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NATURAL BLACK

"Out Of Many, One People"

Too often it's difficult to overcome one's
preconceptions about reggae music and one has to try a
little harder to fully understand the bigger picture.
Consider the fact that more people in Jamaica have
made a record per head of population than in any other
country in the world - and of course that seventy
three per cent of statistics are made up on the spot.
So with this incredible wealth of talent one would
have thought that the last thing Jamaica needed was
another deejay or singer especially one that has been
imported from overseas.

Natural Black is the current sensation in Jamaica's
dance halls. He was born Mortimer 'Duke' Softley in
PLAISANCE on the East Coast Demerara and is popularly
known for his hit song "Far From Reality," but after
the death of his mother when he was two years old, his
aunt Jocelyn Bobb, took him over. He has lived in many
East Coast villages, including Buxton and Bachelor's
Adventure., he spent his youth studying and absorbing
the music and culture of Jamaica. Mortimer worked on
his skills on the mic. in dances known locally as yard
parties, "a kind of Guyanese dance", where the music
was provided by live bands rather than a sound system
and he would sing the songs of his two biggest
influences: Jamaican kings of the microphone Buju
Banton and Terror Fabulous. After a short spell in the
army Mortimer moved on to welding and then decided
that if he really was going to make it as a reggae
artist then he had to reach the source?

In early 1995 Natural Black relocated to Kingston,
Jamaica and started work immediately for Beres
Hammond's Harmony House label, Freddie McGregor's Big
Ship organisation and Jack Scorpio's Black Scorpio set
up. This soft spoken, but very determined, artist
quickly made his mark not only as a singer and deejay
but also as a talented and prolific song writer and
the music fraternity welcomed him with open arms and
he has steadily built reputation as one of the
brightest hopes for the future of the music in the
twenty first century. Perhaps his background has meant
that he is able to be more objective and he is not
afraid to criticise what he sees as the negative
aspects of the music and on 'Songs With Feeling' he
urges singers and musicians to raise the standard of
their material. He could be setting himself up here
but the impeccable standard of his own songs is beyond
reproach and he was one of the artists chosen by
Bernard Collins of The Abyssinians to contribute to
the recent groundbreaking 'Tree Of Satta' project
where top artists updated the legendary 'Satta A Massa
Gana' rhythm.

His latest long playing release "Far From Reality" is
uniformly excellent from start to finish full of
intelligent, pertinent lyrics set within memorable
song structures and subtle captivating arrangements.
With the right promotion this could be the one to bust
Natural Black outside the dance halls of Kingston and
onto the worldwide stage?

"I love to make good music so that everyone can feel
happy....

Eddy Grant stands among an elite group of artists as one who has not just merely moved successfully across the musical spectrum, but has actually been at the forefront of genres and even created one of his own. From pop star to reggae radical, musical entrepreneur to the inventor of ringbang, the artist has cut a swath through the world of music and made it his own.

Born in PLAISANCE, Guyana, on March 5, 1948, the young Edmond Grant grew up on the sound of his homeland, tan singing, an Indo-Caribbean vocal style whose roots lay in South Asia and are the backbone of modern chutney. Then in 1960, the Grant family emigrated to England, taking up residence in the working-class Stoke Newington area of London. The young teen's musical horizons swiftly expanded, embracing the R&B, blues, and rock that percolated across his new island home.

In 1965, Grant formed his first band, the Equals, and long before the days of 2-Tone, the group was unique in being the first of Britain's multi-racial bands to receive any recognition. The West Indian contingent comprised Jamaican-born singer Lincoln Gordon, with his twin brother Derv and Grant both on guitar, while the rhythm section of bassist Patrick Lloyd and drummer John Hall were native-born white Englishmen. Like most of the teenaged bands roaming the capital at the time, the Equals cut their teeth on the club and pub circuit and finally inked a label deal with President Records in early 1967. Their debut single, "I Won't Be There," didn't crack the charts but did receive major radio support. This, alongside an expanding fan base wowed by their live shows, pushed their first album, Unequaled Equals, into the U.K. Top Ten. At the request of his label, Grant had also been working with the Pyramids, the British group who had backed Prince Buster on his recent U.K. tour. Besides composing songs for the band (and one for Buster himself, the rude classic "Rough Rider"), Grant also produced several tracks, including the band's debut single and sole hit, "Train to Rainbow City." In 1968, the Equals scored their own hit with "I Get So Excited," the group's debut into the Top 50. Although their follow-up album, Equals Explosion, proved less successful than its predecessor, as did the next single, the quintet's career was indeed about to explode. "Hold Me Closer" may have disappointed in the U.K., where it stalled at a lowly number 50, but in Germany, the single was flipped over and "Baby Come Back" released as the A-side. It swiftly soared to the top of the German charts, a feat repeated across Europe. Later that spring, a reissued British single finally received its just due and reached number one. Even the U.S. took notice, sending the single into the lower reaches of the Top 40. Sadly, this turned out to be a flash in the pan. The Equals' follow-up single, "Laurel and Hardy" died at number 35; its successor did even worse, while their new album, Sensational Equals, didn't even make the charts. New hope arrived when "Viva Bobby Joe" shot into the Top Ten in the summer of 1969, but its follow-up, "Rub a Dub Dub," just scraped into the Top 35. Understandable, considering the Equals' roller coaster of ups and downs, Grant now turned his attention elsewhere.

