Look up pon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

PON or Pon can mean:

• Pon, a Yukaghir deity
• Pon, a day in the pasaran cycle of the Javanese calendar
• Pon, a command to start up the Point-to-Point Protocol daemon connection
• Pon, means gold in Tamil
• Pon, Thung Chang - Nan Province, Thailand

Fiction[link]

• Pon, the Gardener's Boy of Jinxland in L. Frank Baum's The Scarecrow of Oz
• Pon (or Pon-chan) is short for Ponta, the dog in Guru Guru Pon-chan
• Pon, a fictional species from the Animorphs fictional universe

Businesses[link]

• PON Press, an imprint of the German group VDM Publishing devoted to the reproduction of Wikipedia content

Abbreviations[link]

• PON, the station code for Ponders End railway station in London, England
• PoN, abbreviation for The Matrix: Path of Neo, a videogame
• Polski Owczarek Nizinny, Polish for Polish Lowland Sheepdog
• Passive optical network, an optical-fiber network configuration
• Program on Negotiation
• Pump Octane Number of petrol, an octane rating
• Particulate Organic Nitrogen
• Polska Organizacja Narodowa, now called Polish National Organization
• Pekan Olahraga Nasional, the National Games held every four years in Indonesia
• Purchase order number
• Partner of Numb, a protein present in sensory organ precursor-cells of Drosophila melanogaster
• Pohnpeian language ISO 639 code
• Petroleum Operations Notice, a permit classification from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in UK Oil and Gas operations

Pon may also refer to:

• Paraoxonase
• Panel de Pon, the Japanese version of Tetris Attack
• Singaporean slang (Singlish) for skipping an activity or event intentionally.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Kiriko Takemura (竹村 キリコ, Takemura Kiriko^?, born January 29, 1993), better known as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ, Kyarī Pamyu Pamyu^?), is a model, blogger, and recording artist from the Harajuku district of Tokyo.^[2] Her official stage name is Caroline Charonplop Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃろらいんちゃろんぷろっぷきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ, Kyarorain Charonpuroppu Kyarī Pamyu Pamyu^?).^[3] Kyary's debut album, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, was released in May of 2012, topping charts internationally.

Career[link]

Kyary started as a fashion blogger, and then began her professional career as a model for Harajuku fashion magazines such as Kera! and Zipper.^[4] After achieving a measure of fame, she began to establish herself as a businesswoman by launching a line of fake eyelashes called "Harajuku Doll Eyelashes by Eyemazing x Kyary"^[5] and appearing at fashion shows.^[6]

In April 2011, she frontlined the charity event "One Snap for Love" with Japanese fashion editor and photographer Yasumasa Yonehara and Japanese brand 6%DokiDoki for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[7]

In July 2011, she began a musical career by releasing her first single, "PonPonPon". The music video, a psychedelic tribute to kawaisa and Decora culture, was released to YouTube and became a viral hit.^[8][9] The single was produced by Yasutaka Nakata and is the first release from Kyary's debut mini-album, Moshi Moshi Harajuku, which was released August 17, 2011.^[10] "PonPonPon" was released on July 20, 2011. On July 31, 2011, the song entered Billboard Japan's Hot 100 chart at 72.^[11]

On August 3, 2011, her second single "Jelly" was internationally released via iTunes.^[12] A week after the release of her debut mini-album, Kyary released an autobiography about her rise to fame titled, Oh! My God!! Harajuku Girl.^[13][14]

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's third single and music video, "Tsukema Tsukeru", was digitally released internationally on December 7, 2011 via iTunes. Kyary visited Culver City, California on December 9 to perform in a fashion show and play two of her songs. It was the singer's first time performing overseas and her first time performing "Tsukema Tsukeru".^[15] Her first physical single titled "Tsukema Tsukeru" was released on January 11, 2012, which included a special edition photobook.

