In this so-deemed dark winter, finding a patch of positivity may at best feel daunting and other at times seem like an exercise in futility. That’s where Osei Chandler comes in. Since 1979, the host of South Carolina Public Radio’s “Roots Musik Karamu” has been taking to the airwaves to remind us not to worry [...]
As a child, the festive season for celebrated drummer Sly Dunbar was really the happiest time of the year. I t meant going shopping for new shoes and buying cloth to take to the tailor to make a brand new ‘Christmas’ suit. Then, come Christmas morning, he would be dressed to the nines and his [...]
"Righteousness will always get a fight," Sizzla Kalonji once told me, "and that is only to make you stronger." That conversation took place in 1997, he year Sizzla electrified lovers of reggae and dancehall music with two landmark albums, Praise Ye Jah and Black Woman & Child. Sizzla has gone on to become one of [...]
Early on in Steve McQueen’s film Lovers Rock, two girls arrive at a party. The man on the door, impressed with their outfits, lets them in for nothing. “It’s lovely to have such well put together ladies,” he says. “Well put together” could be the motto for the style of the lovers rock scene in [...]
Perhaps more than any other city on earth, Memphis has played an integral role in the development of several musical genres, from blues and rock ‘n’ roll to subgenres such as power pop and trap. Lost in this mix is the important role that the Bluff City has played in the history of reggae and [...]
Joe Higgs is a name still uncommon to many reggae fans today despite his vast contributions during a musical career of over three decades. He is described as the “Father of Reggae” by those cognizant and appreciative of his massive input into what is now the world’s most influential music. And while little-known, his influence [...]
Music producer Mad Professor has been mixing dub reggae in his Croydon studio for 35 years. “When dub hits you in the chest you feel it,” he said. “It gets inside you – it shakes your belly.”With its heavy beat of drum and bass, and the hypnotic spacing of reverb and echo, dub is a [...]
Here are a few things I didn’t know about Shaggy, the chart-topping Jamaican reggae-ish singer behind hits like “It Wasn’t Me,” “Angel,” and “Boombastic,” prior to prepping for our interview: He served in the Marines, achieving the rank of lance corporal, and fought in the Persian Gulf; he honed his singing voice during his Jarhead [...]
Music industry veteran Copeland Forbes believes it will take more than one year before Jamaica’s reggae product recovers from the coronavirus fallout.He made the ominous prediction with uncertainty surrounding European summer festivals, which have provided a solid payday for many Jamaican artists over the years. Forbes, who has booked reggae tours for over 40 years, [...]
Jamaican reggae artiste Kenyatta Hill is set to perform on Sunday, November 3, 2019, in a campaign rally to drum up support for Kibra by-election candidate McDonald Mariga.This was confirmed by Dennis Itumbi who stated that Hill has endorsed the former Harambee Stars midfielder.The artiste, who is the son of the late Joseph Hill, singer [...]