Crazy music for crazy times Cayman hasn’t seen one particular brand of Crazy for 25 years. But Crazy is looking forward to revisiting the scene where he first introduced soca to Cayman. “It’s a long time since I came to Cayman Islands – at that time soca music was not in Cayman Islands – I [...]
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry: Over 75 Years, From Dub To Dubstep When it comes to the history of reggae, Bob Marley is almost always the main event. This month and next, though, another iconic Jamaican artist gets the spotlight. On the heels of his 75th birthday, singer, songwriter and producer Lee “Scratch” Perry is releasing an [...]
Rock Royalty The royals aren’t the only ones who can get the public’s tongues wagging about “the dress”, “the ride to the church” or “how good or lousy the groom looked”. Here on the Rock, we are equally keen on salivating over our own celebs. Beenie Man and D’Angel The self-professed King of the Dancehall [...]
Queen Of UK Dancehall: Lady Chann Lady Chann is having a right old natter. Dancehall in the UK is a strange beast, but its latest queen is anything but weird. Sitting in a Walthamstow greasy spoon in a pink shell-suit, matching lipstick and her trusty mobile spinning round her fingers, Lady Chann is perfectly in [...]
Jamaican beats, an international commodity On the evening of March 31 2006, producer Rohan ‘Snowcone’ Fuller says he got a telephone call from Miami, Florida. The person on the other end of the line was American superstar producer Salaam Remi, who informed him that Temperature, deejay Sean Paul’s song on Fuller’s Applause ‘riddim’, had reached [...]
Jamaican Stars Open Up Gateway To Europe Europe’s biggest port and second biggest city in Holland, Rotterdam, sees its first ever Reggae Festival this Easter Sunday, featuring a bumper crop of dancehall and reggae stars. Confirmed acts include man of the moment Vybz Kartel, Energy God himself Elephant man, spirit of Marley Jah Cure, veteran [...]
Levy to release final album Having had several albums to his name, Barrington Levy says that his latest project will be his last. The album, which is to be titled It’s About Time, will be available for purchase this Fall. Speaking with TheSTAR, Levy said, “It’s my final album that I’ll be putting out. I’ll [...]
Binghi Bob Fiya tops London chart The town of Linstead in St Catherine has seen a number of its locals make an impact on the local music scene. They include Jigsy King and Tony Curtis. Another of the town’s fledging acts is Binghi Bob Fiya and he is hoping to score similar success as the [...]
JW, Blaze look forward to World Music Awards in T&T Celebrated morning show hosts and soca superstars Jason “JW” Williams and Ancil “Blaze” Isaac Jr have been nominated in three categories at the prestigious 30th annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) which is scheduled take place in the pair’s vibrant homeland of T&T. [...]
Beenie Man drives into ‘Sim Simma’ Beenie Man’s infectious summer 1997 hit Sim Simma propelled him to a deal with Virgin Records, which in turn led to the Grammy-winning album Art and Life. In Jamaica, though, Sim Simma ignited a firestorm of outrage from Beenie Man’s many dancehall critics and outright foes, who took issue [...]