Tarrus Riley is the real deal

On Friday, I had the great honour and pleasure of speaking at the launch of Tarrus Riley’s latest album, Contagious. Tarrus is the real deal. Clearly, he has talent and possesses a distinctive voice. He is also curious and persistent. Too often we place undue emphasis on talent. Certainly we […]

Luciano brings old-school vibe to Mystic
It’s probably not the ideal scenario for an interview — a reporter on the phone in the Bay Area, a reggae singer eating tofu in tamarind sauce in a Kingston, Jamaica, cafe — but at some point we stumble on the very essence of the Reggae Rising festival:

“It’s one of […]

Rocksteady drills down to the roots of reggae

In the style of Buena Vista Social Club, Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae reunites old-timers behind great records to revisit their hits in the studio and, ultimately, to perform a live show

There are at least a couple of versions of how rocksteady came to be. A common […]

Beenie Man King of the Dancehall indeed

In what was probably the biggest dancehall night turnout in the 17-year history of Reggae Sumfest, Beenie Man proved that he was indeed the king of the dancehall.
The wiry deejay, who was earlier in the morning officially crowned dancehall king by the Sumfest organisers, effectively justified why the honour […]

Sisters doing it for themselves

You know those artists who release a ridiculously catchy song, you end up hearing it constantly on the radio and you learn the lyrics off by heart, yet you never know who the song is by?

Chances are one of those songs belong to singing siblings Brick & Lace, whose biggest hit […]