Reggae In Germany? No Problem!

Mention reggae music, and it’s safe to assume those within earshot will not immediately think of Germany. Jamaica? Sure. Africa? Maybe. But Germany? The land many Americans associate with lederhosen and precision automotive engineering? Please.
So here’s a surprise for you: There’s reggae coming out of Deutschland. And here’s another: It’s not […]

Rebel music: Jamaican artist is jammin’

A dozen tracks into her brilliant new album, Tanya Stephens gets deep. After a little girl-power boasting, some sexy love songs, and a couple should-be-classic drinking ditties, the Jamaican singer and toaster takes on the church. On You Keep Looking Up, Stephens sets out the ”chronicles according to Tanya” — […]

Away with Irie Maffia

Irie, a patois term used by Rastafarians and Caribbeans to denote acceptance and positivism, is exactly what the ecstatic and vivid Irie Maffia radiate.
Their reggae origins give definition to their music without limiting it. It is a little cumbersome to categorize Irie Maffia, due to the band’s colorful and multilayered musical and […]

Buju Banton aims for the feet as well as spirit

Reggae music begat the dancehall style, but that doesn’t mean the relatives are especially close. Reggae, as Bob Marley, Burning Spear and the like conceived it, was music for the mind, concerned primarily with the messages of tolerance, resisting oppression, and devotion to God. Dancehall was […]

The story of Tami and Tessanne

It’s almost eerie the way Tami and Tessanne Chin finish each other’s sentences. “We were in Little People together. we did everything together,” both girls said as they recounted some childhood memories.
“We used to sing in the fan. that’s probably why we both have bad sinuses,” says older sister Tami, […]