Kyary released her second physical single "Candy Candy" on April 4, 2012. Along with the announcement of her second single, it was revealed that she will be holding her first nationwide tour in June, as well as launching an official fan club in spring.^[16] The tour will kick off on June 2 at the Namba Hatch in Osaka. It will continue in Hiroshima, Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka and then finish in Tokyo on June 29.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Official blog
• Kyary's Warner Music Japan site
• Kyary's Official Nico Nico Douga
• Kyary's Official Twitter
• Kyary @ HearJapan

Vybz Kartel
Background information
Birth name	Adidja Palmer
Born	(1976-01-07) 7 January 1976 (age 36) Kingston, Jamaica
Origin	Portmore, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae, Dancehall, Reggae fusion
Occupations	Deejay, songwriter, entrepreneur, lyricist, producer
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Adidjaheim Records
Associated acts	Beenie Man, Aidonia, Elephant Man, Ninjaman, The Alliance, Portmore Empire, Major Lazer & Popcaan, Kano, Vanessa Bling
Website	www.vybzkartel.co.uk

Adidja Palmer (born 7 January 1976)- ^[1][2][3] better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican dancehall artist, songwriter and businessman. He has many nicknames, including: Addi, The Teacher, World Boss, Kartel, Vybz, Gaza General and Gaza Don.

Biography[link]

Adidja Palmer began his career as a teenager in 1993 with his first recording "Love Fat Woman", released on Alvin Reid's label "One Heart", using the moniker "Adi Banton", a homage to Buju Banton.^[4] Palmer was later part of the three-member group "Vybez Cartel", keeping the slightly altered name after group split up, and became a protege of Bounty Killer, for whom he claims to have written nearly 30 songs, including "Gal Clown".^[5]

Vybz Kartel rose to prominence in 2003 after a string of hits in Jamaica. The year culminated in a pre-planned on-stage clash with Ninjaman at the annual dancehall festival Sting in Kartel's hometown of Portmore. The clash turned violent when Kartel's crewmembers, as well as Kartel himself, threw punches and assaulted Ninjaman onstage.^[6] While Kartel's manager initially blamed Ninjaman for the fracas,^[6] Kartel himself quickly apologised to Ninjaman and Sting organizers for the fracas.^[7] Four days after the incident, the two artists appeared before the press to announce a settlement of their differences and to end any animosity.^[8]

He established his own label Adidjahiem/Notnice Records with his business partner and producer Ainsley "Notnice" Morris.^[9] In 2010, he released his album Pon Di Gaza 2.0 on Adidjahiem/Notnice Records in collaboration with Tads Record Inc.^[10] In Spring 2011, Vybz Kartel released an album entitled 'Kingston Story' with Brooklyn hip hop/electro producer Dre Skull.^[11]

Kartel has worked on collaborations and remixes with hip hop and R&B musicians Jay-Z, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, M.I.A, Pharrell, Kardinal Offishall, Akon, Jim Jones, Lil Wayne and Eminem.

In 2009 he had succeeded internationally with his hit song featuring a popular female Jamaican Deejay 'Spice' - "Ramping Shop" debuting on the Billboard Top 100 Singles charts,^[12] and "Dollar Sign" being in regular rotation on urban radio stations in the US.^[13] His 2010 single "Clarks" was one of his biggest international successes, remaining in the top 3 Reggae Singles gaining the most radio plays in North America for 40 weeks.^[14] "Clarks" was also featured on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance Canada,^[15] and on a CNN segment on dancehall dance.^[16] MTV's Vice Guide to Dancehall featured Kartel at his weekly dance party, Street Vybz Thursday.^[17]

After splitting with Bounty Killer-led Alliance in 2006, Kartel founded the Portmore Empire, a group of dancehall deejays and singers from his Portmore neighborhood that he signed to his newly founded Adidjahiem/Notnice Records. Members of the group as of 2011 were: Popcaan, Shawn Storm, Sheba, Gaza Indu, Tommy Lee, Singing Maxwell, Singa Blinga, Lenny Mattic. Former members include Lisa Hype,^[18] Gaza Kim,^[19] Black Ryno,^[20] Jah Vinci, Dosa Medicine and Merital Family^[21].

