By Ishmael Bayoh
“By the way things looking Freetown Sierra Leone be expecting a big guest on April 5th God willing. Who will be this big guest? Only God knows Hmmmm. We don't let the snow slow us down LOL. 24/7 Grind. Peace” This was the 29 January 2014 Facebook post by Sierra Leonean hip hop star Kao Denero aka Amara Denis Turay. It ended speculation among entertainment pundits about the coming of the Jamaican dance hall singer, Busy Signal. The "King of Freetown" rapper few days ago flew from his Atlanta base in the United States to team up with Busy Signal in Kingston, Jamaica. The pair shot a video for their "Ghetto Struggle" song. Pictures of the making of the video appeared on the Facebook wall of Busy Signal. With a successful show staged last year at a jam-packed National Stadium for his back-to-my-root album, one of the best-known rapper kept his pace not to disappoint his fans. Working on his new album titled "African King", Kao Denero has released a "mix tape" and a class video to promote the album. His moves to pair with Busy Signal attracted commendation from show biz promoter, Abu Bakar Boxx Conteh (DJ Boxx): “Props to Kao, he is making the right moves to hit the International market, down in Kingston doing a great video with Busy Signal. Take responsibility of your career lek Kao nor wait for u bra u sef kin do am” Known as one of the artists leading the contemporary dancehall movement, Glendale Goshia Gordon otherwise known by his stage name as Busy Signal has been a large part of the scene since 2003. His first hit single, "Step Out", was one of the most popular dancehall songs in 2005. He was nicknamed Busy Signal by his friends because of the fact that he is constantly busy. His hit tracks for 2007/2008 were "Nah Go A Jail Again", "Smoke Some High Grade", "Tic Toc" and the track entitled "Unknown Number" which has had tremendous airplay and dancehall reviews especially in the Caribbean and in the US. On 22 September 2008, Busy Signal released his second studio album titled LOADED, a 15-track compilation with well-known dancehall hits such as "Jail", "Whine Pon Di Edge", "These Are the Days", among others, as well as never-heard-before exclusive tracks such as "People So Evil" and "Hustle Hard". On 21 May 2012, Gordon was arrested at the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica due to an extradition warrant from the United States. He was extradited to the US on 19 June where he faced cocaine-related charges. In September 2012 he received a six-month prison sentence. He was released in November, and promptly released the single "Come Shock Out". BBC ranked Reggae Music Again at #7 on their Top 25 Albums of 2012 listing. Busy Signal appears on the No Doubt album, Push and Shove, collaborating with the band and the production team Major Lazer on the title track. He also appears on Major Lazer's second album Free the Universe, in the track "Watch Out For This (Bumaye)", which was a hit single in several European countries. (C) Politico 11/02/14
