NEW YORK – Dancehall hotshot, Mavado (born David Constantine Brooks) in 1981 and who was raised in an area known as “Cuba”, a micro ghetto within the heart of Kingston, Jamaica’s Cassava Piece community…the artiste who gave the dancehall world, the critically acclaimed debut album Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, which includes hit singles “Fathers Prayer”, “Cassava Piece Radio”, “Sadness”, “Gully Side”, and “On The Go (Faster Than Bullet) www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1697222216 which was dedicated to Olympic Gold medal winner Asafa Powell, earlier today signed on the dotted line and is now officially confirmed for North America’s premier reggae festival Irie Jamboree 2008.
Mavado
Other confirmed acts include King Yellow, Beenieman, Alison Hinds, the “Queen of Soca,” Coco Tea, Sizzla, Elephant Man and rising reggae stars Serani, Admiral Bailey, Bugle, DeMarco, Konshens, Tanya Mullings, Little Hero, RDX, Elvis D, Ragga Lox, Empire Isis, Benny Bwoy, Lushy Banton, Prestige and others.
A unique feature of this year’s festival is that the entire event will be a tribute to all Caribbean athletes now competing at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. “Our company, and especially our radio division, Irie Jam Radio has a long history of participation in track & field athletics, and when we looked at the jaw-dropping, gravity-defying performances in Beijing, it was really the logical move to dedicate this year’s festival to our athletes”, Bobby Clarke, CEO of Irie Jam Radio commented.
A special Usain Bolt tent will be established at the event and it will be appropriately dressed in Jamaican colors and used as one of the VIP suites.
This effort of setting up the Usain Bolt tent will be supported by Digicel, one of the lead sponsors for Irie Jamboree. This follows on the close relationships between Usain, Digicel and Irie Jam Radio at the Reebok Grand Prix in late May when Usain first created pandemonium by smashing Asafa Powell’s sprint record to become a contender for the title of the fastest man on earth.
The organisers will also work with sponsors Western Union, Pay-o-matic and Grace Kennedy to decorate the “Veronica Campbell-Brown” Media Tent which will honor our Olympic Queens at the event.
The food court will also be re-named the “Caribbean Olympic Village” to honor all Caribbean athletes who competed at the Olympic Games this year. Irie Jamboree is also expected to be a media feeding frenzy for international music press, with journalists coming from Japan, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and all across North America.
Irie Jamboree takes place this year on Labor Day Sunday, August 31, 2008 at Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, New York.
For Irie Jamboree tickets, please call 888 IRIE NYC or visit iriejamboree.com
