Is the U.S. really land of free? Reggae superstar Buju Banton doesn’t think so
Buju Banton has freedom on his mind. Freedom in America.
“I don’t see any freedom in America – it’s an illusion, the freedom you have,” Banton says by phone from North Carolina. The reggae superstar is crossing the country on tour through late October.
In an interview published in the latest issue of Riddim Magazine, Beenie bashes Baby Cham, Elephant Man, Dave Kelly and of course Bounty Killer. He also addressed a number of controversial issues surrounding him, his music and relationship with other artistes.
This is an album of original, instrumental dub reggae from Matisyahu’s backing band produced by the “legendary” Bill Laswell. If you like Matisyahu’s music, then you’ll like this. If you think you’d miss the lyrical element, you may want to avoid it. Most of the tracks here are built around a repeated bass line, and a drum set with lots of reverb on it.
Tanya Stephens – Dancehall evolution sparks ‘Rebelution’
In dancehall music where trends transcend quality, Tanya Stephens is an exception to the rule. Two years after rocking the dancehall with the acclaimed Gangsta Blues, the diminutive singer returns with Rebelution, another message-based album.
Rebelution, Stephens’ sixth album, was released by VP Records in late August.
Sting Miami music fest delivers mediocrity
The white screen hung by the side of the stage all Sunday night, a silent, empty reminder of the unrealized ambitions that brought the Sting Miami festival to Bicentennial Park. For instance, there was no image of Wyclef Jean to fill it, since the promised headliner was one of several unexplained no-show artists. Maybe, with a meager turnout, the promoters couldn’t afford to pay a cameraman.
If a day can be a year in politics, a decade is like an eternity in Jamaican music, where a new entertainer pops up every other week and many fade from memory faster than bell-bottomed jeans – and do not mount a comeback. The Sunday Gleaner will be bringing back memories with ‘Glory Days’, a weekly look at some of the entertainers who were hot and cooled as time went by, but have made a significant contribution to Jamaican music, beginning with Lady Ann.
Reggae In Germany? No Problem!
Mention reggae music, and it’s safe to assume those within earshot will not immediately think of Germany. Jamaica? Sure. Africa? Maybe. But Germany? The land many Americans associate with lederhosen and precision automotive engineering? Please.
So here’s a surprise for you: There’s reggae coming out of Deutschland. And here’s another: It’s not bad. Berlin’s Seeed, an 11-member collective formed in 1998, first hit big with an ode to their hometown called “Dickes B.†You can see the video, which is full of Berlin landmarks, here, and their video for “Music Monks†here. (And here’s their MySpace page.)
Rebel music: Jamaican artist is jammin’
A dozen tracks into her brilliant new album, Tanya Stephens gets deep. After a little girl-power boasting, some sexy love songs, and a couple should-be-classic drinking ditties, the Jamaican singer and toaster takes on the church. On You Keep Looking Up, Stephens sets out the ”chronicles according to Tanya” — a feminist, pantheistic version of One Love. On the mellow grooves of Come a Long Way, she aims her barbs at politics: ”So we come a long way from picking cotton,” she celebrates, then switches from conscious to righteous: ”Many never thought they’d live to see the day when Bush pick Rice/ But if all you’ve become is another house nigga, baby tell me was it worth all the sacrifice.” Then, on Do You Still Care, Stephens takes on the legacy of colonialism: racism and homophobia.
Irie, a patois term used by Rastafarians and Caribbeans to denote acceptance and positivism, is exactly what the ecstatic and vivid Irie Maffia radiate.
Their reggae origins give definition to their music without limiting it. It is a little cumbersome to categorize Irie Maffia, due to the band’s colorful and multilayered musical and ethnic background.
Buju Banton aims for the feet as well as spirit
Reggae music begat the dancehall style, but that doesn’t mean the relatives are especially close. Reggae, as Bob Marley, Burning Spear and the like conceived it, was music for the mind, concerned primarily with the messages of tolerance, resisting oppression, and devotion to God. Dancehall was aimed at the feet, its emphasis on raising the temperature of a roomful of people.