Damian Marley to meld reggae styles in Aspen The child of reggae king Bob Marley and 1976 Miss World Cindy Breakspeare, Marley lived in two worlds: his father’s musical realm, which revolved around downtown Kingston, Jamaica, and his mother’s well-to-do uptown existence. Halfway Tree is the name of the roundabout that separates downtown from uptown [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
This great calypso sin So, as I was saying yesterday, Valentino has made his ouster from the Dimache Gras finals, even after he sang “Where Calypso Went” (the lyrics of which I published in the same column), something of a cause celebre among the calypso fraternity, and I won’t be surprised if it now becomes [...]
Like father, like daughter Queen Ifrika plants her musical roots Being the daughter of Jamaican ska and rock music icon Derrick Morgan has opened doors for Queen Ifrika in the music industry. “‘Everywhere I go, I am recognised as his daughter. People like the fact that I chose the cultural direction in terms of the [...]
Banning the beeps “Gal, buss Smokehave fun” So goes the chorus of Busy Signal’s monster dancehall hit song Step Out. On radio, beeps would substitute for the words obviously edited in print. However, one local radio station has made a decision that might affect how artistes like Busy Signal’s edited songs are played – or [...]