It’s two hours after the agreed meeting time and O’Neil Bryan is not yet at the Q45 Studio; nobody knows exactly where to find him. Who would have thought an ‘elephant’ could be this elusive!
The phone rings.
Bryan’s alter ego Elephant Man (Ele) is having hair woes, and asks Splash to repair to his Hillcrest Avenue pad, where we find him playing ‘keep up’ with a chubby kid neighbour.
Dancehall — the good, the great and the not-so-good
Dancehall has been taking a beating from all quarters – the pulpit, the media and persons within dancehall who actually make a living off the music- for its romance with violent and sexually explicit lyrics, and while we can say that just as sure as there will be corrupt politicians, there will also be violence-laden dancehall lyrics, all is not lost and there is in fact a lot of good taking place in this dynamic place called the dancehall.
The changing face of dancehall fashion
Ever stopped to think how the style of dressing in the dancehall has changed over the last 30 or 40 years? Well, I certainly have.
Gone are the bell-bottomed pants, big-heeled shoes and Afro hairstyles worn by both sexes. The hairstyle was no doubt influenced by the Black Power Movement of the ’60s and the ‘Black is Beautiful’ slogan.
Reggae fans needn’t get outraged. This isn’t your run of the mill article, which hopes to bury reggae six feet under and merrily dance on its grave.
We’re all too familiar with the battering that the genre has received in recent years from numerous media outlets who, for the most part, spared little or no column inches to highlight long-serving or emerging talent from the reggae scene– yet seemed well-versed in all things reggae when it came to announcing all of the genre’s ills. (Homophobic lyrics, the incitement of violence and so forth…)
‘Magnum Follow Di Arrow’ was – Straight sexy
One of the many ways in which sexual ‘straightness’ is declared in dancehall is by way of comparison to six o’clock on an analogue timepiece, where the hands form a vertical line.
It was appropriate, then, that the 2008 Magnum Follow Di Arrow at James Bond Beach, Oracabessa, St Mary, finished very close to 6:00 a.m. yesterday, Ninja Man’s hint of a lyrical confrontation with Bounty Killer and Mavado at Spring Beak capping off a good dancehall concert at which there were many declarations of sexual ‘straightness’.
Cherine Anderson takes ‘piece’ of Spears remix
There has been much talk about the collaborative effort between Cherine Anderson and Britney Spears on the remix of one of Spears’ latest singles, Piece of Me.
Although it is one of six remixes, Anderson says hers in particular has “been getting a lot of positive feedback, especially from disc jocks overseas”. In fact, Anderson says “the night we did it, we got back word that they (Spears and her management team) loved it”.
On the Marley trod Down Under with Ras RoJah
In England, there’s a saying: “Bob’s your uncle.” But in New Zealand, it’s a fact. “Uncle Bob” Marley is how the Maori and other Kiwis refer to the Reggae King, and each year on February 6, everyone gets the day off.
That’s because the anniversary of Bob’s birth coincides with New Zealand’s own national holiday, Treaty Day, commemorating a document signed by Maori and English colonialists in 1820. Nobody seems to give a hoot about that anymore, and the day is celebrated instead with rousing reggae concerts in Bob’s honour, and radio stations playing hours and hours of his music.
Great vibes at Twelve Tribes Tribute to Dennis and Bob
The annual Twelve Tribes Tribute to Dennis Brown and Bob Marley held on Saturday night at Skill Craft on Skibo Avenue, run by Rupert Hoilett (a KC alumnus) should have been highlighted as one of the must-attend sessions for Reggae Month.
For the entire night the selector played tunes by Dennis Brown and Bob Marley exclusively. For some of us, it was a crash course in getting to know the Crown Prince musically, because the selector seemed to have every vinyl (which sounded so clean) whether it was 45 or LP, and every CD ever recorded by D Brown, and he unleashed them on rapid.
Pure magic at School of Music Reggae Month tribute
When you team really great Jamaican musicians with a really appreciative audience, the result is nothing but pure magic. And pure magic was indeed palpable at the recent School of Music lunch hour spin held at the Edna Manley College of the Visual & Performing Arts last Thursday.
Not being on the hottest rhythm or getting constant airplay is no reason to believe that an artiste needs to quit the entertainment business, as some artistes have been active in other areas.
Veteran deejay General Trees says he knows when to quit but that time is yet to come. Though his popularity started around 1985, he says he believes he has many years left as U Roy, Big Youth and Charlie Chaplain have been around for long.