Feud with Mavado[link]

Towards the end of 2006, Vybz Kartel left The Alliance. Tensions arose following Kartel's continued association with Bounty Killer's longtime enemy, Beenie Man, including Kartel attending Beenie Man's wedding to Bounty Killer's ex-girlfriend D'Angel.^[22] Due to Kartel's defection from The Alliance and his 'parring' (fraternising) with Beenie Man, a series of songs and counteraction songs ensued - the main proponents being Kartel and Mavado.

A very public feud between Vybz Kartel and former collaborator Mavado arose towards the end of 2006, stemming from Vybz' much publicized departure from the dancehall conglomerate group The Alliance. The feud resulted in numerous diss tracks released, in which each artist dissed the other and their associates over popular dancehall rhythms.^[23] In a police-overseen press conference in March 2007, both Mavado and Vybz Kartel publicly announced an end to hostilities and apologized to fans.^[24]

However, by the summer of 2008, tensions flared with a renewal of "diss tracks" from each artist, and a lyrical clash between the two at Sting 2008 left mixed views as to the "winner".^[25][26] Most of 2009 saw a continuation of the public feud, which dominated Jamaican media and, to a certain extent, Jamaican culture, with the two artists' factions, Gaza (Kartel) and Gully (Mavado), being adopted by Jamaican youth, in some cases leading to street violence.^[27][28]

On 8 December 2009, Kartel and Mavado met with Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding in an attempt to end the feud, which had by that time fueled mob attacks in some of the inner-city neighborhoods of Kingston.^[29] The two had performed together on-stage the previous night in a sign of goodwill at the West Kingston Jamboree, a concert promoted by drug lord^[30] Christopher "Dudus" Coke.^[23] After the truce in December 2009, the two artists were scheduled to perform a unity concert March 2010 in Barbados, which was later cancelled by the prime minister of that country.^[31]

Business[link]

In 2008, Vybz Kartel launched his own liquor line Street Vybz Rum. He hosts a weekly dance party Street Vybz Thursday, at the Building, Kingston nightclub he manages with Street Vybz Rum business partner Corey Todd.^[32] The rum is officially distributed by Vybz Distillers Limited. The same year, he also released his own condom line, Daggering Condoms.^[33] Kartel's goal for 2011 is to release his own shoe line named Addi's, as well as his own line of "cake soap".^[34]

When his singles "Clarks", "Clarks 2 (Clarks Again)" and "Clarks 3 (Wear Weh Yuh Have)" featured the British shoe brand Clarks in 2010, its sales numbers and prices in Jamaica increased considerably.^[35]

Vybz Kartel has also hosted his own reality television show "Teacha's Pet" on CVM Jamaica broadcast channel, the first reality television show hosted by a dancehall artist in Jamaica. The premise of "Teacha's Pet" finds 20 women living in a Kingston house vying for the artist's affection; the show's lascivious content elicited condemnation of its sponsor, telecommunications company LIME. The show came to a halt with the artist's arrest on murder charges in September 2011.

Controversies[link]

Whitening[link]

Vybz Kartel's Skin before and after he bleached his skin

Kartel has come under controversy over perceived skin whitening, or "bleaching", leading him to claim to the use of "cake soap" to lighten his skin.^[36][37] The Blue Power Group, Jamaican manufacturer of the popular cake soap (or "blue soap"), has refuted claims it changes skin color.^[38] Kartel then stated the soap used to lighten his skin was his own brand, which he intends to release on the local market.^[34]

Airwave Ban[link]

In September 2011 the National Communications Network of Guyana banned Vybz Kartel from the airwaves—the first such action against a specific artist. His music contained "obscene lyrics" and brought "nothing positive" to the entertainment industry, said NCN spokesman Martin Goolsarran (Wednesday, Sept 21st) after a week of internal debate. He said NCN was reviewing the lyrics of other musicians and could ban them as well. In fact the government had no problem with Kartel, its Tourism Ministry inviting him to an August music festival, but he angered it and Guyanese promoters when he failed to show up.^[39]

