Archive for March, 2017

Queen Majesty: How One New Yorker Rose From Reggae DJ to Hot Sauce Royalty

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

The first time Erica Diehl heard 1960s Jamaican music, her whole world rearranged to make room for it. The current hot sauce maker and former DJ had moved from Buffalo to New York City in 1994, looking to become a painter, when she was hit by the reggae blindside. “I started collecting everything I could [...]

Interview: UB40′s Ali Campbell talks reggae, wine and relationships ahead of Wrexham gig

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

Almost 40 years on from his band’s first release, Ali Campbell still believes he has a very special job to do when it comes to maintaining the popularity of the music he plays. “It was always our mission to promote reggae,” he tells me, ahead of UB40’s gig at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground in May. “I’m [...]

The World According to Chronixx—Reggae Star, Wellness Guru

Sunday, March 12th, 2017

You could be forgiven for making an assumption when a Rastafari reggae artist named Chronixx sings about "spending every dollar" on a green substance that gives him confidence and calms his nerves. But you’d probably be wrong. Not that the 24-year-old rising star from Jamaica doesn’t smoke weed (he vapes). But it’s the spirulina he [...]

Spaceships, vegan food and branches of marijuana – in Jamaica with reggae’s legends

Sunday, March 12th, 2017

To hear one of the best roots reggae albums to come out of Kingston, Jamaica, this spring, you have to drive a long way from Trench Town. In fact, you have to leave the city altogether and head up high into the mountains that surround it.Not every taxi is keen on making the trip, so [...]