Roots reggae at root level

No matter how hard the schmaltz of Sean Paul’s club-bangers or the myriad black-lit Bob Marley posters adorning our nation’s dorm-room walls try to pull, Reggae’s roots burrow much deeper than America’s flash-pan pop culture. Burrowing deep into the rich soils of rhythm and melody-finely tuned amid loved ones, not the rap-game’s beloved producers and pro-tools rigs-these traditions promise to dirty the dance floors of Monk’s subterranean terra firma as Jamaican fore-bearers, The Melodians take stage this evening.

Demand Outstrips Supply

Since signing an exclusive contract with one of the leading supermarket outlets in the UK, Keith Graham who secured a £50,000 deal and a 40 percent equity, on the BBC reality programme, The Dragon’s Den, says his product has been sold out across the country. The entrepreneur better known as Levi Roots, a renowned reggae artist, told The Voice that following the reality programme on February 7, two weeks later he was approached by Sainsbury’s where he signed an exclusive six-month deal.

Beijing reggae club hoping for some Marley power

“It’s going to be very difficult to bring reggae to China, but this is a start.” Former IT engineer Robin Liao looks out from the terrace of ‘Together’, Beijing’s first reggae bar, at this unlikely setting for a rasta revolution. A man in his 70s stops his shuffling and tries to fathom the existence of a wooden beach shack sandwiched between a noodle restaurant and someone’s washing. The local rag-and-bone man puts the brakes on his cart to stare at the green, yellow and red stripes on the door. The next 30-storey building of the CBD in the east of the city is a backdrop that is modern China.

Sweet and dandy at UWI J’ouvert

It was a night of sensational fun for many students last Friday night at ‘J’ouvert’, the Caribbean night’s edition, held at the Students’ Union, UWI, Mona. Wild dancing dominated the event as drunk, and tipsy patrons wined out the night to soca and a few dancehall and rap tunes before getting covered in paint to make their rounds round the Ring Road. When the STAR team arrived at the venue at midnight, they were greeted with a never-ending line of patrons eager to get in and get on bad.

Allison Hinds is ‘on a roll’

On the eve of her much anticipated performance at the Mas Camp for Bacchanal Jamaica’s – Friday Night Fete, she walks into the lobby of the Knutsford Court Hotel and has necks snapping, watching her every move. A man can be heard whispering, “Is that Allison Hinds?” Yes it is! She looks even more stunning in person, with no indication of jet lag from her long flight into the island.

Brigadier Jerry still marches on

Calling out all the soldiers of culture in dancehall music, Brigadier Jerry led the Jamaican music scene in the early ’70s as one of the top DJs. Born as Robert Russell and affectionately known as ‘Briggy’, Russell ruled the mic on various sound systems such as King Stur Gav Hi Fi, before becoming a permanent DJ with Jah Love Muzik, run by the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Known for his unique cleverness on mic and the speed of his creativity as well as his highly cultural content, Jerry combined with Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales as ‘three the hardest way’.

If You Can’t Riddim, Join ‘Em

Most artists yearn to be recognized and admired by the public. But in the cutthroat world of Jamaican dancehall, fame can lead to serious trouble, particularly if you happen to be a member of the thriving Miami collective Black Chiney. “Back in 2002 someone sent us an e-mail,” says Supa Dups (a.k.a. Dwayne Chin Quee), Black Chiney’s 29-year-old founding member. “And it said if we were to come back to Jamaica they would kill us. Naturally I took a break after that incident.”

Who killed the coach?

When the news broke that Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer had been murdered, it sent shockwaves around the world. Toby Harnden in Kingston and Neil Tweedie in London report on his final hours. When Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer entered the lift on the ground floor of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel last Saturday, he was making no secret of his disgust at the ignominious defeat his side had just suffered at the hands of Ireland.

Marley home ‘inspiring, cheesy’

A visit to the Jamaica birthplace of reggae megastar Bob Marley includes traversing a narrow potholed road, a store with over-the-top T-shirts — and the odour of ganja. A rattling pickup truck honks and squeezes by us on a type of road Jamaicans aptly named a “one-lane two-way.” “Head gown. Head no good!” my companion, Paul Norman, says, chuckling and gesturing toward the red dust kicked up by the swerving car.

Pulse withholds part of Spragga’s money

Pulse InvestmentS Limited, organisers of the ‘Rock the World’ fashion, beauty and concert series has decided to withhold 25 per cent of Spragga Benz’ performance fee, claiming that his actions on stage on Wednesday were in breach of the profanity clause in his contract. The clause reads: “ARTISTE will not use expletives, profane or indecent language as defined by Jamaican law during performance.