CTV.ca | Luther Brown: Back in T-dot

Luther Brown: Back in T-dot

Updated Tue. Jun. 17 2008 12:31 PM ET

Lindsay Zier-Vogel, CTV.ca

Renowned choreographer, Luther Brown spent his childhood in a radio station, and in fact, didn't step foot in a dance studio until 2000. So how he one of the top choreographers in North America, working with artists like Janet Jackson, Shawn Desman and Toronto's own Jully Black?

"I observe," he says, "I always have. I just soak it all in." From watching musicals growing up, and then music videos as he grew older, Brown has broken the trend of dancing first, then becoming a choreographer. Instead, he became a choreographer in his own right. "Not everyone took the route I did -- it's unique," he says.

"Luth-er! Luth-er!"

After first making his name in Toronto, then New York and now in LA, Brown is ecstatic to be back in his hometown. But as thrilled as he might be, he's nowhere near as excited as the competitors. The moment he walks out of the wings, the dancers are on their feet giving him a raucous standing ovation and chanting "Luth-er, Luth-er."

With so much of Canada's dance talent heading to the States, he's thrilled to be able to offer dancers in Toronto the opportunity to be seen in their own country. "I'm so glad I'm on this [panel], 'cause this is stuff we've been doing forever and now we get to bring it to the front."

"Toronto's a lot of everything. There are a lot of trained kids, and a lot of street kids -- b-boys and hip hops dancers. It's gonna be a beast."

Growing up in the 'hood

Brown spent much of his youth in Jane and Finch in the north end of Toronto and before he even knew what outreach was, Brown was engaged in community-building work, bringing art and music to kids in his 'hood.

His father, Luther Brown Sr., runs Caribbean Crucible, a reggae radio program on the community radio station out of York University. During the summers, Brown would bring his friends in to take over for his dad.

Hosting the show with the now-famous singer, Jully Black, he would delegate the rest of the responsibilities to his friends. "I didn't think I was a leader, but my dad took me aside later and broke it down for me. I took a lot of kids people couldn't control and focussed them -- [giving them tasks and responsibilities]."

"We just did it"

Expanding on his skills at the radio station, Brown worked at the Driftwood Community Centre, creating arts programming for under-privileged youth. "There were just so many kids that were hungry to do stuff, so we just did it," he says, referring to his comprehensive arts programming that included dance, film, visual art and musicals.

Having grown up in Kingston, Jamaica, a place Brown describes as "Brooklyn meets South Central", Brown says he related to his participants because he knew what it was to "live in the 'hood."

"But, he adds, "I also knew what it was to strive for different things."

Telling stories

It was at Driftwood that Brown started making dance troupes. "But then, I didn't know what a choreographer was. I just knew that I could put together a crew, get a routine happening, organizing and overseeing everything."

His love for narrative and musicals shaped these original creations: "I was always telling stories physically. There was always a story and characters behind my choreography."

Brown took his love for story-telling to the University of Windsor where he studied English Literature and Black History. But while he was there, he couldn't leave his love of dance behind, so Brown created the university's step and dance teams.

Doin' Dat

While studying in Windsor, Brown was frustrated by a lack of support and recognition for Toronto street dancers. Being the go-getter that he is, Brown founded Do Dat Entertainment -- originally a dance group that morphed into an agency, a school and now even provides artist development for Toronto's leading performers.

The lineup in Toronto was full of Brown's students, who said that though he can be a clown in his workshops, he definitely knows when to get to work. "You have to be on top of yourself," one hip hopper said. "You have to push yourself and you have to be serious."

Another dancer added, "If you're not serious about it, there's just no room for you."

From teaching to judging

Brown believes his role as a teacher will help him as a judge. "My angle as a judge is to find diamonds in the rough and make them hot. I really want to find the best well-rounded dancer," he says, smiling behind his Versace shades.

And what is Brown looking for in a dancer? "You've got to have skill and you've got to be clean," he says. "You don't just want to learn the steps, but understand how to perform the steps.

"You need to take the movement and add yourself to it, make it fresh -- that's the choreographer's dream."

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Mikey Dread. Dead at 54

From: Versionist.com

Entertainment Update March 2008!.

