Pop Quiz: What is the most successful reggae song in 2012? Who won the 2012 Grammy for best reggae album? Too many Jamaicans are not able to answer those questions correctly. Reggae music has come a long way since its inception in the 1960s but the evolution seems to be greeted with waning interest. It [...]
Half-way up the stairs to the fourth floor at The Gleaner’s North Street, Kingston, office, Jahmali responds to the standard query about his well-being with “great!” A few steps pass as he expands briefly that it is the best of musical times for him, a recent return from a performance in Bermuda part of the [...]
It was 38 years ago that Peter Tosh began work on Legalize It, the album that would become his career statement. American Lee Jaffe, one of the persons who helped him craft that set, pays tribute to the singer on Saturday with a photo exhibition in Los Angeles. Also titled Legalize It, it showcases some [...]
When Maxi Priest sits down and crosses his legs, his dreadlocks drape and curl around his body, hanging over one ankle and the edge of his chair. Though the singer was born and raised in England, they are a tangible reminder of his Jamaican heritage. He’s combined the two to produce his own distinctive (and [...]
Ranking Trevor, an influential deejay or toaster, as Jamaican patois rappers were called during his 1970s heyday, died in the Olympic Gardens area of Kingston yesterday morning, Aug 7. According to reports, he was returning home from a dance when a collision with a car threw him off of his motorcycle; as he lay on [...]
Add internationally acclaimed Reggae songstress, Etana to the list of popular personalities within the Jamaican music industry who will bear children in the coming months. Following recent revelations that Dancehall/Reggae superstar, Ce’Cile and FiWi Choice Top 10 host, Amita Webb are set to become mothers for the first time, Etana has announced that she’s pregnant [...]
In commemoration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, the Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment section recognises 50 persons who made significant, yet unheralded, contributions to the country’s culture. This week we feature singer Rico Rodriquez. ‘HORNSMEN ’ dominated the early years of Jamaican music. Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Headley Bennett and Bobby Ellis [...]
I think it’s fair to say reggae hero Jimmy Cliff has bigger ambitions than the many Americans who listen to reggae music on their smoky couches. Consider his triumphs so far. Cliff is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for helping to shape, define and popularize reggae and ska with his songs – [...]
Clarks shoes, ‘diamond’ socks and Kangol hats were dancehall vogue during the early 1980s when photographer Beth Lesser made frequent trips to Jamaica to cover the country’s post-Marley music scene. Lesser, who has written voraciously about dancehall’s formative years, continues that trend with Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall, her fourth book which will [...]
Sadiki’s single, produced by Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor, is a heartfelt cultural ballad with a twist – it describes the family bond between an ailing mother and her son, but at the same time, the song offers a thoughtful commentary on the current state of Jamaican culture. The title, “Mama,” refers in part to the [...]