Five Reasons Gyptian’s “Hold Yuh” is the Song of the Summer Gyptian isn’t a household name, but his crossover dancehall hit single “Hold You (Hold Yuh),” which is fast becoming 2010′s song of the summer could change that. The lyrics can be a bit hard to follow (e.g. “Gyal, mi wann fi hold yuh”) but [...]
Tasha Rozez On the eve of her Caribana gigs, the Toronto-based queen of soundclash discloses the secret to her success and why dancehall is set to take over the planet. Sugar Lounge is a Jamaican take-out spot in Scarborough that doubles as a dance hall. Tuesday nights, it hosts an event called Fight Club.
Spice dishes out more than just sexual content Jamaica has, for as long as many of us can remember, been at the forefront of Caribbean music with both its reggae and subsequent dancehall genres. From Bob Marley and the Wailers, Peter Tosh and Burning Spear, to today’s Vybz Kartel, Popcaan and female sensation, Spice, much [...]
Reggae Sumfest: The good, the bad and the muddy Reggae Sumfest 2010 has come and gone, but, as expected, there were moments of high and moments yet to be defined. We take a look at some, in no particular order. The year 2010 will go down in history as the year when the mud was [...]
Voicemail cried for Oniel Voicemail’s Kevin Blair and Craig Jackson broke down and wept bitterly on Thursday night, as reality struck that their friend and brother Oniel Edwards was no longer the third leg in their act. The only thing that separated the tears that flowed from their eyes and the large crowd inside the [...]
Dancehall artist Busy Signal’s music springs from his roots “I still do gun songs and raw dancehall songs, but, at this point, I don’t need to do a gun song. After what Jamaica — and the world — has been through, I don’t need to sing another gun song my whole life.” I’m in a [...]
Reggae, Sugar Minott and Nahki — the Japanese experience It would seam nothing short of divine providence, a week after the passing of reggae/dancehall kingpin Sugar Minott, that a Japanese professor in music presented a paper in Kingston, Jamaica on the birth and impact of reggae in Japan in which the role of the departed [...]
Sugar Minott — a man for all seasons The significance of Lincoln ‘Sugar’ Minott’s contribution as a critical innovator in the annals of modern Jamaican music will be commemorated at farewell showcase tentatively planned for July 29. It will form part of the tribute for the late reggae/dancehall maestro. According to his widow, Maxine Stowe, [...]
Happy Birthday Buju | The Trinidad Guardian A living legend. A dancehall-reggae icon. Incarcerated but still thrilling worldwide audiences with hits that range from GAL, Optimistic Soul and Let Dem Know—all songs unleashed since he was locked away. Today, Mark Anthony Myrie—the one and only, Buju Banton, celebrates his 37th birthday. As a Caribbean entertainer [...]
Rebel with several causes It would be incorrect to think of Jimmy Cliff’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year as the beginning of the reggae great’s wind down. “That is just a stepping stone to more success,” said Cliff, 62, in a phone interview from a Michigan tour stop, [...]