2011: The Urban Round Up

Take a look back on the year with Remel London and Kae Kurd....

Filmed and Edited by SJPOnline

Is Vybz Kartel in jail or not?

From the break of dawn this morning a frenzy broke throughout the internet world that the infamous Vybz Kartel (real name Adidja Palmer) had managed to smuggle guns into Horizon Adult Remand Centre in Spanish Town Road, Jamaica and escaped with seven other prisoners causing injuries to others including a prison guard to die from a heart attack in the process.

While blogs and online blogs jumped on the hype, (no pun to Hypelife), others waited until it was confirmed from a reputable source. Even The Metro joined in ready to state that the dancehall star who has been charged for two murders and has been denied bail is now on the list for Jamaica’s Most Wanted.

Jamaican press has finally spoken out and guess what….. They say it isn’t true!

Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green told the Jamaican Observer early this morning that he had no knowledge of the reported jail break.

"I know nothing about that. If that had taken place I would certainly have known,"  Green said.

Police at Denham Town Police station, the closest police station to the remand centre were also unaware of the reports as was the Constabulary Communication Network who also claimed ignorance of any jail break.

"It may be an attempt by his cronies to keep him in the news but they don't need to spread rumours to do that because he will be in the news for quite some time," one cop told the Observer.

Guess he’s not the World Boss after all!!! *sigh* From the mouth of the great Gregory Isaacs.... Rumours are spreading....

Chipmunk Dropped?

There has been heavy speculation regarding whether Chipmunk has been dropped by his label Jive (Sony) due to a reshuffle and a desire to cut costs. His track Champion which featured US R&B superstar Chris Brown is reported to have cost £90,000 for the feature alone. With costs like these, Chipmunk's latest chart positions have not been viewed as value for money. Costing more revenue than he is bringing in.

Add this to his recent Twitter rants and the comments made on his recent F64 with SBTV, does the news of him being dropped really come as a surprise?

It hasn't been officially revealed that Chipmunk has parted ways with his label, but to many industry insiders this comes as 'old news'. Reports are currently being rubbished, but eventually time will tell.....

The media is a state!

If there is one organisation you would expect unbiased coverage from, BBC would be that place... Unfortunately that hasn't been the case. I put forward my first exhibit:

The disrespect starts instantly as she calls him 'Marcus Dowe'. Then she follows it up by asking him if he condones the riots, why because he understands them? #PAUSE# Then she cuts him off from expressing his thoughts on a young black man being killed by the police because "we have to wait for the 'police' report on it"..... #YAWN# Then she dismisses the fact that so many young black men are unlawfully stopped and searched in this city (let alone country) #SHAKES HEAD# THEN she accuses him of being a rioter himself!!! AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO THINKS AN APOLOGY IS NEEDED HERE!?

To make matters worse after a race war has erupted, petrol is poured on the fire within the second exhibit.... David Starkey on Newsnight:

Is this really the kind of thing 'black people' pay their TV license to watch? What's happening during the BBC's media ethics training sessions? I find these broadcasts very worrying and offensive..... Not on!

Bin Laden Alive?

The past week has been all about the death of Bin Laden. Different stories of how he was eventually captured by the US, pictures apparently leaked on to the net yet new reports saying that pictures WILL NOT be released.....

Personally, I don't believe Bin Laden is dead. I'm yet to see or hear anything evidential that has swayed me. Even the reasons behind why pictures won't be released doesn't sound convincing. Taking myself back to watching a recording of Saddam Hussein being hauled out of a man hole in the ground, surely if it were true there would be something substantial enough to eliminate any shadow of doubt?

Then I see this:

Don't really know what to make of it..... Do you?

Up Middle Finger!!

Been seeing tweets about this from early this morning (one even being from a BBC account), but as I've been tied up (not literally) all day, I've only just seen it!!



Well after all the briefings I received at the BBC about keeping consistent high levels of professionalism..... I'm absolutely gob-smacked!! To think this guy is gonna get a payslip at the end of the month, all funded from license fees....

What a sham!!!

May as well just get MC Neutrino to present the weather.... at least he won't make a bigger idiot out of himself by trying to pretend he was doing something else!!

I'm finished with the Beeb!!

It's once again been a while since my last blog post, but many things have happened.... Instead of writing a dissertation I'll cover each subject separately.

So what has happened?

The BBC Step Up scheme came to an end, and I got to find out what it's like when you have to explore journalism on a topic of which I struggled to find personal interest: Bicycle Polo.

On the plus side, the completed news story (which had to be linked to London and the olympics) was airred during drive-time on BBC London Radio.... I couldn't find the radio story, but this is the TV one also airred during prime-time:



Overall the 12 week experience was very rewarding, not only did I get to enjoy some great experiences, but I also got to meet some really great people. I would definitely recommend the BBC Step Up scheme to anybody interested in journalism.

I also got named as a star person on the scheme at the ending ceremony which was very humbling, especially as I was rather concerned that my personal fight to show interest may have had adverse effect on the levels of which I applied myself to the task in hand. But I guess my determination to do the best of my capabilty paid off...... Made me realise that endurance is definitely required in ALL aspects of life where we wish to achieve for the better.