Thief steals Paris Hilton jewels

A burglar broke into the Los Angeles home of socialite Paris Hilton and stole jewellery worth about $2m (£1.3m), US police say.

The break-in occurred in the early hours of Friday morning at Ms Hilton’s home in the Sherman Oaks area of LA.

Police said a man wearing a hooded top and gloves broke in through the home’s front door, ransacked Ms Hilton’s bedroom and stole her belongings.

Ms Hilton, 27, was not at home at the time of the incident.

Paris Hilton is a member of the family that founded the Hilton Hotel chain, and is a fixture of the Hollywood social scene.

She starred in reality television show “The Simple Life” and has pursued a career as an actress and singer.

Mr. Vegas Performs – Record Crowd in Kenya

For the second time in his vibrant career, Mr. Vegas embarked on a journey to “The Motherland” of Africa to headline the mega-concert “Generation Jipange” in Nairobi, Kenya. There, the popular singjay delivered his hits to nearly 70,000 people. According to officials, this was the largest event of its kind to take place in Kenya.

When Mr. Vegas graced the stage, he was moved by the massive audience. Backed by Thugz band, Mr. Vegas proceeded to deliver a set of his hits to fans — jumpstarted by strong performances of “Hot It Up” and “Hot Gal Today.” Mr. Vegas followed his chart-toppers with a medley of Reggae favorites, which invigorated the youth. He was later joined on stage by over-the-top dancer Boricia. The crowd went wild as Boricia displayed the latest dancehall moves in the most eccentric fashion. Clearly, the Kenyan youth embraced the “dance” in dancehall music. By the immense turn out, it was clear to see Mr. Vegas’ reach and the universal power of Reggae music.

“Generation Jipange” refers to a new youth movement in Kenya centered on empowering youth to stay healthy, pursue education/employment and be positive. The free, day-long concert, which took place at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens, was filled to capacity as early as 8:00 AM. The event was televised by Kenyan networks. In addition to Mr. Vegas, the concert had at least 14 other acts on the bill — including popular Kenyan artist Jua Cali.

“This was such a great experience…and it was great to return home,” says Mr. Vegas. “I was truly honored to be part of an event to motivate Kenyan youth.”

Mr. Vegas’ billing at “Generation Jipange” marks his second time performing in Africa and the largest performance of his career. It was the singjay’s respected summer stint in Uganda that made him a prime candidate to headline the Kenyan concert. Inevitably, the well publicized and attended “Generation Jipange” concert granted Mr. Vegas with high visibility. It won’t be surprising when Mr. Vegas becomes a household name in Africa. Plans are underway for Mr. Vegas to again perform in “The Motherland” early next year.

It’s been a year of worldwide magnitude for Mr. Vegas, as he has been blessed with opportunities to entertain thousands of people across the globe. Aside from the record-breaking crowd in Kenya, the dancehall favorite has thoroughly captivated colossal crowds in Japan (40,000 people) and Guyana (28,000).

US-based Kenyan born musician passes on

As promised, this week is the start of our series on Kenyan artists based in the Disapora. The story you are about to read was not our scheduled one but we have decided to open with it due to an unforeseen issue. Unfortunately, we start our series with some sad news.

Bianca Noons, the youngest member of the Neutral Sisters duo passed away peacefully in her sleep at the North East Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. The 30-year-old member of the international reggae music group died from complications related to diabetes. According to her father Tony Noons, his daughter’s condition had recently improved and the doctors had even taken her off the ventilator she has been using for almost a year. She went into a coma and was admitted in hospital. “She made the absolute decision to go to God herself,” he said.

Bianca and Kyra
Bianca apparently never recovered from a diabetic coma into which she had slipped in December last year. Just two days before she and her sister Kyra Noons were scheduled to travel to Kenya, their country of birth on a publicity tour. The Neutral Sisters are award-winning musicians whose thought-provoking lyrics in their album, Live-N-Direct won Billboard Songwriters competition in 2003.Both were born in Nairobi to biracial parents. Kenyans living in the US received the news of her passing with shock and sadness. She is featured in the new entertainment TV series Home and Abroad which is scheduled to premiere in Kenya beginning early next year. Brian Juma, one of the program hosts said he was devastated by the news of her death. “She was a rising Kenyan jewel and we shall miss her,” he said.
The sisters were loved by Kenyans abroad because of their patriotism. They carried and displayed the Kenyan flag on stage whenever and wherever they performed. They had received a personal invitation to visit President Mwai Kibaki at State House while in Kenya.

By Chris Wamalwa, Philadelphia, PA
Published on 11/12/2008, E.African Standard

Grammy nomination for Elephant man

The 51st Grammy nominees were announced last week and Elephant man’s Let’s Get Physical

album [VP /Bad Boy] and Shaggy’s Intoxicaton ([VP /Big Yard] were nominated for Best Reggae Album of the year award. Each project reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Chart for several weeks and has been top sellers for the genre this year. Other nominees include Burning Spear’s Jah Is Real, Heavy D’s Vibes, Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Repentance and Sly & Robbie’s Amazing.

ENERGY GOD – THE VERY BEST OF ELEPHANT MAN TO HIT STORES

VP Records will release Energy God: The Very of Best Elephant Man on February 17, 2009. This 18 track album and DVD encapsulates the recent Grammy Nominee’s most brilliant work over the last decade.

The essential collection highlights his most crucial hits from both VP and Greensleeves catalogues and includes a bonus DVD entitled “Living La Vida Ele” which gets up close and personal with the Energy God at his Jamaican home and features his live electrifying stage performances as well as some of his classic music videos.

The musical set opens with chart topping party tunes from Elephant Man’s pivotal album Good 2 Go on VP (2003) like “Jook Gal Remix” featuring Twista, Youngbloodz and Kiprich, “Signal di Plane” and “Pon di River, Pon di Bank,” the single which snagged him a Source Award for “Dancehall/Reggae Artist of the Year” and the MTV2 nomination at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. More of his notorious dance anthems cascade throughout the record including recent chart toppers like “Gully Creepa”, “Nuh Linga” and the remixed “Sweep” version, which was introduced to the rest of the world when Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt made it his celebration dance after his 100m victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The innovative spirit continues throughout the album with some off Ele’s early works like “Elephant Message” off the popular Diwali riddim (that featured Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” & Wayne Wonder’s “No Letting Go”) and “Bun Bad Mind” the official summer hit of 2004 which helped catapult his career to new heights.

Dubbed The Energy God by fans because of his high energy stage performances, Elephant Man is currently one of the genre’s best selling and most popular artists. The self-proclaimed Dancehall King has come a long way since he first stormed on the stage back in 1998 under the wings of Bounty Killer and the Scare Dem Crew.