Stephen Marley got his music (finally) Stephen Marley hasn’t exactly lived in anonymity. As a member of Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers, and producer of a pair of high-profile CDs – “Halfway Tree,” by his brother Damian Marley, which earned the 2001 Grammy for best reggae album, and “Chant Down Babylon,” a 1999 album [...]
Billed acts left stage untouched It seems ‘Untouchable’ was indeed too untouchable for all but one of the promised acts to perform. The show, which was held at La Roose, Port Henderson Road, on Saturday night had promised many top acts, including, Rick Ross, Sizzla, Tony Matterhorn, Ken Boothe, Bounty Killer, Cobra, Macka Diamond, Mr. [...]
The Boom Shack man While Apache Indian may have disappeared off India’s burgeoning music scene, he’s hardly been idle; he’s been busy recording with the likes of UB40, Maxi Priest and Shaggy. Widely credited for having introduced Indians to a different style of reggae, his superhits Chak De, Arrange Marriage and Boomshackalak found admirers in [...]
The ‘Voice of Consciousness’ returns “The thing has become too much about the punchline. We need more choice.” Never one to mince words, singer-songwriter VC’s assessment of the current state of much of Jamaica’s popular music is one that will resonate widely, or at least that is the hope.
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 [...]
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 [...]
If You Can’t Riddim, Join ‘Em Most artists yearn to be recognized and admired by the public. But in the cutthroat world of Jamaican dancehall, fame can lead to serious trouble, particularly if you happen to be a member of the thriving Miami collective Black Chiney. “Back in 2002 someone sent us an e-mail,” says [...]
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 [...]