It is with great sadness that we at West Indian Times have to report that Michael 'Mikey Dread' Campbell who was always 'The Dread At The Control' has passed away. Mikey passed away at approximately 6:50pm Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, March 15th, 2008. He was surrounded by his family in the home of his sister in Connecticut at the time of his passing.

We had reported in October 2007 that Mikey had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and that he was fighting with all his might to recover from his illness. Mikey constantly remained upbeat and hopeful for a full recovery so that he could continue doing what he loved; spreading Jah music to the world.

Mikey's family including his children; 2 sons from Jamaica, a daughter who lives in Houston, TX, a son who lives in Canada, a daughter who lives in Belize, and his 4 month old son Zylen Jahlight had been close by in the last few months as he fought to stay with them. We will keep you updated as service arrangements are made. West Indian Times sends our deep condolence to the family and friends of Mikey Dread. His passing is a great loss to the Universe. He will be greatly missed. Mikey, may your soul rest in eternal peace.'

Rest In Heavenly Peace Mikey Dread
www.myspace.com/zacheousjacksonmuzic


From: The Jamaican Observer

Mikey Dread, gone from the control Hailed as one of reggae greatest innovators

By Basil Walters Observer staff reporter Sunday, March 16, 2008

Radio disc jock Mikey Dread is dead. He succumbed to a brain tumour late yesterday afternoon at his family home in Connecticut, USA at the age of 54. Born Michael Campbell in Port Antonio, Jamaica, he distinguished himself as an extraordinary studio engineer and presenter at the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) where he came to prominence in the 1970s as "The Dread-the-Control Tower", the name of the late night show he presented at a time when reggae music was scoffed at by many.


From: CaribbeanCricket.com

The Dread at the Controls

Mikey Dread, gone from the control
Hailed as one of reggae greatest innovators
By Basil Walters Observer staff reporter
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Radio disc jock Mikey Dread is dead. He succumbed to a brain tumour late yesterday afternoon at his family home in Connecticut, USA at the age of 54. Born Michael Campbell in Port Antonio, Jamaica, he distinguished himself as an extraordinary studio engineer and presenter at the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) where he came to prominence in the 1970s as "The Dread-the-Control Tower", the name of the late night show he presented at a time when reggae music was scoffed at by many.

Mikey Dread... hailed as one of reggae's greatest innovators
One of reggae's greatest innovators and original radio engineers/technicians, the past student of Titchfield High School, in

2006 celebrated the 30th anniversary of the night programme which he started at the JBC, and revolutionised the after midnight shift making it into the most popular slot on radio, by playing strictly dub music. This innovation is seen by many musicologists as the antecedence of dancehall as we now know it.

Upon leaving the JBC, Mikey Dread ventured into recording and scored with a number of releases such as Weatherman Skanking in combination with Ray I, Barber Saloon, Love the Dread, as well as albums such as Dread at the Control, Evolutionary Rockers and World War III. Over time he attracted the attention of British punk rockers, The Clash, who invited him to produce some of their music, the most famous of which is their single Bankrobber, and contributed to several songs on their 1980 album, Sandinista. Mikey Dread also toured with The Clash across Britain, wider Europe and the US.

He also worked closely with producer Trevor Elliot to launch musical career of singer Edi Fitzroy, who was then an accountant at the JBC. As the news of his passing surfaced yesterday, the Sunday Observer got comments from a number of persons in the media and the music fraternity, all of whom hailed Mikey Dread as a significant contributor to the development of Jamaican music. "His (Mikey Dread's) work, is not only national or regional, but also international," former JBC's journalist Leslie Miles noted. "It spanned the world scene and made Mikey a pioneer broadcaster for playing dub music, and also redefined aspects of radio, especially night time radio" Miles, who is now head of news at Bess FM, also spoke of the struggle Mikey Dread faced at the conservative JBC. Music consultant Colin Leslie pointed out that the consequence of the "fight" he received from the management was putting him on at night, but that backfired.

"Remember he is a Portlander, so I always appreciated the fact that we shared the same alma mater (Titchfield High School), that is something I've always cherished and I hold him in high esteem. Although he was ahead of my era, he was somebody who laid an awesome foundation and was very unique and highly respected," was how Richard "Richie B" Burgess of Hot 102, remembered Mikey Dread.

