Daddy Yankee becomes a breakout star For a man who has been blasted by an AK-47, had part of an earlobe ripped off by a hysterical fan and is draped in so many diamonds he looks as if he’s crashed into a Harry Winston display case, Daddy Yankee has an alarmingly light security detail. He’s [...]
Reggaeton revolution hits valley The beat is still hip-hop, but with a fusion of dancehall reggae, merengue, salsa and cumbia, and the lyrics are in Spanish. The Puerto Rican-driven musical craze has been exploding in the United States with artists like Daddy Yankee selling more than a million copies of his latest album, “Barrio Fino,” [...]
I Wayne’s ‘Lava Ground’ – One Of Year’s Best Singles Roots and culture artists have long been a constant in Jamaica, from the influence of legends like Bob Marley to conscious roots dancehall singers like Garnet Silk. However, in the summer of 2004 a new and powerfully distinctive voice emerged on the reggae music scene. [...]
A chip off the old Bob Damian Marley has his father’s thigh-skimming dreadlocks and the fine features of his Miss World mother, but when he takes to the stage he has an energy all his own. The slender 27-year-old, the youngest of Bob Marley’s seven sons and the product of his affair with former beauty [...]
Making a good life wherever we are As a Jamaican in Cayman who has contributed significantly to the commercial and social fabric of this society, what is also important is that Mr Guilfoyle and his family have spent more than half of that number of years living here in Cayman, but he still keeps an [...]
Jamaica signs on to Venezuela’s plan for cheaper oil in Caribbean Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to sign an agreement with Venezuela on a new plan for the South American nation to supply oil to countries throughout the region at below-market prices.
Roots reggae and resistance from Jamaica to Brixton Once feared by the authorities and celebrated by rebels from Notting Hill to Zimbabwe, roots reggae has been sanitised. Bob Marley is presented as simply uplifting summer music. But a series 1970s reggae reissues is making it possible to see how innovative, influential and politically aware it [...]
Alicia Keys Set To Release Unplugged Record Just when you’ve had enough of Alicia Keys and her piano, she’s back — and this time, she’s unplugged.
Jamaica Gleaner – Music mogul optimistic He has earned his reputation as the successful businessman who took Bob Marley and reggae music to the world. Chris Blackwell, O.J., is founder of Island Records, Palm Pictures and the Island Outpost Group, as well as the owner of some choice resort properties in Jamaica and Harbour Island [...]
The Skatalites The Skatalites are living musical legends, founding fathers of the modern Jamaican sound. Four decades ago, the group virtually invented ska, the upbeat dance music that spawned rock steady and reggae, and inspired three waves of British and American ska revivalists. A triumphal 1983 reunion performance at the Reggae Sunsplash Festival eventually inspired [...]