NEW YORK – Launched on Tuesday, July 16th on VP Records YouTube page, On The Riddim (OTR) is a monthly series, highlighting the best of VP Records.
From recent album releases, videos and events; viewers will be taken on a journey every episode.
2019 marks the 40th anniversary of VP Records, the world’s largest reggae and soca label in the world. Paving the way for many legendary reggae artists, the label has become an icon in the reggae music industry.
To further enhance this status, On The Riddim, the series, aims to create a visual community for current and new fans alike to stay on top of the label’s recent news, while immersing into the culture with fun facts and interviews with artists.
The idea originated when VP Records Public Relations Manager Jennifer Valentin realized that there was an abundance of news coming from this independent label.
A weekly newsletter distributed to media, which describes the various new releases (albums, singles, videos), events and event recaps and more, generally has more than 5 news items a week.
That being said, the concept is to now keep the consumers abreast of all of the great things happening as well. This series will allow that to happen, every month.
With a YouTube following of almost 900,000 followers, VP Records hopes this will be the catalyst to expand its audience to a new generation of viewers. Their first foray into web content development they hope to create something that has never been done before as the leading distributors of reggae music for the past 50 years.
The Web show wouldn’t be complete without vetted hosts that were selected for their expansive knowledge of Caribbean music and their media experience.
Main female host, Queen Bremmer is a Jamaican born journalism graduate, former host of Reggae King Radio’s All Tings Dancehall and blogger.
Lead male host, Kevin Crown, is a Grenadian International DJ born and raised in New York City, best known for his show on 93.5 FM and appearances on Sirius XM’s Shade 45, NY’s Power105, PIX11 Morning Show, and Jamaica’s Hot102FM and winner of DJ of the Year in 2014 by the 8th Annual Young Gifted & Black Entrepreneurial Awards.
Additional Correspondents and contributors will include Tadia Toussaint (featured in first episode), Queen Mixxy (featured in first episode), Robin Kurian, Rosannah Deonarine, Hala Maroc, Kesley Saul, Shomari Wilson, Lady Trini, Nova Cashh and more.
The show is produced by Cerebral Entertainment. Their team consists of Producer Brittany Franklin, Production manager Sebastian Arteta, Director of Photography Reginal Louis-Jacques, Editor Kayden Li Chang and more. Production Design was by Shelby Simpson, Makeup for the first episode was done by Miranda Smyre and Styling by Lassalle. Additional videography was provided by Macquell James, Eli Joseph and Denver Pari.
“The digital/internet landscape is expanding rapidly and VP Records would love to celebrate its 40th anniversary by offering this “gift” to its YouTube subscribers with hopes to attract more,” said Jennifer Valentin, Publicity Manager at VP Records and Creator of the show. “The music based show will be youthful, fun, entertaining and informative, reminiscent to shows such as “106 and Park”, “TRL” and more,” she concluded.
“Collaborating with VP Records and Jennifer on the making of this show has solidified our love for reggae music and the Caribbean culture,” said producer Brittany Franklin. “On The Riddim, will be the premier new music show to watch.”
To hit the ground running, the first episode will be an ode to VP Records 40th anniversary, a 2019 recap (Christopher Martin album release, Estelle, Record Store Day, Soca Gold Live, Strictly the Best Live, Taste of Jerk and more. Stay tuned for additional announcements.