"We were at JBC together, and in those days when he started at the JBC dreads weren't popular on the air. The powers that be in management really gave him a fight," Ali McNab told the Sunday Observer.

"Michael Campbell, is someone who revolutionised radio in Jamaica when there was still an anti-Jamaican sentiment regarding music and culture. In terms of the emerging dancehall, it was Mikey Dread who popularised it on radio. Although it was late night, he still managed to popularise dancehall music and bring it to the masses," was the perspective of Dennis Howard who also worked on JBC Radio, in the post-Mikey Dread era.

And Irie FM's disc jockey, GT Taylor hailed the late Mikey Dread as a role model. "Reggae music in Jamaica, owes a lot that that brother. He was one man who stood up for reggae in the early '70s, bringing the music to the forefront. He is one of my inspirations."

Veteran singer Freddie McGregor attested to the fact that "Mikey Dread was one of the persons fighting the struggle for reggae music. Mikey and I did a lot of shows together over the years. A wonderful brethren".

Visit: mikeydread.com

Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | Sam Graham-Felsen's Blog: Senator Barack Obama Receives Endorsement of Flag Officers from Army, Navy and A

"CHICAGO—Citing his judgment and ability to lead, admirals and generals from the United States Army, Navy and Air Force that together have served under the last nine Commanders-in-Chief today announced their endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president.

In offering their endorsement, the generals and admirals recognized Obama’s judgment to oppose the war in Iraq before it began, his respect for the Constitution and rule of law, his leadership on behalf of America’s servicemen and women and his ability to conduct the diplomacy necessary to restore America’s standing in the world.

'Those of us who have served, worn the cloth of our nation, and gone into harm's way know that to be successful we must have the strongest sense of trust in our Commander in Chief. We must be confident that he or she has listened to the best possible advice, that he or she has garnered the best possible information from all possible sources, that he or she has analyzed and weighed all the possible consequences and outcomes, and that he or she has made the decision to exert military force as a last possible resort,” said Admiral (Ret.) Robert “William” Williamson (USN). “Of"

International Women's Day 2008: Investing in Women and Girls

'At the 2005 World Summit, Governments of all nations agreed that “progress for women is progress for all”. Yet the 10-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action revealed a serious gap between policy and practice in many countries. A lack of political will is reflected in the most telling way of all: lack of resources and insufficient budgetary allocations. That is why the theme of this International Women’s Day is “Investing in Women and Girls'. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon

The United Nations and Gender Equality

The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe.

For information about recent themes and commemorations by the United Nations of International Women's Day, please visit: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd.

TheStar.com - Ending the silence to save history

Feb 02, 2008 04:30 AM

Stuart Laidlaw
Faith and Ethics Reporter

OWEN SOUND–Bonita Johnson-de Matteis tells this story. She's not sure of all the details, or even how much to believe, but the tale of how her family came to Ontario is an integral part of Canadian black history.

Some 150 years ago, two Johnson brothers escaped slavery in Maryland, made their way north to Detroit and were stopped by the difficulties of finding passage across the river and the border into Canada.

A Detroit businessman offered to help them if they agreed to work for him for a year. So they willingly put themselves back in bondage, in a free state, for a chance at freedom. A year came and went and the businessman went back on his word – so the two men made a run for it.

This is where the details get vague. The two brothers may have killed the man to escape, or he died pursuing them. "Either way, he ended up dead and they got away," Johnson-deMatteis says.

As black men in the 1850s, and escaped slaves at that, the two spoke little of the incident. They knew they would be blamed for the death whatever the truth. In time, the sharp details of their escape were rounded as the story was passed through the generations.

And so it is with some of the oldest and richest black history in Canada. Fearful of persecution and being sent back into slavery, early black settlers kept largely to themselves, rarely telling anyone their personal histories.

Even their children would be kept in the dark until they were old enough to be trusted with the truth.

These fears were well founded.

John Hall was a black man born free in Ontario but he, his mother and 11 siblings were abducted one night and sent into slavery in Kentucky. He escaped and made his way to Owen Sound. His story is a cautionary tale about lying low.

