At the Dancehall, Where Party Meets Performance In a recent documentary, Beenie Man did something that top dancehall reggae stars don’t usually do. He said vocalists like him play a secondary role. “Dancing was before singing,” he said. “Be honest.” You could see the proof on Friday night when hundreds of revelers converged on a [...]
Stalin, Shadow have ‘em singing and dancing Although visibly exhausted after having played for roughly four hours at the Synergy Soca Stars final before coming to the Zen nightclub, Port of Spain, the musicians of the Roy Cape All Stars still gave of their best while accompanying Stalin and Shadow on Thursday night. The two [...]
Alerta nurtures reggae in Colombia When Javier Foncesca and Alex Bonilla left Jamaica on Friday afternoon, they took a route very familiar to the famed Jamaica ICIs. They went to Panama. They are the lead singer and manager, respectively, of pioneering Colombian reggae band Alerta  and they did not go home empty-handed. They carried [...]
He’s a mystic, mon Nothing in the Talmud specifically forbids Orthodox Jews from stage-diving at live gigs. And nowhere does Jewish scripture recommend precisely how one should behave in the mosh pit. So Jewish reggae phenom Matisyahu had to learn through trial and error that it was a good idea to clip his yarmulke into [...]
Great expectations There are at least a dozen good reasons why Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley should have been nervous about opening up for the mega-popular U2 at the Oakland Arena in November. But the young reggae star can’t think of a single one worth mentioning. “I don’t see why opening for U2 should be a [...]
It’s the gospel truth about Carlene Davis Despite a successful career in reggae that spanned 15 albums as the “Songbird of the Caribbean,” Jamaica’s Carlene Davis confesses to having at times been at a loss for words. “I struggled,” she recalls. “When I stood up at a secular concert and the Lord was giving me [...]
Reggae Artist Slinky Sharp Passes In Car Accident Rising reggae artist and producer Slinky Sharp has died in a tragic car accident in North Carolina. While the details of the accident are not exactly clear, the report is that Slinky Sharp was a passenger in the car that crashed while on their way home from [...]
Return of the Upsetter Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight: Lee “Scratch” Perry isn’t mad. Got that? Good. Eccentric? Sure. Erratic beyond belief? Absolutely. A hyperactive huckster, trickster and holy fool given to spouting some of the most deranged psychobabble bollocks known to man, all rolled up into one bewildering, manic, [...]
The King of Reggaetón A long time ago, before he started draping himself in huge diamond medallions, before flocks of teenage girls began trailing him nearly everywhere, before he had a staff of 15 working day and night on the maintenance of his image, Daddy Yankee had a regular name, which was Raymond Ayala. When [...]
Early success for Spear’s own label Winston ‘Burning Spear’ Rodney has done the record label rounds, from Studio One to Island to Heartbeat. Now in his “pre-retirement” stage, as he puts it, his second album on his own Burning Music imprint, Our Music, has earned a nomination for the 2005 Reggae Grammy. Of course, Grammy [...]