Jah Cure goes techno with Never Say Never Producer, Rick Warren, has remixed Jah Cure’s recent hit, Never Say Never, with a Techno flavour. The reggae version of the song was released in February of this year on the Stonehenge Riddim and was the first single of that compilation. The Stonehenge rhythm also features artistes [...]

Reggae gig opens up Cote d’Ivoire’s ‘Rasta Village’ With its wooden shacks on a beach shaded by palm trees, Cote d’Ivoire’s “Rasta Village” could be anywhere in West Africa — if it wasn’t for all the dreadlocks, Ethiopian flags and murals of the Lion of Judah. Last weekend, the villagers in Cote d’Ivoire’s Rastafarian colony, [...]

Jamaica: Commonwealth of Hate In November 2004, the international watchdog group Human Rights Watch issued a devastating report that cited Jamaica as the most virulently anti-gay bigoted nation in the Western Hemisphere. The report, aptly and grimly titled “Hated to Death,” exposed the pervasive homophobia that both drives and permeates the former British crown colony [...]

Dancehall Music’s Catharsis Clyde McKenzie wrote an excellent piece in last week’s Sunday Observer, and it goes without saying, I endorse his main prescriptions for correcting the dire predicament in which the Jamaican music industry finds itself presently. As it regards the issue of self-regulation, I wish to go a step further than my colleague [...]

Jimmy Cliff: reggae rebel He is still celebrated for his role as headstrong country boy Ivan Martin in the iconic Jamaican film The Harder They Come. And as it turns out, Jimmy Cliff is just as determined as the character he played over 30 years ago. The reggae veteran, who shot to international stardom with [...]

Mugabe rewards Jamaican reggae star with farm as payment for gig Jamaican reggae star Sizzla Kalonji has been rewarded with a farm – for singing at president Robert Mugabe’s lavish 86th birthday party in February. Rather than paying the bill, Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party handed the artist – who denies he is on the run [...]