Alex Bunbury (born June 16, 1967 in PLAISANCE, Guyana) is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player. A striker, Bunbury became Portuguese club CS Marítimo's all-time goal scoring with 59 goals in 165 games. He also the Canadian national team's third leading all-time scorer with 16 goals and its fourth leading all-time cap winner with 65.

Bunbury began his professional playing career with the Hamilton Steelers, Toronto Blizzard and Montreal Supra of the (former) Canadian Soccer League. Briefly a reserve at English club West Ham United, Bunbury soon moved to Maritimo in 1993 where he established himself over his six seasons as one of the most well-known foreign goal scorers of the SuperLiga during the 1990s. In 2000 Bunbury requested a move to play football closer to his hometown of Montreal, and was sold to the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. Ankle injuries forced his retirement after just one season with K.C., for whom he scored 2 goals in 24 games. Bunbury was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in April 2006.

Since retirement, Bunbury with his wife and three children, has made Prior Lake, Minnesota their home, where he has been a youth soccer coach and trainer.

Wayne Braithwaite

Since turning pro in 1997, Wayne Braithwaite has struggled long and hard to make a name for himself within the sport of boxing. After relocating to Brooklyn, NY from his native Guyana, Braithwaite racked up impressive wins as he traveled around the globe, fighting opponents on their home turf and proving he would fight anyone, anywhere.

Then in 2001, the hard work began to pay off for the southpaw fighter. Braithwaite scored a 3rd round knockout over Louis Azille in a WBC title eliminator, and went on to fight Vincenzo Cantatore the following year in Italy for the cruiserweight championship, where he scored a 10th round TKO over the Italian. Prior to their match up, Cantatore made countless (last minute) postponements to their fight, forcing Braithwaite to toil laboriously in the gym for 11 months without an interim fight. Upon finally arriving in Cantatore's native land, Team Braithwaite experienced a Pandora's Box of deterrents involving lodging, travel and visa snafues. After winning the match, the audience (a raucous dinner crowd) threw food, drinks, bottles and silverware into the ring, prompting four security guards to protect Braithwaite as he exited the ring.

Soon after Braithwaite became champ, changes began to take place. Braithwaite's mother, Claire Smalls, took charge of her son's career and appointed herself as manager. Promoter Vlad Wharton got the boot and Don King was in.

After defending his title three times (Ravea Springs TKO 4; Louis Pineda TKO 1 and a rematch with Azille UD 12), Braithwaite suffered his very first defeat in April by losing a unanimous decision to Jean Marc Mormeck (31-3; 21 KO's) of France. Then, more changes transpired. Long time trainer Colin Morgan was out and Lennox Blackmore was in.

In his next fight (five months later), Braithwaite (21-2; 17 KO's) was surprisingly TKO'd in the 4th round by Panamanian fighter, Guillermo Jones (33-3-2; 26 KO's).

Fightnews contacted Braithwaite about his future plans and to comment on the recent scuttlebutt involving himself. "Everything that happened last year is behind me now and I know that 2006 will be a better year for me. I am a warrior," stated Braithwaite. "My mother has been doing a very, very good job at managing me and I know she has my best interest at heart. So I would prefer that she speak for me now because I have a court case coming up and I don't want my words to hurt me in the future."

Smalls told Fightnews, "For 2006, I expect Wayne to have a new hunger and a thirst. Once you have the hunger and the thirst, then comes the Championship Title. Wayne is only 30 years old. He's an exciting fighter who is at the peak of his career. Without a shadow of a doubt, Wayne will win back his title because he is the best cruiserweight in the division!"

Regarding the replacement of Morgan, Smalls alleges: "Colin is an evil person who wanted to manage Wayne before I came along. He's jealous of me and Wayne, and wanted to steal the whole show for himself! He was always asking for money and being very greedy, so I fired him... not once, but twice! This is why you need experienced people around you in boxing. Professional people don't operate this way... only petty people."

In the days following Braithwaite's loss to Mormeck, there were whispers that some members of Team Braithwaite felt that ‘Voodoo' and ‘Black Magic' were cast upon their fighter prior to the match. Smalls concedes, "We all know that the French people are good at that sort of thing. During the Mormeck fight, every single thing that you could imagine went wrong! I lost my suitcase with all my clothes in it and I had nothing to wear during the week of the fight. In fact, to this very day, I still haven't found that suitcase. And, Wayne was losing a lot of weight in camp for no apparent reason. He was always eating, but he just kept losing weight. It felt like a black cloud was hanging over us all the time. But I blame myself. Normally, I do a spiritual fast before my son fights. But things were so hectic, that I wasn't able to do it.

"After the Mormeck fight, it continued to be a very bad year for us. My brother died and Wayne lost to Jones. But he trained so vigorously for that fight! He was in excellent shape because my husband did Wayne's conditioning. Wayne was up at 4 am every morning and was doing all kinds of conditioning exercises throughout the day... everyday. And, I have seen so many other fights where referees allow guys like Arturo Gatti and Erik Morales to continue fighting when they get a little hurt. But against Jones, Wayne got a premature stoppage! It was a robbery! That's why I certainly believe that the referee was up to something. Something sinister was cooked up that night."

Smalls adds, "You know, I am 47 years old, and I've never been through the terrible situations that I had experienced in 2005. Even now, there is still a lot of other stuff going on."

Piczo