Through the generations, this secrecy born of self-preservation became part of the culture, reflected in an insularity in the community, a distrust of others and an aversion to doing anything that draws attention.

"Even with your closest friends growing up, you wondered how much to tell," Johnson-deMatteis remembers, sitting at the kitchen table of a friend from her school days, Terri Jackson, a white woman who grew up in the black neighbourhood of east Owen Sound.

It's now time to break the silence, the two women agree. They volunteer with the local genealogical society compiling the local black history into a book to be published this spring. They expect it to be a valuable resource for both amateur genealogists and academics.

"If our generation doesn't do this, it'll all be lost," says past chairman of the society Art Harvey, who got the project going.

The group is going through family journals, scrapbooks and photo albums, talking to older residents and others who have moved away, stitching together tales passed through the generations.

Without the pictures and clippings saved by these families, the three agree, telling their story now would be impossible.

"These people had the presence of mind to sit down and have their picture taken," Johnson-deMatteis says, looking at a family photo taken in 1924, after the funeral of her great-grandfather.

At the centre is her great-grandmother, Sarah, a white woman who married into the family and by the late 1950s was its matriarch. Disowned by her own family, Johnson-deMatteis remembers, Sarah proudly told people she was a "white black woman."

The history project reflects a growing recognition of the often overlooked black history of rural Ontario. A cairn has been erected in Owen Sound's main park to commemorate the Underground Railroad that brought slaves north, and a museum was built nearby. Each summer, the city hosts an Emancipation Picnic.

The three local historians fear, however, that too much has already been lost. Johnson-deMatteis once asked her uncle David Earll if he knew the details of the two brothers' escape, but he couldn't help. As a child, he wasn't trusted with the story, and by the time he became old enough, his priorities were elsewhere. "He said he was too busy as a young man just trying to make it in a white man's world," Johnson-de Matteis says, and details of the escape were lost with the previous generation.

That's what spurs her on in the work, she says, but confesses that the old instincts of secrecy sometimes get the better of her – and she pulls away from the project from time to time.

"I go two steps forward and one step back, but that's just me still working all this through."

In the end, she says, her own aversion to attention takes a back seat to reminding people that black history is not just an American or an urban thing. It is also a rural thing interwoven with European settlement of Ontario.

In fact, she says, a century before Toronto began to think of itself as a multicultural centre, small towns like Owen Sound, Dresden and Chatham were already dealing with issues of race and ethnic tension.

A decade after Confederation, Jackson says, nearly a third of Owen Sound was black, many of them escaped slaves. Their stories are piling up in the books and papers collecting in Jackson's home office, and in the very buildings of this Georgian Bay port.

On the main street, the grand Buchan Manor backs onto the Sydenham River. Legend has it, the first owner, industrialist and fervent abolitionist Walter Buchan, installed a tunnel from the river so escaped slaves could get to his home, where they were housed until they found a job and a place to live.

Up the street, at Coulson's British Hotel, hotelier J.P. Coulson ran one of the finer establishments in town, with 80 rooms, stables, dining rooms, a bar, a women's parlour and, it is believed, a secret staircase behind a secret door with a trick lock leading to a room where escaped slaves found shelter.

"Even if you knew where the door was, you couldn't open it," Jackson says.

Any hard evidence of the secrets of the hotel, now converted to apartments, are lost, a fate the three local historians are working hard to ensure does not befall any more of the area's rich black history.

Each photo, newspaper clipping or story handed down through the generations adds to the bigger picture, Johnson-deMatteis says.

"These are all the little things you pull together, knit together and try to make sense of your life."

