Great expectations There are at least a dozen good reasons why Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley should have been nervous about opening up for the mega-popular U2 at the Oakland Arena in November. But the young reggae star can’t think of a single one worth mentioning. “I don’t see why opening for U2 should be a [...]
It’s the gospel truth about Carlene Davis Despite a successful career in reggae that spanned 15 albums as the “Songbird of the Caribbean,” Jamaica’s Carlene Davis confesses to having at times been at a loss for words. “I struggled,” she recalls. “When I stood up at a secular concert and the Lord was giving me [...]
Reggae Artist Slinky Sharp Passes In Car Accident Rising reggae artist and producer Slinky Sharp has died in a tragic car accident in North Carolina. While the details of the accident are not exactly clear, the report is that Slinky Sharp was a passenger in the car that crashed while on their way home from [...]
Return of the Upsetter Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight: Lee “Scratch” Perry isn’t mad. Got that? Good. Eccentric? Sure. Erratic beyond belief? Absolutely. A hyperactive huckster, trickster and holy fool given to spouting some of the most deranged psychobabble bollocks known to man, all rolled up into one bewildering, manic, [...]
Early success for Spear’s own label Winston ‘Burning Spear’ Rodney has done the record label rounds, from Studio One to Island to Heartbeat. Now in his “pre-retirement” stage, as he puts it, his second album on his own Burning Music imprint, Our Music, has earned a nomination for the 2005 Reggae Grammy. Of course, Grammy [...]
Fire in His Eyes With a blazing new album out reggae maestro Capleton tells Davina Morris why he’s toppa tings Spanish-based reggae label Minor7Flat5 recently released the collaborative album The Good, The Bad & The Blazing. Featuring Junior Kelly as ‘The Good’, Bounty Killer as ‘The Bad’ and… any guesses which red hot artist would [...]
The ‘Joseph Coat’ Effect: February A Banner Month for Jamaican Musicians Needless to say, greatness in music, Jamaican or otherwise, is not simply a matter of birthdate. We have great entertainers born in every month, as is the case with other professions. But we may be forgiven (with apologies to all the others) for highlighting [...]
Roots reggae siren Likkle Mai branches out You could call Likkle Mai a reggae singer, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But you wouldn’t be quite right either. The diminutive vocalist– “likkle” is Jamaican patois for “little”–is nothing less than a reggae evangelist, intent on spreading the gospel far and wide. But rather than preach to [...]
All about Marley DJ organizes benefit rooted in reggae’s ideals Jessica McNamara seems very enthusiastic and excited about the realization of her dream. “Every Feb. 6 I’m wondering why there isn’t something going on for his birthday,†she says of her musical idol. After toying with the idea of hosting her own celebration for over [...]
The Rough Guide to Dub Without the creativity of the Jamaican music scene in the early 1970s, modern pop music is unimaginable. Not only did reggae give the world both “rap” and dance-floor MCs who “played” their sound systems, but it also gave the world “dub” (essentially, separating a rhythm track from the rest of [...]