Hemisphere news digest: South Florida Sun-Sentinel Reggae singer Abdel Wright has been arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm, Jamaican police said Friday.

Londoners take reggae track to the top in Italy Relocating from your native country to another country has its ups and its downs. As is the case with London-based duo Mattafix, they are still trying to adjust to the rigours of living in a fast-paced setting of London. Their experiences are documented in the single [...]

Reborn in Reggae Although she remains one of the most distinctive and soulful singers to emerge in the ’90s, in recent years Sinead O’Connor has been known as much for the controversies she’s caused (starting with her notorious Pope-bashing appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in 1992) and the confusion over her public pronouncements (among them [...]

The Son Also Rises The son of reggae legend Bob Marley and former Miss World Cindy Breakspeare, Damian Marley (aka Junior Gong) takes his nickname from his famous dad and also his mission: to uphold truth and rights and to forward consciousness “in this generation triumphantly,” as Bob would have said. Nowadays, the roots reggae [...]

A Jewish Girl’s Reggae Odyssey I imagine there are moments in every nice young Jewish girl’s life when she is miraculously taken out of her safe little Jewish sphere, and if only temporarily, let loose in the world, privy to the wilderness of the Diaspora and its ever-colorful, cultural quirks, made insatiably curious, inspired and [...]

Philadelphia based reggae label NAP Musiq releases the Passion rhythm project. Reggae airwaves are currently under attack from a sweet and tantalizing rhythm called the Passion rhythm. Radio jocks from Jamaica, the US and in the Caribbean have already subscribed to this engaging beat, which is being touted as the next big thing in reggae [...]

Reggaeton rules: Shake dat thing! After hip-hop and reggae now it’s time for reggaeton. Wonder what it is? Did you fancy Shakira’s moves to the rhythms of ‘La Tortura’? If you did, raggaeton might just be something that you would enjoy. With origins from Panama, the style travelled to Puerto Rico and became a huge [...]

Jamaica’s Buju Banton In Pilgrimage to West Africa Though not his first time in the western region of Africa, Buju Banton’s proposed musical pilgrimage to Gambia and Sierra Leone is echoing with loud vigor. Youths in the streets of Gambia are already celebrating the anticipated peak sound party.

The return of the ‘King’ The Jamaican ‘cross-over’ queen, or rather ‘King’, arrived in the island last week. And allwoman has the exclusive on what she’s been up to since her last major performance here at Sumfest, some eight years ago.

Freddie McGregor – Not without honour Few artistes can make a one-hour wait worthwhile, but after our marathon endurance (not his fault as it turned out) Freddie McGregor emerges as the kind of artiste that one could willingly allocate half the day to – and one who is equally willing to share from his insights, [...]