Roots reggae at root level No matter how hard the schmaltz of Sean Paul’s club-bangers or the myriad black-lit Bob Marley posters adorning our nation’s dorm-room walls try to pull, Reggae’s roots burrow much deeper than America’s flash-pan pop culture. Burrowing deep into the rich soils of rhythm and melody-finely tuned amid loved ones, not [...]

Demand Outstrips Supply Since signing an exclusive contract with one of the leading supermarket outlets in the UK, Keith Graham who secured a £50,000 deal and a 40 percent equity, on the BBC reality programme, The Dragon’s Den, says his product has been sold out across the country. The entrepreneur better known as Levi Roots, [...]

Beijing reggae club hoping for some Marley power “It’s going to be very difficult to bring reggae to China, but this is a start.” Former IT engineer Robin Liao looks out from the terrace of ‘Together’, Beijing’s first reggae bar, at this unlikely setting for a rasta revolution. A man in his 70s stops his [...]

Sweet and dandy at UWI J’ouvert It was a night of sensational fun for many students last Friday night at ‘J’ouvert’, the Caribbean night’s edition, held at the Students’ Union, UWI, Mona. Wild dancing dominated the event as drunk, and tipsy patrons wined out the night to soca and a few dancehall and rap tunes [...]

Allison Hinds is ‘on a roll’ On the eve of her much anticipated performance at the Mas Camp for Bacchanal Jamaica’s – Friday Night Fete, she walks into the lobby of the Knutsford Court Hotel and has necks snapping, watching her every move. A man can be heard whispering, “Is that Allison Hinds?” Yes it [...]

Brigadier Jerry still marches on Calling out all the soldiers of culture in dancehall music, Brigadier Jerry led the Jamaican music scene in the early ’70s as one of the top DJs. Born as Robert Russell and affectionately known as ‘Briggy’, Russell ruled the mic on various sound systems such as King Stur Gav Hi [...]

Pulse withholds part of Spragga’s money Pulse InvestmentS Limited, organisers of the ‘Rock the World’ fashion, beauty and concert series has decided to withhold 25 per cent of Spragga Benz’ performance fee, claiming that his actions on stage on Wednesday were in breach of the profanity clause in his contract. The clause reads: “ARTISTE will [...]

Ninja Man To Rock The World Ninja Man, perennial concert favourite and co-performer of Shaggy’s monster hit, Church Heathen, has been added to the line-up for tonight’s Rock the World show at the One Love Jamaica Village, Knutsford Boulevard. The concert segment of the show, presented by Pulse, also features Shaggy, Beenie Man, Spragga Benz [...]

One to watch Colin Simpson has never had a record deal, sparse crowds have heard him sing a few times and just about three persons knows he has lyrical skills, yet when he walked into Stabroek News on Monday and casually sat on a stool outside, people thought otherwise. “Is he a member of First [...]

Dancehall is Dead I know the uproar that may attend the above utterance but having witnessed, for the ‘umpteenth’ time, the mediocrity that is the hallmark of our popular music scene, I feel compelled to offer my two cents. This does not purport to be a review of Wednesday night’s Rock The World show in [...]