K Queens debut on Gregory Isaacs’ Brand New Me Europe tour “Gregory’s tour was good. If all the shows weren’t sold out totally, the crowd was still massive. Every show was the same thing, big crowds, great performances,” the dancehall twin sisters K-Queens told Observer last Thursday. The sisters, who were touring Europe for the [...]
Celebrating Reggae The Sounds and Pressure Committee must be commended for co-ordinating yesterday’s church service to kick off the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of reggae music. The fact that it was just a handful of persons who showed up for this occasion must be lamented, but it in no way reflected the hours of [...]
Columbia Records’ love-hate relationship with reggae When the various annals of reggae are written it will not be complete unless major labels are accorded their rightful place for how they accommodated some of reggae’s finest artistes and their love-hate relationship with the genre. Of course, the human element must be taken into consideration and for [...]
The beats go on: the rise of reggae’s sinister side The opening of The Harder They Come at the Playhouse Theatre returns us with a bang to the moment reggae entered the world. There had been one-off ska hits from Jamaica before. But the 1972 Perry Henzell film this musical is based on, and the [...]
Stacious: Shoes, Sex and Secrets In a Splash exclusive, the dancehall fire-starter talks about breaking off an engagement and why she’ll be around for a long time to come – and breaks her silence on the pesky rumours about her relationship with some guy named Mavado Stacy Scarlett, better known to fans as Stacious, is [...]
Rags to rhythms to riches: Music a way out of poverty for many The story of dancehall and reggae is often one of rags to riches for artistes of impoverished origins, singing and deejaying to make a ‘trailer load of money’. It is no surprise that people turn to music as a means out of [...]
Roger Steffens and Peter Simon’s ‘Reggae Scrapbook’ “We’re more than a beach. We’re a country.” So a Jamaica Tourist Board ad campaign stated in the 1970s, as tourism became the bread and butter of the Caribbean and Bob Marley secured international fame. Promoting the radical notion that there was – gasp! – culture in resortland [...]
The return of De Ashanti, again! He is often described as “the people’s king”. Troubled Calypsonian Herman “Ashanti” has had a bond with Calypso lovers here, built on a rock of mixed emotions. Even those in competing camps, cannot deny his inimitable voice, his ability to connect with his audience in song and punctuate each [...]
Last Night: Best of the Best at Bicentennial Park As if you need an introduction, Best of the Best is by far, the biggest annual dancehall/reggae festival in North America today, comparable to say, SumFest held in MoBay, Jamaica. Yet for the Caribbean community here in South Florida, their irie was strategically placed smack in [...]
2 the Max The talk circulating the globe about Maxi Priest being the new lead singer of UB40 is just that. Talk. Throwing back his phalanx of ink-black natties, he laughed generously, flashing his playful signature smile. “I ain’t in no UB40 band. Man, people say that and you know what, it suits me they’re [...]