Murder charge[link]

Vybz Kartel being arrested in October 2011

On 29 September 2011, Kartel was arrested by police. Jamaica's Major Investigation Taskforce (MIT) charged him with murder, conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm. The deceased was Barrington 'Bossie' Burton, a 27-year-old businessman and music promoter based in the Kingston suburb of Portmore. They first visited Kingston's Norbrook community where the DJ resides, then went to a property on Swallowfield Avenue in Kingston's Havendale area. That residence was the scene of a fire several weeks ago; a scorched computer hard-drive and several boxes were removed. They then drove to Portmore to a home purportedly owned by Kartel's mother, where a number of items were similarly confiscated. Kartel was detained for the weekend in relation to a partially burned, decomposing body found inside the Swallowfield Avenue home.^[40]

Kartel was granted bail for the Burton murder 23 March 2012 for JD$3,000,000, but currently remains jailed in connection on a second murder, of one Clive 'Lizzard' Williams.^[41]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2003: Up 2 Di Time
• 2004: More Up 2 Di Time
• 2005: J.M.T.
• 2009: Most Wanted
• 2010: Pon di Gaza 2.0
• 2011: Kingston Story

Singles[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Awards[link]

Kartel has had several collaborations with international hip hop and pop stars. He has released two albums for the UK/US based label Greensleeves Records. He was also nominated for the Source,^[43] VIBE and UK MOBO awards, although his 2004 UK MOBO award nomination was withdrawn amidst controversy over homophobic content of his lyrics.^[44]

• 2003
  • Stone Love's 30th Anniversary
    • DJ of the Year 2005

• 2008
  • CUMA (Caribbean Urban Music Awards)

• 2009
  • EME Awards^[45]
    • Male DJ of the Year
    • Lyricist/Songwriter of the Year
    • Song of the Year (Romping Shop ft. Spice)

• 2010
  • EME Awards^[46]

References[link]

Daddy Yankee
Background information
Birth name	Ramón Ayala
Also known as	Winchester 30-30 El Cangri El Jefe The Big Boss DY El Máximo Lider
Born	(1977-02-03) February 3, 1977 (age 35)
Origin	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Genres	Reggaeton, Latin rap, hip-hop
Years active	1992–present
Labels	El Cartel, Interscope, Sony Music Latin
Website	daddyyankee.com

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1977), known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball, and aspired to become a Major League Baseball player. He was unable to continue this sport when he received an injury to one of his legs, leaving him unable to walk correctly. He then became involved in the underground rap movement that was in its early stages in Puerto Rico, later to be called reggaeton. After receiving lessons from several artists within the genre, he developed an independent career, first recording in a production titled Playero 37. After this he began to produce independent albums. His first solo album was No Mercy. He subsequently formed a duo with Nicky Jam, and then continued his solo career with the releases of El Cartel and El Cartel II. This led him be one of many pioneers of the reggaeton genre earning him the nickname "El Cangri".

In 2002 El Cangri.com became Ayala's first album with international success, receiving coverage in the markets of New York and Miami. Barrio Fino was released in 2004, and the album received numerous awards, including Lo Nuestro Awards and a Latin Billboard, as well as receiving nominations for the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards. Barrio Fino performed well in the sales charts of the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. On June 5, 2007, El Cartel Records released El Cartel: The Big Boss, which was ranked as the top-selling album in Latin music genres in 2007. He promoted the album with an international tour which began in the United States and continued through Latin America, breaking attendance records in Ecuador and Bolivia.

His performances have appeared on more than 70 albums, including compilations such as Mas Flow 2 and Blin Blin Vol. 1. Outside of his work as a musician, Ayala has also worked as an actor and producer. Throughout his career, he has been generally reluctant to discuss his personal life, but has publicly expressed the importance of his wife and children to him.

