TOP 10
SINGLES
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOP 10
ALBUMS
1
2
3
4
5
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The Middle
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Psycho
Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign
Nice For What
Drake
Never Be The Same
Camila Cabello
Delicate
Taylor Swift
No Tears Left To Cry
Ariana Grande
In My Blood
Shawn Mendes
Meant To Be
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
God’s Plan
Drake
Mine
Bazzi
EVERYTHING IS LOVE
The Carters
Nasir
Nas
Youngblood
5 Seconds Of Summer
Liberation
Christina Aguilera
Post Traumatic
Mike Shinoda
The Greatest Showman
Soundtrack
SQUARE UP (EP)
BLACKPINK
Redemption
Jay Rock
?
XXXTENTACION
KIDS SEE GHOSTS
KIDS SEE GHOSTS
Presented by
wireless
EASTER PRODUCTION
Caribbean L 40 ife, April 12–18, 2019 BQ
classic, new and exclusive
titles such as “Roots From
The Yard,” “Nightfall” and
“Roots Radics 12 Inches Of
Dub.” For the first time, the
event will be streamed on the
VP Records YouTube channel
and archived for future
viewing.
New York’s event will
include selectors Earth Ruler,
Digital English, Blunt Posse,
Dub Electronics, Super Force,
and Pretty Posse; artists are
yet to be announced. Additionally,
VP Records will be
unveiling The Reggae Trail,
a project to identify and document
locations of historic
importance to the growth of
reggae around the world.
The Reggae Trail – New
York is the first phase of the
initiative to tell the story of
the growth of reggae in key
cities around the world. The
Trail is a map of past and
present record stores, recording
studios, performance
spaces, and the people who
helped make the music an
integral part of life in important
urban centers. The trail
also tells the story of the
growth of Jamaican and Caribbean
immigrant communities.
The Trail starts in New
York for Record Store Day
2019 and includes the top
record stores that brought
the music to the people
starting in the early 1960s.
This includes VP Records,
which moved from Kingston,
Jamaica, to Brooklyn and
eventually Jamaica, Queens
in the late 1970s, becoming
a major distributor and
label in the global spread of
reggae. After 40 years, VP
Records’ flagship retail store
is one of the oldest continuously
operating record stores
in the Northeast. -Carter
Van Pelt, Director of Catalog
Development
This year, VP Records is also
celebrating 40 years in the
United States. VP’s history as
a record store and music distributor
is key to the growth
of reggae music in New York
and around the globe. The
company was launched by
Vincent and Patricia Chin as
Randy’s Record Mart in Kingston,
Jamaica in 1958, and
grew to become the world’s
largest independent reggae
label. The 40th Anniversary
festivities began with VP’s
return to Jamaica in January
for Strictly The Best – LIVE
Montego Bay on Jan. 30 and
continues with a variety of
music and cultural events,
products, historical exhibits
and experiences, in Jamaica,
across the U.S., Toronto,
Canada and London, England
slated throughout the year.
by men,” Damarr Williams.
Set in both rural Jamaica
and ancient Jerusalem, she
said Lee’s “sweeping epic
breaks with traditional presentations
of Christ’s passion,
humanizing Jesus and Judas as
modern-day Jamaican men —
young, angry and determined
to overturn the status quo to
create an equal and more just
society for the world they live
in.
“But, when the authorities
around them intervene with
deceptive and divisive tactics,
the two young rebels tragically
discover that the autocracy
will stop at literally nothing to
prevent change we can believe
in,” Damarr Williams said.
Heron – a recent Caribbean
Life Impact awardee, who
appeared as Caiphas in a revival
of the play several years ago —
said “The Rope and The Cross”
is a milestone in the history of
theatre in Jamaica.
“Easton Lee, the playwright,
initially wrote the piece as a
small Easter production for his
church in Siloah, Jamaica, the
small rural village in which he
grew up,” he said. “But something
magical happened the
first time it was performed on
Easter weekend 1979.
“It was a life-changing,
transformative experience,” he
added. “The audience responded
in a way not even Lee himself
could have imagined.
“And for many years after
that, ‘The Rope and The Cross’
became a Jamaican Easter season
tradition, performed all
over Jamaica and eventually
overseas, and by a cast of some
of the most iconic Jamaican
actors of the time,” Heron continued.
Among those who appeared
in “The Rope and The Cross” in
various productions and revivals
over the years were Leonie
Forbes, Rooney Chambers,
Fae Ellington, Bobby Ghisays,
Grace McGhie, Alwyn Scott
and Munair Zacca.
Heron said he is confident
that the new generation of
actors chosen for this New York
revival will do the piece “very,
very proud.”
The New Vibe Lounge is
located at 60 North Park Ave.
in Rockville Centre, Long Is.
11570.
Damarr Williams said there
will be an audience talk-back
and a complimentary Caribbean
Easter buffet, courtesy of
Golden Krust Caribbean restaurant,
immediately after the
performance.
Tickets for “The Rope and
the Cross” are available at:
theropeandthecross3pm.eventbrite.
com. For more information,
call (424) 256-6574.
Continued from Page 39
Continued from Page 39
That’s a question Veronica
Chambers says she has
spent her lifetime asking. The
answer arrived in the songs
of a performer who “has no
interest in separating herself
from the struggle of being a
Black woman…” That singer,
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, “is
the greatest performer alive,”
according to Luvvie Ajayi, one
essayist here.
When Beyoncé was first seen
(on TV’s Star Search in 1993),
viewers recognized her talent.
Even then, she was “our generation”
and that never changed:
these days, she’s “named the
pain of… Black women who…
love Black men...” Through her
actions and music, she has
shown that “Black men’s apologies
to Black women matter.”
Writer Ylonda Gault says
that there were times when
Beyoncé’s life eerily paralleled
Gault’s. Meredith Broussard
calls Beyoncé “a constant presence
in my own life.”
She is a businesswoman
who reportedly has a climatecontrolled
archive of every
print and digital bit of press
with her name in it. She is
a writer, mother, feminist,
actress, and award-winner; a
“hard-working professional,” a
champion for gay rights, an
inspiration for young Black
girls, and a comfort for women
who have miscarried. And she
is a dancer: who among us
has not memorized the incredible
moves seen in her music
videos?
Naysayers and haters might
scoff, but for a fan, there is
probably nothing Beyoncé can
not do. Says writer Edward
Enninful, “she’s above trends.
She can’t be put in a box.
Frankly, she can do whatever
she wants.”
Let us stop right here a second:
if you barely know who
Beyoncé is and cannot name at
least five of her songs, you can
put your newspaper down now.
Go do something else, because
this book is not for you.
Continued from Page 39
Nixon Cesar (left) as Jesus and Emilio Evans as Judas in
“The Rope and the Cross.”
Queen Bey Sound System Showcase
Book cover of “Queen Bey.”