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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Reggae legend Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry brings the bottom end to ByWard Asked the origin of his enduring nickname, Lee Perry is inclined to say, “All things start from Scratch.” It is a characteristically blustery if uncharacteristically coherent pronouncement from the certifiably loopy septuagenarian. And it is a boast not without merit. The influential producer honed [...]
Sumfest feeling economic pinch – But top American acts boost profile Even though he has almost 20 years experience as a show promoter under his belt, Johnny Gourzong believes this month’s production of Reggae Sumfest will be the most challenging to date. Jamaica has not escaped the rigours of the worldwide recession that started in [...]
Elephant Man’s swagger rocked stadium Elephant Man, dancehall’s self-styled “Energy God,” commanded a multitude to the Providence National Stadium, where he swept up fans with his “swagger” into the early hours of the morning. He lived up to the top billing he received at the Digicel’s D’ Summer Flex concert on June 27. The trifecta [...]
Marley more popular in non-white world than MJ Reggae icon Bob Marley was more popular than Michael Jackson in most of the non-white world based on web searches up to the time of Jackson’s death. Blacks, Latin-Americans and many Asians were searching for Marley over pop icon Jackson with China and India as notable exceptions, [...]
The Itals keep on keepin’ on Picture a bus full of Rastafarians high in the mountains of Colorado. At the wheel is their leader, a man who many credit with keeping roots reggae alive through the dance hall years, through the days when the music itself seemed threatened with the extinction, lost amid rapid beats [...]