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REGGAE crooner Gramps Morgan, fresh from copping the prestigious Album of the Year Award for his debut solo disc 2 Sides of My Heart Vol.1 at this year’s Excellence in Music and Entertainment Awards (EME), has now secured a whopping 5 nominations for the 2010 International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWA) that will be staged on Sunday, May 2 at the York College Performing Arts Center in Queens, New York.

Gramps’ nominations include: Best Song – Wash the Tears; Best Male Vocalist; Best Crossover Song – Therapy ft India.Arie; Best New Entertainer and Songwriter of the Year.

“I’m so excited and overwhelmed to have five nominations,” said Gramps. “Since I launched my solo career I have had a number of pleasant surprises and this is certainly one of them. It is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. I thank the fans and the media for the support and my management team for the hard work that they have put into my project so far.”

Gramps’ current success comes on the heels of a whirlwind year in 2009 that included a major US tour with Arie and John Legend. In August 2009, he performed back to back, sold out events at the World famous Madison Square Gardens in New York and topped off the summer with a strong performance at Irie Jamboree, North America’s premier reggae festival. His debut album Two Side of My Heart Vol 1 had one of the strongest reggae debuts ever, racking up impressive sales in its first week. Then in October at Citi Field Stadium in New York City, home to the legendary New York Mets baseball team, he delivered a sizzling pre-game performance of his hit single Don’t Cry for Jamaica, which warmed the hearts of thousands of baseball fans at the Mets vs Houston Astros game.

For 2010, Gramps plans to remain focused on his core mission which is to heal the world with his music. Just last weekend he embarked on yet another first, taking the stage for two historic performances in Las Vegas, at the largest rugby event in North America, the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament. This weekend he heads to the West Coast to perform at the Ragga Muffins Festival on February 20 with acts like Shaggy, Yellowman, Big Youth, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Tarrus Riley, and The Mighty Diamonds.

Freedom from structure. Freedom from form. Freedom from the limits of time. Poet Russell Goings has no problem breaking the mold in his poetry, as was made clear when he spoke at Fairfield University on the evening of Thursday, February 18th in the library multimedia room.

Author of The Children of Children Keep Coming, an epic poem drawing upon the influences of griot songs to creatively express African American history, Russell Goings has led an incredibly full and interesting life. He was the first African American to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, played professional football for the Buffalo Bills, trained pilots for the U.S. Air Force, and foundedEssence Magazine.

John Dankosky of WNPR News Radio facilitated the panel discussion about Goings’ unique style. The panel also included University of North Carolina Professor and folklorist of African American literature Glen Henson, as well as Fairfield English Professor Kim Bridgford who mentored Goings during the writing of The Children of Children Keep Coming.

To introduce the audience to his book, Goings read excerpts in his slow, soothing voice. The words from The Children of Children Keep Coming held a certain lyrical beauty.

After the readings, when WNPR host John Dankosky asked Goings why he chose to write like a griot, Goings explained, “It’s not a sonnet, gospel, poem, or any of that. It’s the music that comes from the soul of who we are as African Americans. It has a spirit to it. I don’t want to be enslaved anymore, freedom! I don’t want to be stuck with the structure after all those years of being enslaved. I don’t want the European form, I want the black form. Does that make sense? I need to be free!”

Like Goings, Henson appreciates the griot, pointing out that times isn’t linear with the griot. For instance, Goings created a world which collapses time to evoke the power of the ancients. In a sense, the griot gives shout-outs to those who came before by making them a part of the present. The idea of the griot can even be seen in modern day hip-hop. Hip-hop often times consists of taking different parts of songs and putting them together, like a musical collage. In the mixing and matching, something new is always being created.

This panel was the first of a 3-part series for Fairfield dedicated to fostering discussion about Goings’ poetry. There’s no doubt that those who attended will be looking forward to more on-campus experiences of the charisma, grandeur, and the epic personality of Russell Goings.