Veterans set the pace at Top Ranking
If Top Ranking night at Sumfest is anything to go by, the younger acts slated to perform over the next two nights have big shoes to fill.
Staged last Wednesday night at Pier 1, along Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay, the show featured several veteran dancehall names who proved that despite their absence from the contemporary scene, they are still capable of getting ‘forwards’.
Soundslam Interviews: Sean Paul
Sean Paul exploded onto the music scene in 2002 right in stride with the dancehall and reggaeton movement here in the States. Some four years later, his status has grown into international iconic form, and his record sales help prove his worth to Atlantic. We at SoundSlam chopped it up with the rudeboy on a variety of topics. Think you know what this Dutty Rocker is all about? Read this interview as he discusses Jamaica’s influence on American popular culture, why his voice is really larger than his appearance presents, and how he relates to the Ghostface Killah. Check it.
‘Celebrity Walkout’ storms into extra time :: July 17, 2006
Lady Saw’s ‘Celebrity Walk-out’ birthday party stormed into the early morning yesterday with the microphone being passed among Vybz Kartel, Sizzla, Bounty Killer and, briefly, Lady Saw at the Apart Sports Club in Nain, St. Elizabeth.
It was in extra time granted by the police, as after Mavado had opened the Alliance’s fusillade, the substantial but not huge audience cheering his every “gangster for life,” followed by Wayne Marshall who Forgot Them and Kartel and then Bounty Killer had taken the stage to roars, Lady Saw stepped on, the cowl of her outfit over her face, long hair peeping from underneath.
Reggaeton performer Rakell Sa wasn’t satisfied with just listening to Jamaican music . She wanted to drench herself in it.
The 23-year-old visited Jamaica early last year and decided to make the island her home.
Exotic locations not just for the honeymoon
When Kim (Miller) Derks conjured up her dream wedding, she knew right away some of what she wanted.
Soft sand beneath her feet, palm trees gently waving in the breeze, a sparkling ocean as a backdrop.
For Kim and Bob Derks, the answer was surprisingly simple: the couple exchanged their vows April 3 on a white sand beach in Negril, Jamaica, and then returned home to Kaukauna to have a celebratory reception in June with friends and family.
Late 1976, and rival political factions are warring on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, with only Bob Marley calling for peace. In an exclusive extract from her major new book, Vivien Goldman remembers life with Marley at his home on Hope Road and reveals exactly what happened when gunmen came to kill him
Film & video director Sanaa Hamri: first world mind, third world soul
It’s a hot yet overcast and thus near insufferable day in downtown Kingston. Part of the busy Hanover Street-Beeston Street intersection has been roped off; anxious fans are crowded behind the rope, jostling for better viewing positions; there’s media, crew and other staff filling various roles in the shoot area and her star, has a plane to catch.
Artistes take promotions to the streets
Traditionally, artistes promoted their new singles by ensuring that every radio and television station, cable network and sound selector had a copy to play. However, nowadays, artistes are utilising a more down to earth and involved method. They are taking to the streets and interactacting with their fans.
It will be ‘double trouble’ come Saturday, July 22, when two musical luminaries prepare to enthrall the audience at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest. The soulful musical genius Beres Hammond and dancehall gargamel Buju Banton will create a stir in the Vibes City Montego Bay as two of the headline acts for The Summit. With Beres’ perfect mix of reggae, R&B and lovers rock alongside the thumping dancehall and roots rock sounds of Buju Banton, this show is already poised to be one of the biggest and best to date.
The hidden Jamaican soul of Toronto
Four organ-soaked, heart-pounding notes. A declaration. This is Jamaican music of an entirely different kind.
Then a background chorus sings three descending “aaahs” in the most righteous R&B tradition. And when Jo-Jo Bennett comes in belting the opening line of his late-sixties ballad Fugitive Song, his vaguely un-North American enunciation reveals an extraordinary sound from Toronto’s past, a sound that has tragically been all but forgotten.