandista worth her salt should know of Professor Rex Nettleford - since islandistas are after all, cultured Caribbean women and Rex was a cultural icon in this region.

And now he's gone.

Nettleford died yesterday in the U.S. at the age of 76 after having a massive heart attack  a week ago when he was up there for a UWI fund-raising gala.

There are so many worlds in which Rex will be missed - from dance to academia to the seemingly ever smaller world of committed Caribbean regionalists. He truly was a giant and it says a lot for the power of his personality that someone born with nearly every disadvantage you could have in Jamaican society - from being poor to being from the country to his sexuality to complexion - could still rise to iconic status.

We have nothing but admiration for him. Walk good Professor.

To Bey or not to Bey?

Ok, ok, that isn't really the question because there is no way in hell that TSTT, Brian Lara and Dwight Yorke are going to give up the big money bound to come in from the Beyonce concert scheduled for two days after Trini Carnival.

Especially not with the US$200 VVIP tickets sold out on the first day.

But with all the bacchanal swirling around the concert in Trinidad, what with concert promoters bawling out that it is going to hurt their business and people querying how the state-owned TSTT could be funding the concert over Carnival, we want to know what islandistas think.

On the one hand, we can definitely see the perspective of the promoters, because the Beyonce concert is going to suck out money that would have been going their way. Lawd knows Carnival is expensive as it is so people are going to have to pick between a fete (or two) and the Beyonce show.

On the other hand, we can also see this being a plus for Trinidad Carnival on the whole by bumping up the number of islandistas (and islandistos) that may decide to fly in for the festivities, since they can take in the concert same time.

And with Machel and Destra being out of Carnival this year and Alternative Concept squashed, this might be the crowd-puller that Carnival needs in these recessionary times...

What says you, islandistas?

All we want for Christmas... is some pepperpot!

Hard-working islandista soul singer Melanie Fiona may be away from home and working on Christmas Day but she's still going to keep her Christmas Caribbean.

[caption id="attachment_1837" align="aligncenter" width="382" caption="A plate of pepperpot would make Christmas right for islandistas Melanie Fiona and Rihanna. (Photo credit: Cynthia Nelson/Tastes Like Home)"][/caption]

 



The Guyanese-Canadian singer, who received her first Grammy nomination earlier this month, told Rap-Up.com about her Christmas plans. Like most West Indians the Toronto-born singer has family all over and is going to spend part of Christmas day with relatives in Miami.

And just like Guyanese-descended Rihanna, who was earlier this month mourning that she may not get pepperpot for Christmas, Melanie Fiona's hoping for some traditional Guyanese Christmas fare too, saying:

"My family is Guyanese, so every Christmas morning we have pepperpot and garlic beef or garlic pork, and my mom makes homemade bread. Anything to do with my heritage is what is my fondest memory… All the crazy stuff that comes with being West Indian, I love it.”

No ... we love it!

Island folk honoured by Congressional Black Caucus

 



[caption id="attachment_1558" align="alignleft" width="293" caption="Sheryl Lee Ralph with her husband Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes. (Photo credit: Margot Jordon/Black Socialite)"][/caption]

Islandistas and islandistos were all up in the do two weekends ago when the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation held their annual Phoenix Awards and dinner in Washington D.C.

 

As ever, the event was a high-wattage gathering of true black star power and this year was topped off by an address by President Barack Obama.

Several island folk were honoured at this year's awards - Jamaican-born actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, Haitian-born musician and humanitarian Wyclef Jean were among the honorees, as were islandistas by descent Cicely Tyson (born to Nevisian parents) and Susan Rice (of Jamaican descent).

Bermudan Premier Ewart Brown also turned out for the event, as did former Essence head honch Susan L. Taylor (Kittitian and Trini through her parents).

Makes you proud to be from one of these little rocks, doesn't it? : )

Check The Black Socialite and Fab Empire for more pics and coverage!

Islandista on the rise: Speech Debelle

Because we love to read stories about islandistas doing well and even better yet, doing well against the odds... today we bring to you... Speech Debelle.

Who's she?

Well, just the under-underdog winner of one of the most prestigious awards in British music - the Mercury Prize.

Her story is the break-out, fairytale story of this year's prize, which went down last week.

With just 1500 copies of her album Speech Therapy sold thus far, the underground rapper burst into the mainstream when she won the Mercury, which is given for the best album in the United Kingdom.

Speech Debelle came up as Corynne Elliot (so much more West Indian sounding, isn't it?) in South London. Her back story is unfortunately, not that unusual among British Caribbean people. She was born to Jamaican parents. Her father left her mother when Corynne/Speech was 6 years old. He went on to be the village (or council?) ram, having eight more children with six women.

Rihanna in blackface & Islandistas on I-D cover

Islandistas are all over the place for the September round of fashion magazines.

Islandistas Jourdan Dunn and Arlenis are featured on the cover of the September issue of I-D magazine, along with fellow models of colour Chanel Iman and Sessilee Lopez in a historic all-black cover.

Jourdan, who is five months pregnant (reportedly with a boy), spoke about her baby's father, the pressures on minority models and how she has finally become comfortable with not having the type of body prized in the Afro-Caribbean community.

