ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — The head of Laboratory at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, Dr Lester Simon, says the Delta variant is the major strain of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Antigua and Barbuda and is fuelling an increase in positive cases in the country.
Basseterre Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
The Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment has received confirmation from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) of the delta variant strain of the SARS CoV-2 in Antigua and Barbuda.
Dancehall star Sean Paul says he is ready for another duet with his all-time favorite collaborator, Rihanna. A few days ago the Temperature artist mused on his Instagram page that his fans were calling for another collab, between himself and his Caribbean compatriot.
“rrr!!! The people say they want another banger with me an u @badgalriri. Sp crew tell her nuh!!! Big up @yendizzle rrr!!!” he wrote under a snippet from an interview he did earlier this year with Yendi Phillipps, on her Odyssey show, during which the former Miss Jamaica Universe asked him about his favorite collab.
As he has said time and time again in multiple interviews, Sean told Yendi that Rihanna was his “it girl” as, unlike other collabs before her, no one had chosen to journey to Jamaica to meet up with him for musical works.
Prior to the Umbrella singer, the St. Andrew native said that he either had to do collaborations via the internet or fly out of the island to get it done. However, Rihanna had telephoned him and told him that she loved Jamaica and was yearning to visit and immerse herself in the culture, which she did upon arrival.
In Jamaica, Sean Paul took her all across Kingston and its environs, where she indulged in, among other things, the Bob Marley Museum at Hope Road, the food, beach, nightclubs, and recording studios.
The two recorded Break It Off at 2 Hard Studios in Kingston and the song was produced Don Corleon, and written by Sean Paul, Rihanna, Kirk “Koolface” Ford, Donovan Bennett and Don Corleon himself. It was released on November 13, 2006 as the fourth single on Rihanna’s second studio album, A Girl like Me.
Sean Paul’s post had the support of Koolface, who said “ it’s long overdue @badgalriri @duttypaul get to it,” in response.
His compatriot Ding Dong, also reminisced on Rihanna’s visit to Jamaica, and pointed out that he was introduced to her then. “My g u made me meet her way back INNA di days in asylum club and tell me to teach her badman forward u told me she was gonna b the next big thing,” he wrote.
The track was engineered by Jeremy Harding and Bennett, who also mixed the song. Engineer credits for the song are listed as belonging to Jeremy Harding and Donovan Bennett. Bennett is also credited with the instrumentation of the song as well as mixing. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, where it spent a total of 20 weeks. It copped a BMI Pop Award in 2007 and was certified gold in 2015 by the RIAA.
Rihanna has sold more than 250 million records, but has not released a studio album since 2016’s Anti. The billionaire business owner‘s Savage X Fenty line is gearing up for their third runway show for Amazon Prime and from the looks of it, she doesn’t plan to disappoint on September 24.
Meanwhile, for Sean Paul, collaborations with artists from various genres have been a mainstay of his career since he emerged on the Dancehall music scene in the early 1990s.
The 46-year-old has collaborated with a slew of male and female artists from Jamaica including his female compatriots Lady Saw, Ce’cile and Sasha to the likes of Mr. Vegas, Beenie Man, Konshens and Damian Marley. Farther afield he has worked with DMX, Akon, R. Kelly and Reggaeton acts Pitbull and Farruko, and female pop stars such as Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Blu Cantrell, Estelle and Australian singer Sia and many others.
A total of 19 of his songs have been certified gold and several have sold platinum, among them his 2003 chart-topping single Get Busy, his 2005 hit single We Be Burning, Cheap Thrills, Rockabye, Baby Boy, Bailando and Do You Remember. Sean’s Trinity and Dutty Rock albums have also been certified platinum, while his 2005 chart-topping single Temperature has also been certified triple-platinum.
He is also the recipient of a Best Reggae Album Grammy award and five other Grammy nominations, one of which was for Best New Artist in 2003 and the other for Best Pop Duo for his Cheap Thrills collab with Sia.
Today we seek to appeal to everyone to become vaccinated, especially those of our citizens who are listening to and believing false information about the vaccines. It is important that the country achieves herd immunity.