Producer balances art and commerce

Ansel Collins’ Double Barrel is one of those roots reggae staples that musicians and roots music lovers have no problem returning to again and again. Still in the biz, Collins is looking to put out a new album, composed of soul-stirring organ work and haunting vocal-free arrangements like Emperor Dessalines and […]

Beenie Man hunts Hit List for Mafia House Productions
Rising deejay Hit List has been making a name for himself on the stage show circuit. His high energy performances and chart hit Please Stop the Killing (currently riding all major local charts) haven’t gone unnoticed. Reports are that dancehall kingpin Beenie Man has been hunting Hit […]

Luciano teams up with Jewish DJ sensation
Roots singer Luciano will shortly collaborate with Hasidic DJ Matisyahu, one of the hottest acts currently on the international music scene. The track is slated to be included on Luciano’s upcoming disc for VP Records.
The ‘Messenjah’ and ‘Matis’ first met in the summer of 2005 when the latter opened […]

Trials of a Hasidic Rapper
Music fans seem thrilled with Chabad-Lubavitch singing sensation Matisyahu; his new album, “Youth,” debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Critics, on the other hand, are a tough bunch: Some complain that he’s not black, while others say he has betrayed his Jewish ideals.
On the day after his album’s release, […]

Montserrat’s Kulcha does reggae too
Caribbean musician Kulcha Don is dispelling the myth that only Jamaican, Puerto Rican or Bajan-bred artists can create the ubiquitous dancehall and reggaeton sounds that blare these days from car and home sound systems.
But Kulcha Don, born Reinford Gibbons on the small island of Montserrat, is breaking such stereotypes with his […]