About her boyfriend:

My boyfriend didn't even know I was a model when I started going out with him and we've been together for three years now. It's hard, you never really know whether people want to be around Jourdan or Jourdan Dunn, and he's been there from when I was just Jourdan.

About her body:

“I’m starting to feel more secure in who I am now. Being from an Afro-Caribbean family, being black, skinny, isn’t really acceptable in that community; it’s all about having curves and stuff.... That’s why I’ve never been comfortable with my body until now, when I realize I can say this is who I am, I’m healthy, I’ve always liked to eat, and I’m now happy enough in my own skin to not give a fuck what anyone says about me any more.

About the pressures on black models:

There are loads of black models working and the idea that there's only a few of us, or four of us, to let in as top models at any one time is just bullsh*t. It creates an unnecessary competition when we should be standing together.

True talk Jourdan. Pity Naomi didn't recognise this back in the day and was so mean to Tyra.

In other islandista fashion magazine news, we have more pics from Rihanna's shoot for the couture supplement of Vogue Italia.

And... we're on the fence about it.

Bring back the 90s!

It's inevitable isn't it?

Just like how 70s fashion came back in the 90s with bell-bottoms (flares anyone) and afros being ok again and the 80s has hideously resurfaced in recent years with everything from acid-wash to shoulder pads and (urgh*) Hammer pants, being regurgitated, we figure the 90s has to be the next decade of fashion to come back in fashion.

In fact, we're already on the border of late 80s/ early 90s style anyway.

Yes, it's a rather scary prospect to us here at Islandista too since that fashion moment will officially mean that we're... not so young anymore. Truth be told, having the 80s come back into fashion is pretty horrifying to us too. It's waaayyy too close for comfort.

But it is surely inevitable.

In fact, we spy signs of it already. The August issue of US Vogue talking up velvet as a key trend for fall was a hint. New York Magazine is also trumpeting velvet as a fall trend too.

And surely we can all remember how big velvet was in the 90s. Long velvet skirts and long velvet dresses in rich colours like ruby red, forest green, deep blue, purple and jet black were the thing in the early to mid 90s.

And to be honest, this is one 90s trend we don't mind seeing come back. Velvet looks and feels good and is more forgiving than other fabrics. Plus - no ironing!

Fellow bloggers are also foreseeing the return of the 90s - Jezebel had a hilarious post about it and Fashion Bomb chronicled the mostly stylish tv students of  (mostly) the 90s.

So without further adieu, here are the Top Ten 90s trends we here at Islandista want to see come back - just for shits and giggles.

Wonderful Zoe Saldana photo spread in Vanity Fair

Hollywood's favourite islandista, Zoe Saldana is featured in the September issue of Vanity Fair (aka the big Style Issue)in a fabulous, Harlem Renaissance-themed photo shoot.

It plays on Zoe's penchant for getting cast in movie roles as the one lady among the men (Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek and the upcoming sci-fi flick Avatar).

I love how they combined that with the Harlem renaissance looks and how dignified and sharp the brothers, both young and old, look in these pictures. Obviously, Zoe is th star, but they definitely add a finesse to the photos.

Call it the Obama effect but I am seeing us portrayed much more  and more beautifully in mainstream publications these days.

Check out some of the shots.

 

[caption id="attachment_1338" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Photo credit: Michael Roberts for Vanity Fair"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1339" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Photo credit: Michael Roberts for Vanity Fair"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1340" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="photo credit: Michael Roberts for Vanity Fair"][/caption]

Caribbean artistes on BET's Rising Icons

You don't have to tell us in the Caribbean that our stars are on the rise.

It's like the world is finally waking up to a Caribbean moment in sports and culture. Between our dominating sports stars like Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser and even Lewis Hamilton and our up and coming artistes like Rihanna, Hal Linton, Shontelle and Melanie Fiona, the world is getting a dose of Caribbean flavour in recent years.

And as it so happens, two Caribbean artistes - Barbados' Hal Linton and Guyana-descended Melanie Fiona are featured in BET's upcoming feature collaboration with Grey Goose- the Rising Icons series.

Check out some pics from Hal's performance below.

 



 

TC wins at last... and how!

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For years now, Barbados' TC has been one of those 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride' kaisonians.

Second and third place knew her well and even though she was a perpetual finalist in Barbados' Calypso Monarch contest and a regular finalist in the Party Monarch contest, she never could seem to make the breakthrough.

Sometimes the judges seemed to mess her up, preferring 'shareholders' like Red Plastic Bag and Gabby to her and sometimes she was her own worst enemy like in 2005 when she had the Calypso Monarch title in her hand after a brilliant first half and then just dashed it away with a weirdly low-key performance of her bigger song in the second half.

But...she did it at last!

Today at Farley Hill, TC won not just the Party Monarch contest but the first ever Sweet Soca (aka groovy soca) contest with her big tune Hot Sun and Riddim.

No longer will she have to endure the 'she's a great calypsonian but..."  discussion.

She got crowns now.

Honestly, the Party Monarch result took folks by surprise, especially since TC was one of three contestants who just re-sang the song they performed like... an hour earlier in the Sweet Soca contest.

