‘Where the music gone?’
Some veteran musicians within the local music fraternity are concerned that the formidable and often ubiquitous sound of contemporary Jamaican music is, for the most part, less musical than its predecessors. They say the “music is missing”.
Accomplished musician, Ken Lazarus says that, while he is averse to judging the modern sounds and […]

Ting-a-ling-a-ling: Shabba Ranks’ phone ring
The name Shabba Ranks has an immediate, razor sharp edge to it. You would want to know right away who this person is without knowing why.
It’s psychological: the name ‘Shabba’ is that of an African king, and ‘Ranks’ refers to a high position in dancehall. Deejay Shabba Ranks seemed to know […]

Dubwise: Reasoning From the Reggae Underground

This is a Trojan horse book, ostensibly about various facets of reggae music under-represented in reggae journalism, but on a certain level really a book about Jamaican jazz. As such, the information in Walker’s book is nothing sure of invaluable, particularly about the unjustly obscure saxophonist Joe Harriot and the […]

Freddy, Yassus, Maxi heat up Music Fest

Yassus Afari, Maxi Priest and Freddy McGregor, the three headline acts at the Cayman Music Festival held at the Lions Centre on 10 February did not disappoint their fans, neither did most of the local acts.
The artistes had the crowd on their feet dancing and singing along with every […]

Dance with Destra and Ramnarine

It was during a performance at a Carnival show, that soca diva Destra Garcia fell in love with a hit made popular by crossover band Dil-e-Nadan.
Some three years later, Garcia met band leader Raymond Ramnarine at another Carnival fete where she again expressed her liking for the tune.
“Destra and I were […]