The years can’t lessen Marley’s mystique, fame Nearly 25 years after his death, reggae legend Bob Marley continues to fascinate people. Thursday, a Miami International Film Festival documentary celebrates his legacy. In the unspoiled countryside where the remains of Jamaica’s most famous son lie inside a marble crypt, children’s voices wail the words of Bob [...]
Video review – Beautiful The twice-over grammy award-winning reggae sensation Damion ‘Jnr Gong’ Marley has a new video called Beautiful, featuring Hip-hop star Bobby Brown, who is really trying to make a comeback. Jnr Gong really did portray what the lyrics were telling us. With all the beautiful colours that are really vibrant and outstanding, [...]
Thank God for Carnival Carnival has been viewed traditionally as that religious event which precedes Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. Lent has largely lost its religious significance for many, but Carnival continues to perform many social functions, some of which are not immediately obvious. It is the time of the year when the nation [...]
Devon Pennant Lady Of Magic Chillin Devon Pennant is a young artist from Brixton, South London whose mix of soulful Reggae and contemporary Pop offers an exciting new brand of British Reggae. In an era when Dancehall continues to sound more and more like an extension of Hip Hop and Ragga, Devon’s truthful lyrics and [...]
In the footsteps of the ‘Grandmaster’ “This one was actually for daddy. He premeditated this one.” So said soca composer Kernel Roberts to the Sunday Express yesterday. Roberts penned this year’s Road March hit “Band of the Year” and made it clear it was to continue the “legacy” of his father, the calypso legend Aldwyn [...]
St. Kitts Music Festival presents a Soca-Calypso Explosion National calypso and soca superstars will take centre stage on the opening night of the 10th annual St. Kitts Music Festival. This night traditionally features the best performers of the soca and calypso genres. According to an official press release, “music lovers, regional and international media will [...]
Mr. Peppa doubles up with Gangster Guerilla and Life of a Superstar Rising dancehall toaster Mr. Peppa (real name Arael Walters) is back on active radio duty with two hot new singles, Gangster Guerilla and Life of a Superstar. Both songs were produced by Mark Pinnock of Natural Bridge Records and have been in consistent [...]
Sweet soca for the road It has been a memorable Carnival, I find, and what made it so was the finest of the music. Mark down 2006 as the year in which soca road music finally emerged at the hands of a new, more or less, generation of soca singers either as individuals or in [...]
Alton Ellis for reggae Hall of Fame One of Jamaica’s leading hitmakers, Alton Ellis, who is this year celebrating 50 years in entertainment, will be inducted into the International Reggae and World Music Awards Hall of Fame this year. Ellis will be joined by his Caribbean counterpart, Guyanese Eddie Grant. Both will be honoured during [...]
Understanding Caribbean Music You hear it frequently these days: “What’s happening to Caribbean music? Where is calypso? Where did we get these strange songs with no melody and just boom, boom?†The short answer is that it’s not strange at all. Change is always the norm in popular music; thirty years ago, Lord Shorty, propelling [...]