Clifft Your Spirits Jimmy Cliff, Star of iconic Jamaican flick The Harder They Come, tells Davina Morris how much he loves the British stage version As The Harder They Come continues to wow audiences at London’s Theatre Royal Stratford East, it seemed fitting to speak to the man who starred in the 1972 film of [...]
Baby Cham: Shares His Ghetto Story With the weather getting warmer, and Sean Paul having the number one single in the country earlier this year, dancehall is poised to endure a long, successful summer. This time around, however, the spotlight is fixed upon Baby Cham, whose single, “Ghetto Story,†has steadily climbed the charts and [...]
The mystique of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry If fans at the recent Western Consciousness show in Westmoreland expected the indifferent from Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, then they were not surprised.
Sharon Marley on motherhood, polygamy and Bob’s remains A life more ordinary: Sharon Marley follows her passions She has been in the spotlight for most of her life – the eldest child of an international superstar, an outstanding performer in her own right as a member of a Grammy award-winning group. Now Sharon Marley juggles [...]
Robert Nesta Marley, O.M., composer On this day 25 years ago, the Jamaican songwriter and political activist Bob Marley died of cancer in Miami. He was only 36 years old. I’m not sufficiently grounded in either Jamaican or African politics to venture any sort of opinion on what his long-term impact has been in those [...]
Angel and Sizzla warm up with Good Loving Good Loving, a new collaborative effort between singer Angel Shalome and Sizzla Kalonji, looks set to become a staple at radio. The track, produced by Delroy ‘Fatta’ Pottinger, highlights the vocal capabilities of Angel, and features a scrumptious bout of toasting from Sizzla.
DJ Spooky Revisits ‘Fine’ Reggae DJ Spooky raided the vaults of Trojan Records and came out on the other side with the double-disc set “In Fine Style: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records.” With cuts from artists like Sly & Robbie, Peter Tosh and Lee Perry, the compilation will hit stores June 27 via Trojan. The [...]
Tighter Than Ever Frenzied East Coast ska kings the Slackers nail the live show. Nonstop touring, superb musicianship, and an energetic stage show have built up the reputation of the Slackers, but their live albums have never captured the intensity the East Coast ska outfit will likely bring to Slim’s in San Francisco this Saturday. [...]
Surprising hands bear the torch of Marley Outwardly, Sean Paul and Matisyahu don’t really have the brotherhood vibe going on. Corn-rowed Paul is from Jamaica, and of Jamaican-Portuguese-Chinese heritage, while the bearded Matisyahu — known to his mom as Matthew Miller — is a Pennsylvania-born Hasidic Jew of European descent who now calls New York [...]
Mental Matterhorn Undoubtedly the hottest track of the new year so far is Tony Matterhorn’s Dutty Wine, which has not only spurred on other deejays like Elephant Man to create their own version but has also started rumours on the dancing scene.