The hidden Jamaican soul of Toronto Four organ-soaked, heart-pounding notes. A declaration. This is Jamaican music of an entirely different kind. Then a background chorus sings three descending “aaahs” in the most righteous R&B tradition. And when Jo-Jo Bennett comes in belting the opening line of his late-sixties ballad Fugitive Song, his vaguely un-North American [...]

‘We made the first move’ Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys says she wanted to be on the remix of the hit Ghetto Story because she liked the song and she could relate to what Cham was saying in the song. “It’s kinda interesting how the collaboration happened. The label didn’t come to us, neither did Cham. Actually, [...]

Power Plays This week, producers of an AIDS benefit canceled their July 18 show after LGBT activists protested the performances of two Jamaican stars viewed as homophobic. For anyone keeping score in the Beenie Man reggae shutdown, the two sides have now released competing statments. We’ll run them in full, but let’s start with excerpts [...]

Rastaman vibration Bob Marley’s old friend Roger Steffens resurrects the gospel according to Bob “After Bob died, the biggest star in reggae was this salacious, foulmouthed, homophobic, misogynistic rapper called Yellowman, and it changed the whole tone of the music,” Steffens explains. “The music turned so foul, so debauched, I decided I didn’t want to [...]

Brooklyn Beats In the two decades between the disco days of Tony Manero and the hipster colonization of Williamsburg, no music made itself more at home in Brooklyn than reggae/dancehall. Sure, WKTU-style freestyle fueled portions of the borough during the ’80s and early ’90s but, ever since a wave of Jamaican immigrants began settling in [...]

Tessanne Chin headlines Miss Ja World elimination and sashing show Sultry rock / reggae songstress, Tessanne Chin will be performing at the Miss Jamaica World elimination and sashing show at 7 pm on Sunday, July 16, at the Jamaica Pegasus. Chin’s fusion of dancehall and reggae with rock creates an exceptional sound driven by powerful [...]

Controversy Sourrounds Summer Jam End New tensions and a case of who-dun-it arose out of the disruption of Bling Dawg Summer Jam on Saturday. The Star reported yesterday that the crowd which turned up for the event rioted after what was reported to be a verbal attack by Twin of Twins on Beenie Man. However, [...]

Jamaican Music Shakes Things Up At The Oregon Zoo Everyone will be yelling “¡Ay Caramba!” when Ska Cubano takes the stage at the Oregon Zoo on Aug. 2 as part Wells Fargo Summer Concert Series presented by Fred Meyer. ” The band will be having fun,” said Krista Swan, event coordinator. “And if the band [...]

The Sun Online – Something For The Weekend: Lily: I’m a gobby bitch Lily has made the soundtrack of the summer. Ska, reggae and hip-hop-based pop with witty lyrics that have earned her the female Mike Skinner tag. Lily has made the soundtrack of the summer. Ska, reggae and hip-hop-based pop with witty lyrics that [...]

Barrington Levy, an Inventor of Dancehall Reggae, Can Still Squeeze a Syllable and Wring It Dry “Brooklyn, are you sleee-py?” Over and over again during Friday’s concert in Prospect Park, the dancehall reggae pioneer Barrington Levy asked this singsong question. His voice is so sweet that the question almost sounded like the beginning of a [...]