By KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter, karan@nasguard.com

Do you know this song, "Longing for ... My baby to love me more. What am I longing for?" or how about this, "Love is, much more to life than just words. Love means, much more than to say you love."

Yes, Jah Cure is indeed coming to town once again, and this time he's headed to the nation's second city, Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Brought to you by So Hype Productions & Revolution Entertainment, the "One Love Musical Festival" featuring Reggae's crown jewel — Jah Cure — will rock the house at the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex on Saturday, March 1.

Also putting on a crowd-pleasing performance will be Jamaicans Fantan Mojah and Ninja Ford, along with home-grown favorites Jah Hem, whose debut album drops on Saturday, March 8, and Positive Link, which consists of the duo Smurf and Terrance.

Jah Cure is considered a musical legend even though his career is still regarded as "young."

Born in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica but raised in Kingston Town, golden-voiced singer Jah Cure (real name Siccature Alcock) became involved with reggae music as a teenager, rapidly rose to fame in the late '90s only to have his meteoric climb to the top halted by a jail sentence.

In 1997 at the age of 18, Jah Cure released the culturally-minded single "King In This Jungle", a duet with Sizzla, produced by Beres Hammond.

The single was a pivotal moment for Cure. Hammond would become the singer's biggest champion while Sizzla introduced Cure to the world of the Bobo Dread, a sect of Rastafari that usually lives communally, strives to point out social injustice, which has experienced numerous shakedowns by the Jamaican police.

A steady stream of singles, most produced by Hammond, had more and more Jamaicans singing the praises of Jah Cure, but it all came to a halt in November,1998 when he was arrested, prosecuted for rape, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

While serving his sentence, a groundswell of support amongst reggae fans was getting bigger and bigger, raising the singer's status to folk hero. Compilations like Free Jah Cure and Ghetto Life kept the singer on the charts and his fame spread to Trinidad and France. Jah Cure switched from Bobo to Rasta and was transferred from the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre to the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, which had a digital recording studio that the inmates could use. It was there that he recorded some new tracks, which would appear next to his old hits on Freedom Blues, released by the VP label in 2005. Jah Cure was released from prison on July 28th, 2007.

Likewise, Fantan Mojah's mission is to ensure that the world always remembers to "Hail The King" from giving thanks for the break of a new dawn to the celebration of the sunset.

The release of his "Hail The King" album heralds the international arrival of a major new talent in Jamaican music but, on the strength of his achievements so far, Fantan Mojah already deserves his rightful place in that illustrious roll call of culturally inspired, and inspiring, Jamaican artists.

Fantan Mojah was born Owen Moncrieffe in the parish of St. Elizabeth. As a youngster, he was always motivated by music and, at the age of nine, began performing at local concerts winning several talent competitions while still at school.

His parents soon grew to understand that his sole aim in life was to be a deejay, and in order to further his musical ambitions he moved to Kingston. He found work there as a handyman with top Sound System Kilamanjaro gaining experience and gradually building up a reputation as he sang and deejayed over rhythms during sound checks. Initially he called himself Mad Killer (after dancehall deejay Bounty Killer) but he was drawn more and more towards a strictly conscious approach to music.

In 1997 he came under the influence of cultural deejay Capleton who encouraged the youth to become known by a more spiritual name and so he became Fantan Mojah in order to clearly define his Rastafarian beliefs and to underline the serious content of the music he felt compelled to make.

His experiences as a young man growing up in St. Elizabeth became coupled with the aggressive urban environment of Kingston enabling him to blend an honest rural flavour with the hype and brutality of urban poverty and he began to create a music that was indelibly his and, spiritually, emotionally and artistically his new name represented his coming of age.

Fantan began recording with the Black & White team of Andrew "Prento" Prendergast and Joseph Bogdanovich of Down Sound Records in 2004 and their first seven-inch release "Hungry" shot to the number one position on the Jamaican charts where it stayed for eight straight weeks.

The anthemic "Hail The King" followed it to number one and has become one of the most talked about, and listened to, records of 2005.

In the past Fantan has headlined prestigious Jamaican stage shows such as East Fest, Spring Break, Sting, Fully Loaded, Summer Jam and the West Kingston Jamboree and toured extensively: to Canada for the Montreal Reggae Festival in 2004, and in 2005 to the UK for Culture Fest and to Italy for the Rototom Sunsplash.

Jah Hem, one of our very own, however is also no stranger to the stage. He is said to be blessed with a fresh, earthy, silky, rich and pure voice, as clear as the crystal waters of The Bahamas.

His hit singles "Come Here Girl" and "Missing You" also known as "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" spread like wildfire throughout the islands of the Caribbean, reaching across the waters to capture the hearts of reggae lovers worldwide.

Jah Hem, whose real name is Benjamin Solomon, was born Sep. 1, 1976, in West End, Grand Bahama, where he found his voice for singing early as a youth in his father's church. In his early 20's, he moved to Bradenton, FL., with his wife and kids, and stayed there until the end of 2003 when he returned to his hometown.

As soon as he returned home, the urge to record led Jah Hem to hook up with Ramont "Monty G" Green, the co-founder of Lion of Judah Records and one of the most successful Christian reggae artists in the Caribbean. Green referred Jah Hem to Wallace "Trez" Allen III who became his manager in 2004. During this time, Jah Hem opened shows for just about every international act that came to the island.

He also laid down vocals for "Rise and Shine" which he released in 2005. In 2006 Jah Hem and Trez joined forces with local producer Louis "Uncle Lou" Moss and the trio established "Cutting Edge Entertainment, Ltd," with plans to harness talent across all mediums from music and fashion to movies, comedy and dance.

*ONE LOVE CONCERT

WHERE: Grand Bahama Sporting Complex

WHEN: Saturday, Mar. 1

TICKETS: $40 general admission, $75 VIP, and $125 Platinum

OUTLET: Gizmos and Gadgets, Down Town.

*PERFORMERS

Jah Cure

Fantan Mojah

Ninja Ford

Jah Hem

Positive Link — Smurf and Terrance

*HOW TO GET THERE

Bahamasair: $186.50 roundtrip

Flights

Depart: Friday, Feb. 29 at 6: 00 am, arrive Grand Bahama 6:45am

Return: Sunday, Mar 8 at 8:45 pm, arrive Nassau 9:30 pm

Depart: Friday, Feb. 29 at 3:00 pm, arrive Grand Bahama 3:45 pm

Return: Sunday, Mar. 8 at 8:30 pm, arrive Nassau 9:15 pm

*WHERE TO STAY

Royal Palm Resort And Suites — $49 per night

Dundee Bay Villas — $79 per night

Flamingo Bay Hotel & Marina at Taino Beach — $87.00 per night

Port Lucaya Resort & Yacht Club — $92.00 per night

Best Western Castaways Resort & Suites — $113.00 per night