The legal side of the music business The following is an excerpt of the talk show, Inside the Muzik Biz, co-hosted by Thaddeus ‘Teddy’ Laidley every Wednesday at 3:30 to 4:00 pm. The programme is aired on Hot 102 FM during The Hot Mix, with Richie B . Inside the Muzik Biz aims to offer [...]
Album Review: ‘Reggae-In-Fusion’ Heavy On Hartford There’s more to reggae than the old-school sound of Bob Marley or the newer dancehall-fusion style of quasi-rappers like Sean Paul. In fact, reggae can be a template for pop, R&B, rap and even gospel. For proof, look no further than “Reggae-in-Fusion Album #1″ (Capsicum Records), a compilation of [...]
Is Shaggy Dancehall’s ambassador? Dancehall was developed as a novelty genre. While reggae artists Bob Marley and Pete Tosh wrote about ‘One Love’ or ‘Shitstem’ respectively and ska spawned an often militant punk offshoot, it was vocal about wine, women and money. Dancehall, in its 30-year history, has eschewed these trivialities for only two subjects, [...]
Reggaefying classic rock Don’t be surprised if you start hearing reggae versions of songs by top Israeli rockers on the radio in the future. Michael Goldwasser, the mastermind behind New York-based record label Easy Star and the Easy Star All Stars, his scintillating band that has successfully reggaefied classic rock albums like Dark Side of [...]
Ska, dub bands a hit in Japan You have no way of predicting what will or won’t happen in your lifetime. But really, I had no idea of experiencing one of two recent ‘firsts’ in the context that I did, even though it’s not quite surreal or even unbelievable that I did. The first of [...]
Jawaiian in Hawaiian Call it Jawaiian or “island music” or local-style reggae. Call it what you will, musicians here have been writing and recording music with Jamaican rhythms for more than a quarter-century. Henry Kapono rocked with “Stand in the Light” in 1981. Brother Noland hit with “Coconut Girl” in 1983. After that came the [...]
Dancehall dreams: The roots of reggae The small nation of Jamaica had its social issues, and, like the very best of art’s creations, the discontent gave rise to a musical movement in the 1970s: reggae, which led to the later emergence of dancehall. A new documentary by director Jérôme Laperrousaz, Made in Jamaica, is being [...]
Buju Banton’s Rasta Got Soul tour triumphs Mark Myrie, aka Buju Banton, is no ordinary entertainer; his songs say it all. Despite the ongoing campaign against him by members of the gay community, promoters are already calling his tour the biggest-selling reggae tour of the year. The answer to all of this is the magic [...]
Cliff advocate thrilled with HOF nomination Charles Earle, the American music buff who launched a Cyber petition to get reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (HOF), says he is “absolutely thrilled” that the singer has been finally nominated. “I hope the voters see fit to give Mr Cliff [...]
Julian Marley spreading message of ‘oneness and unity’ It’s obvious that Julian Marley has been in town. He has been doing all the right “pee-arrey” stuff – morning television, lots of radio and some print in which he has been enthusiastically talking about his latest CD, Arise and his upcoming US tour of the same [...]