All hail the queen of raggae If Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley was the “king”, Alpharita Constantina Anderson, better known as Rita Marley, must definitely be the “queen” of Reggae music. Looking at her life objectively, one can say Rita Marley, 62, the widow of Bob Marley, is an ordinary woman with the same struggles and [...]
Alton Ellis still rocking despite illness Despite his ongoing battle with myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell which is an important part of the immune system that produces antibodies to help fight infection and disease, veteran singer Alton Ellis is still set on rocking as many stage shows as he can. Ellis is currently [...]
Jamelody chooses reggae over soca Trinidad is known mostly for soca music, but this is not the route along which Jamelody wanted to make his musical trod. Instead, it is reggae. Jamelody, whose real name is Michael Williams, is from Port of Spain, Trinidad. He said he was hardly exposed to carnival and soca music.
Beenie ‘Attacks’ Marley – ‘The Doc’ lashes out at Bob’s sons in London interview Self-proclaimed King of the Dancehall, Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis, has voiced his obvious dislike for members of the prestigious reggae clan, the Marleys. In a taped interview with radio personality Chris Goldfinger on the British-based radio station BBC Radio 1 (97-99 [...]
K Queens debut on Gregory Isaacs’ Brand New Me Europe tour “Gregory’s tour was good. If all the shows weren’t sold out totally, the crowd was still massive. Every show was the same thing, big crowds, great performances,” the dancehall twin sisters K-Queens told Observer last Thursday. The sisters, who were touring Europe for the [...]
I spy Caribbean’s top hideout Spy thriller writer Ian Fleming chose his fictional hero’s name after reading Birds Of The West Indies by James Bond. And both 007 and the author of the wildlife book would have felt at home in the Antiguan jungle. There, 25 young ladies competing for the Homecoming Queen contest. Harnessed [...]
Celebrating Reggae The Sounds and Pressure Committee must be commended for co-ordinating yesterday’s church service to kick off the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of reggae music. The fact that it was just a handful of persons who showed up for this occasion must be lamented, but it in no way reflected the hours of [...]
Revving up for reggae On a recent Saturday night, the dance floor crowd at Basta Bar and Grill in Weymouth was a cultural and generational mosaic. Blacks and whites were represented in roughly equal numbers. People of all ages, from 20-somethings who looked barely old enough to get in the door, to silver-headed revelers who [...]
Columbia Records’ love-hate relationship with reggae When the various annals of reggae are written it will not be complete unless major labels are accorded their rightful place for how they accommodated some of reggae’s finest artistes and their love-hate relationship with the genre. Of course, the human element must be taken into consideration and for [...]
Stacious: Shoes, Sex and Secrets In a Splash exclusive, the dancehall fire-starter talks about breaking off an engagement and why she’ll be around for a long time to come – and breaks her silence on the pesky rumours about her relationship with some guy named Mavado Stacy Scarlett, better known to fans as Stacious, is [...]