JADE Promotions is now the official booking agency for Innocent Kru. The Kru inked their booking deal with Jamaica Artistic Development Enterprises (JADE) Limited, earlier this week. In addition JADE will offer career guidance for the Kru.

Innocent Kru, which gained popularity with hits, including Impossible Train, Not Guilty and Cha Cha, produced by Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare, has had a massive impact on the entertainment industry.

The Kru's latest single Wooga, Wooga, has been enjoying favourable airplay and has recently been released on CD single. The Wooga, Wooga CD single includes three bonus tracks Me an Mi Cuz, Sucatache and Woof Woof, all of which were produced by Sly & Robbie.

Sources from Derrick Harriott's music store, stated that this Innocent Kru's CD single is selling exceptionally well and poised to be a chart topper.

Nicholas Villeneuve returned to the island, recently, after a three-year stint at The Juilliard School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, New York. He is currently on a six-month sabbatical, after a hectic schedule of performances on the Sovereign of the Seas, one of the premier cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean cruise line fleet.

While in Jamaica, Nick will be teaching in the Dance for Life summer programme, commencing in August and will also be dancing and choreographing with The Company Dance Theatre, which is now in rehearsal for their annual season, scheduled to premiere in mid-September. Nick returns to New York in the fall to complete his final year of study.

Amina Blackwood Meeks will play a prominent role in a festival of 'one-woman shows' in September that will be held at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts. "The show is being organised by Justine Henzell. Apparently, a Central American famous for her one-woman shows will be passing through Jamaica in September, and Justine will be using the opportunity to do this show.

Mr. Vegas

The much-publicised disagreement between artistes Mr. Vegas and Sean Paul over credit for the hot single, Hot Gal Today has been cleared up.

"I have all intentions to work with Mr. Vegas in the future, all is forgiven and forgotten between us. Mr. Vegas knows that it wasn't me who made the decision not to put his face on the jacket cover, that was just business, and so we have resolved that little rough spot in my estimation of the whole situation," Sean Paul said backstage at 'Fully Loaded'.

And in chart news, Beenie Man's album, Art and Life has fallen to the number 75 position on the Billboard 200 album charts. It made its debut last week at number 68. After nine weeks on the Billboard Rap charts, Sean Paul/Mr. Vegas is still in the top 10 of the charts.

Top international artiste, producer and songwriter, Wyclef Jean, will be the recipient of the first CME Award for Excellence which will be presented to him during this year's staging of the Caribbean Music Expo slated for November 29 to December 3 in Ocho Rios. The announcement of the decision to make Wyclef the first recipient of the award was made by Ms. Jacqueline Stevens, project manager of CME 2000, at the launch party held by the Expo organisers at Strawberry Hill on Tuesday August 1.

According to Ms. Stevens, the board of directors of the Caribbean Music Expo had decided to make the annual award a feature of the expo. She said this was being done in keeping with the objective of the CME to encourage and promote excellence in business and creative practices by persons in the region who are involved in the business of music.