Mad Professor (Interview) Seattle Weekly: Ariwa Sounds, your label based in South London, has released over 200 albums. What year did it start? Mad Professor: I started my recording studio in 1979 and the label started in March of 1981. The first single we put out was “Come Back Again” by a singer named Sgt. [...]
Vegas’ Taxi Fare scores big in Japan Fresh from his recent series of club dates in Japan, Mr Vegas is brimming with excitement about his latest chart topper Taxi Fare. The single which was produced by Richard ‘Shams’ Browne for the B-Rich label, is sitting comfortably inside the top 10 of the local charts.
Lacu heats up ‘soca spotlight’ Pan music (and the steel pan) was highlighted last week when the Family Radio’s “Vybz Soca Spotlight†profiled renowned pan soloist, Aubrey “Lacu†Samuel and 2005 Panorama Champions Gemonites. Producer of the programme Stewart Davis said last week’s programme, which featured pan music was as spin off of one held [...]
Rebel! This lady eloped from home to play music At the peak of her career in Kano where she once lived, female reggae musician Quincy Ocheme was so hot in demand that promoters who failed to feature her on their concerts paid dearly. Such erring promoters usually ended up with a tale of woes as [...]
Where calypso went If the wearisome format holds, Dimanche Gras will be another expensive sleeping-pill, burdening its audience with 24 calypsoes, the clear majority of which will likely be forgotten forever by the time patrons exit the venue. It wasn’t always so but calypso, the painfully longer element of the show’s two components, has become [...]
Here comes RawSun “Who is RawSun?” That was the question late last year as a Honolulu public relations firm announced the arrival of the reggae hip-hop artist and the release of his new album, “Rated R,” on the independent Hard Eight Records. An additional question should’ve been “Where is RawSun from?” Was he a product [...]
Matisyahu live, dynamic CD Well, it’s time to venture down the listening avenue of life and review a CD for all to hear. The Matisyahu album, “Live at Stubb’s,” is something very unique in the realm of music. By that, I mean reggae music fronted by the lyrical styling of rap with a Jewish/spiritual message. [...]
Big Youth brings love and righteousness The mightiest of MCs, the dopest of DJs, Jamaican legend Big Youth is on his way to New Zealand, writes Grant Smithies. One of the biggest stars of Jamaican music, Big Youth is singing down the phone from Kingston, Jamaica. Perhaps surprisingly, he’s singing a punk song. “God save [...]
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry for Western Consciousness Legendary record producer and recording artist Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry has been confirmed as the headliner for the 2006 edition of Western Consciousness, slated for for Saturday, April 29, at the Llandilo Cultural, Savannah-la-Mar, Westmoreland. With negotiations still in progress, other acts that have so far been confirmed to appear [...]
Shakira shows off body work Bearing in mind that she has sold 25 million albums, last night’s invitation-only showcase by Colombian Shakira was probably the smallest concert she has played for years. But if she thought playing to a mere 400 people was beneath her, it didn’t show, as she pranced, wiggled and roared her [...]