The Marleys meet the Obamas

The First Family of Reggae met the First Family of the United States recently.

Matriarch Rita Marley, her son Ziggy Marley and assorted little Marleys visited the White House recently and snapped a pic and got autographs from President Barack Obama and his First Lady Michelle. Check the pics below.

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Dreadlocks in the White House? Loving it!

ISLANDISTA EXCLUSIVE: Vashtie Kola speaks for herself

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Islandistas, I know it is from 19-how long that we promised you our exclusive interview with multi-talented islandista it girl and 'Downtown's Sweetheart', Vashtie Kola.

But you know how it is... good things come to those who wait... and keep reading Islandista in the meantime!

So without further adieu, here are some unfiltered insights into the life and work of Vashtie Kola.

Trini Carnival - a look forward and a look back

Even though we're in the midst of the summer Carnival season, things are already heating up for Trinidad Carnival 2010.

Talk is already flying about what plans the various mas bands in TnT have in store for 2010 and two top Trinidadian mas bands - Spice and Carnival Tribe, are set to hold their band launches this month on July 19th and 25th respectively.

In fact, Spice has already given us all a sneak peek of their 2010 presentation, The Spice Route, when they held their media launch two weeks ago.

They displayed the front line costumes of two sections - the Caspian Sea and Rubies of Mumbai and they are bee-yoo-tee-ful!

I especially like the Rubies of Mumbai (below). The tear-drop shaped red gems dripping off the waist piece and the sari like material for the shoulders - fantastic!



[caption id="attachment_1201" align="aligncenter" width="292" caption="photo credit: Joel Angelo/Triniscene.com"][/caption]



 

[caption id="attachment_1202" align="aligncenter" width="292" caption="photo credit: Joel Angelo/Triniscene.com"][/caption]

Spice's Eastern theme is one that seems to be quite popular for Trini Carnival '10. Tribe is going with 'The Secret of Silk' - a slight change up from what was rumoured to be the original name - The Silk Road.

Michael Jackson - analysing an enigma and legend

Ever since Michael Jackson's death on Thursday afternoon, I have been seeing clips of this video on various news broadcasts about Jackson's life. I saw it so many times and the few moments were so captivating that I had to go find it for myself.

It is a clip of the Jackson Five performing on the Ed Sullivan show in 1969 when Michael would have been 11 years old.

To me, it shows what we have really lost with MJ's death. But then again, we seemed to have lost that joyous, smiling, confident little showman from years ago, long before Thursday, June 26, 2009.

The King is dead. Michael Jackson 1958-2009

What can we say?

The King of Pop is dead.




There was so much said about Michael Jackson during his life - good, bad and outrageous.

We really don't think there is anything we can add to all that has been said. We all know the story - the dizzying heights of fame and success, the bizarre depths of trials and surgeries.


So let us just add our own personal feelings. An era has ended. Some may say it ended long ago for Michael but everyone harboured hopes that he would make a comeback and be the phenomenon we had all grown up with.




And that is the essence of Michael Jackson. He is the phenomenon we all grew up with. From the late 60s until today, Michael has always been with us, shaping popular culture. His own life seemed to be lonely and deeply unhappy but he brought happiness to billions. Yes, billions.





Generations grew up with him in different incarnations from the adorable, afro'd child star to the moonwalking, crotch-grabbing Thriller. He touched all our lives.

And that is all that needs to be said.

CFW pics- woo-hoo!

It's been a few days in coming but photogs have finally cleared out their discs and we have pictures from Caribbean Fashion Week.  Hurr-ay!

The folks at Jamaican party site Socia Lingua have posted the pics from CFW 09 on their Facebook page   and despite the bite of the recession, fabulousness was on display as usual.

Take a look at some of our favourite outfits and moments from CFW below.

 

[caption id="attachment_1146" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="All photo credits: Socia Lingua"][/caption]

  Sisters Tessanne Chin and Tami Chyn performed and I found their outfits (especially Tessanne's on the left) were so hot, they deserved a place among the fashions of the night.

Sneak peek: exclusive Vashtie Kola interview!

Islandista and multi-talented artist Vashtie Kola granted us an exclusive interview this week and she has a lot to say!

Look out for the full interview later on this week where she talks about her time at Def Jam, her decision to step out on her own and pursue her own dreams, how she and her best friend Oscar created one of New York City's hottest party phenomenons, 1992 and what is was like growing up Trini in Albany.

Until then, here is a quick clip:

... I grew up with mostly American black kids. There were also some West Indian families- mostly Jamaican or Guyanese but no Trinidadians. So growing up it was kind of me doing a lot of research to understand what it meant to be Trinidadian.

[Trying to explain her Trini heritage growing up] It was a little confusing for them and it was confusing to me as well. I looked Indian but I wasn’t Indian. Trying to explain the culture - you knowI eat curry chicken, my mum is Hindu but my dad is Christian. ...trying to explain all those different elements.  I tried to get away from it when I was younger. When I was a kid I definitely tried to be more American – I didn’t want to be Trinidadian. As I got older and started to understand my culture and my heritage, I grew to appreciate it more.