Crucible Awards 2007

Artist	Award	Year	Title	Country
Buju Banton	#1 Dance Hall Single	2007	Driver	Jamaica
Jimmy Reid	#1 Single	2007	Storm Cloud	Canada
Tarus Riley	#1 Single - International	2007	She’s Royal	Jamaica
Queen Ifrica	Artist of the Year - Female	2007	Fyah Muma	Jamaica
Steele	Artist of the Year - Male	2007		Canada
Tarus Riley	CD/Lp of the Year	2007	Parables	Jamaica
Jimmy Reid	CD/Lp of the Year	2007	Storm Cloud	Canada
Tony Rebel	Circle Of Distinction	2007	DJ/Producer	Jamaica
George Banton	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Gospel	Canada
Lance Ingleton	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Live Show Promotion	Canada
Bobby Ruglas	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Musician	Canada
Karl Harvey	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Musician	Canada
Dean Fraser	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Musician/Producer	Jamaica
Arnold A. Auguste	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Publisher /Editor of Share Newspaper	Canada
Michael Van Cooten	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Publisher/Editor of Pride News Magazine	Canada
Alton Ellis	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Singer	England
Freddie McGregor	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Singer	Jamaica
Owen Gray	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Singer	England
Grandmaster Rosa	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Sound System	Canada
Winston “Merritone” Blake	Circle Of Distinction	2007	Sound System	Jamaica
Eddie Fitzroy	Comeback Artist	2007		Jamaica
Max Romeo	Comeback Artist	2007	Chi Chi Bud	Jamaica
Kirk Davis	Comeback Artist	2007	One More Chance	Jamaica
Anthony Cruiz	Crucible Mention	2007		Jamaica
Carl Henry III	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Comfort	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Exco Levy	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Granny Inspiration	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Maxi Million	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Richie Stephens	Crucible Mention	2007		Jamaica
The Mighty Mysticcs	Crucible Mention	2007		Canada
Jassette Haughton	Crucible Mention	2007	Gospel	Canada
Patric Blair	Crucible Mention	2007	Gospel	Canada
Janet Scott	Crucible Mention	2007	Mystery Woman	Canada
AL G	Crucible Mention	2007	Roots	US Virgin Island
JD Smooth	Crucible Mention	2007	Smoothe Thoughts	USA
Dylan Murray	Crucible Mention	2007	White Wing Roots	Canada
Alicia Keys & Jr. Reid	International Artist of the Year	2007	No One	USA/Jamaica
Gregory Isaacs	Longevity	2007		Jamaica
Jakki James	Longevity	2007		Canada
Winston McAnuff	Longevity	2007		France
Bob Andy	Longevity	2007	Reggae Land	Jamaica
Lloyd/Michelle Campbell	Producer of the Year	2007		USA
Richie Stephens	Respect Due	2007		Jamaica
Tanya Mullings	Respect Due	2007	Music Is My Life	Canada
Tony Greene	Respect Due	2007	Musician/Producer	Jamaica
Prince Everald	Respect Due	2007	Producer/Artist	Canada
Dubmatix	Respect Due	2007	Production/Musician	Canada
Beres Hammond	Respect Due	2007	Singer/Producer	Jamaica
DJ Funkie	Respect Due	2007	Sound System	Canada
DJ Logie	Respect Due	2007	Sound System	Canada
DJ Sugarbird	Respect Due	2007	Sound System	Canada
Meshach Wevolusion	Rising Star	2007		St. Lucua
One Shat	Rising Star	2007		Canada
QQ	Rising Star	2007		Jamaica
Visionary	Rising Star	2007		Canada
Blessed	Rising Star	2007	Blessed	Canada
LJX	Rising Star	2007	Two Chord Skankin’	Canada

Africa Unite Symposium in Jamaica - Ziggy Marley

Message to the African delegates at the Africa Unite Symposium in Jamaica

It only takes a small spark to start the biggest fire and a small axe can cut down a big tree. What we endeavour to do does not take money and it does not need to be institutionalized.

All we need to do first is talk to eachother. Yes talk. There is a saying that talk is cheap, but when these talks eventually cause action, we will have achieved a great return on our investment. We are here to talk about african unity, to discuss it, to debate it, to get it on our minds, to put the conversation of african unity back on the peoples agenda, around the fires, the bars, the schools, the football games, the dinner table, the bedroom, and eventually the continent. When was the last time you thought about it, when was the last time you heard an african leader mention it, maybe they speak about it in their bedrooms.

I believe in african unity but I know not all who are on the continent believe or are willing. Many are called few are chosen. Some countries will some won't, for whatever reason they choose. Yet those who do not wish to"