Does reggae really need a dancehall X Factor? It has become a cliche of documentary film-making that a project which sets out to capture people’s differences will only end up emphasising how alike we all are. How many times must a western crew have voyaged up the Amazon, hoping to capture footage of an undiscovered [...]
King Sizzla on mission The man Zimbabwean promoters have been chasing for the past 10 years is finally here! Ishe (King) Sizzla Kalonji is in town — it took a personal phone call from the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Robert Mugabe, for him to make the trip — of course not without [...]
Dancehall’s past, present and future fuse at JARIA concert Dancehall’s future, present and past rhymed in front of a stone-carved theatre on Wednesday with performances by Elephant Man, U-Roy, Chino, I-Octane and others. Mid-set, a sweating Elephant took off his baby-blue jacket, elephant chain and shoes then danced. The thick crowd at the Edna Manley [...]
Bob Marley Movement Caribbean Festival 2010: Interview With Capleton Capleton’s favorite food is okra. “I love okra, whatever style — fried okra, okra stew, okra salad. Okra is really good for you.” So says the Prophet, sometimes called the Fireman, but always known as one of the greatest artists in dancehall history. If you’re at [...]
Steel Pulse Brings Proper Roots Reggae to Revolution on March 10 One of the longest-running roots reggae bands around, Steel Pulse now boasts a list of former members as twice as long as that of its current lineup. Only two of its current players have appeared on all 11 of the band’s studio albums: keyboardist [...]
Touching the pulse of the people Emerging from hibernation of some years, former junior calypso monarch, young king and soca monarch, Kurt Allen was crowned Calypso Monarch 2010 with ’They Too Bright’, a commentary on political leadership in T&T. In this week’s Q&A, he talks with Andy Johnson about the the ’true’ role of the [...]
Reggae Grammy doesn’t influence chart position http://assets.mediaspanonline.com/prod/4127146/STEPHEN-MARLEY_w370.jpg Most Reggae Grammy winners of the decade didn’t get a boost in the charts, like their pop counterparts, following the US-based award show. Only three of the 10 winners since 2000 saw increased chart success of the winning album, according to Observer analysis of Billboard data.
From the streets, `Kingman’ rises Claudius Linton is among Long Beach’s homeless. In the reggae world, he is royalty. You come across him on the street with his briar-patch tangle of beard and dreadlocks, missing teeth, his small thin frame almost disappearing into layers of sweat shirts, and he looks exactly like what he is [...]
Jamaica losing its grip on Reggae — Culture Minister In delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2010 International Reggae Conference at the Mona Visitor’s Lodge, UWI, on Wednesday afternoon, culture minister, Olivia Babsy Grange, noted that if steps are not taken immediately, Jamaica and Reggae could no longer be synonymous. “In [...]
Anti-gay reggae singer dropped from Oakland festival A reggae singer whose repertoire has included calling for gays and lesbians to be killed won’t be performing in Oakland after all. But in a Sunday, February 14 e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter, Moss Jacobs, a co-producer of the festival in Oakland, wrote Capleton had been “removed [...]