Following the incident, he became interested in the underground movement, which at the time was in an early organizational stage.^[1] He also took more interest in the events that took place in the neighborhood in which he was raised, a public housing project named Villa Kennedy.^[2] Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Goldy, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style.^[1] In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.^[1] Ayala first recorded with DJ Playero as a featured artist in a production titled Playero 37, which was released in 1992.^[2]

Musical career[link]

Independent productions[link]

His first album, titled No Mercy, was produced in 1995 when Ayala was eighteen years old.^[2] The production did not sell well, and he continued his work within the genre for the rest of the decade, eventually forming a duo with Nicky Jam. One of the duo's songs, "Posición", was included in the soundtrack of One Tough Cop, a movie directed by Bruno Barreto, that was released in 1998. Beginning in 2000, Ayala began concentrating more on his solo career, releasing albums produced outside studios. The first production he released was titled El Cartel, featuring elements of the mixtape style.^[2] In 2001 El Cartel II was released, a direct sequel to the previous production, and influenced by similar genres.

In 2005 El Cangri.com was released, and became the first album in Ayala's career to sell well outside Puerto Rico, mostly in the United States.^[2] The album was produced by VI Music, an independent recording studio in Puerto Rico, and was not supported by a major label.^[2] The most successful single from the album was "Latigazo", which received significant play on radio stations in New York and Miami.^[2] The album reached #43 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.^[2] Following the release of this disc, Ayala performed at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum before 12,000 fans.^[3] The following year VI Music produced Los Homerun-es.^[2] The album became the leader in sales in Puerto Rico during a year in which several other reggaeton artists released significant productions, including Luny Tune's Mas Flow, Don Omar's The Last Don, and Tego Calderón's El Abayarde.^[2] The album's success helped Ayala receive the publicity required for a crossover to the United States market, and marked the last album he released with VI music before signing a contract with Universal

2004–2005[link]

Ayala's next album, Barrio Fino, was produced by Luny Tunes and released in July 2004 by El Cartel Records and VI Music. It was the most highly anticipated album in the reggaeton community.^[4] Ayala had enjoyed Salsa music since he was young, and this led him to include music of genres besides reggaeton in the album.^[4] The most prominent of these cross-genre singles was "Melao", in which he performed with Andy Montañez.^[4] The album was described as his most complete, and with it he intended to introduce combinations of reggaeton and other genres to the English-speaking market.^[4] Barrio Fino was followed up by an international tour with performances in numerous countries including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Honduras, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and the United States.^[4] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States alone and has sold well throughout Latin America and worldwide.^[5]

In 2005 Ayala won several international awards, making him one of the most recognized reggaeton artists within the music industry.^[6] The first award of the year was Lo Nuestro Awards within the "Latin music" category, which he received for Barrio Fino.^[6] In this event he performed "Gasolina" in a performance that was described as "innovative".^[6] Barrio Fino also won the "Reggaeton Album of the Year" award in the Latin Billboard that took place on April 28, 2005,^[6] where he performed a mix of three of his songs in a duo with P. Diddy. The album was promoted throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe, reaching certified gold in Japan. Due to the album's success, Ayala received promotional contracts with radio stations and soda companies, including Pepsi.^[7] His single "Gasolina" received the majority of votes cast for the second edition of Premios Juventud, in which it received eight nominations and won seven awards.^[6] Ayala also made a live presentation during the award ceremony. "Gasolina" received nominations in the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards.^[6]

The successful single, "Gasolina", was covered by artists from different music genres. This led to a controversy when Los Lagos, a Mexican banda group, did a cover with the original beat but changed the song's lyrics.^[8] The group's label had solicited the copyright permission to perform the single and translate it to a different music style, but did not receive consent to change the lyrics; legal action followed.^[8] Speaking for the artist, Ayala's lawyer stated that having his songs covered was an "honor, but it must be done the right way."^[8]