Alerta nurtures reggae in Colombia

When Javier Foncesca and Alex Bonilla left Jamaica on Friday afternoon, they took a route very familiar to the famed Jamaica ICIs.

They went to Panama.

They are the lead singer and manager, respectively, of pioneering Colombian reggae band Alerta ­ and they did not go home empty-handed. They carried along their second album, Somos Uno (which means ‘We Are One’), recorded in Colombia, but which they carried to Jamaica to mix in the middle of last year.

In this case, mixing meant more than getting the sound levels and balance correct. It meant that Foncesca’s Spanish vocals were paired with those of some Jamaican performers.

He’s a mystic, mon

Nothing in the Talmud specifically forbids Orthodox Jews from stage-diving at live gigs. And nowhere does Jewish scripture recommend precisely how one should behave in the mosh pit.

So Jewish reggae phenom Matisyahu had to learn through trial and error that it was a good idea to clip his yarmulke into his hair so it wouldn’t fall off when he bobbed his head to a hip-hop beat. And that if he tucked his tzitzit into his trousers, the tassels of his prayer shawl were less likely to be yanked away in the pit’s mass of writhing limbs.

Great expectations

There are at least a dozen good reasons why Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley should have been nervous about opening up for the mega-popular U2 at the Oakland Arena in November.

But the young reggae star can’t think of a single one worth mentioning.

“I don’t see why opening for U2 should be a pressure,” said the 27-year-old vocalist, who won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban Alternative Performance at Wednesday night’s Grammy Awards. “It should be a joy. As an artist, that’s what you want — you want to get exposure like that.”

It’s the gospel truth about Carlene Davis

Despite a successful career in reggae that spanned 15 albums as the “Songbird of the Caribbean,” Jamaica’s Carlene Davis confesses to having at times been at a loss for words.

“I struggled,” she recalls. “When I stood up at a secular concert and the Lord was giving me something to say with interest to my relationship with Him, I wouldn’t know how to say it – but 1996 was really a recommitment.”

Reggae Artist Slinky Sharp Passes In Car Accident

Rising reggae artist and producer Slinky Sharp has died in a tragic car accident in North Carolina. While the details of the accident are not exactly clear, the report is that Slinky Sharp was a passenger in the car that crashed while on their way home from a show. Slinky Sharp was rushed to the hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Slinky Sharp was born Jermaine Cole in Kingston, Jamaica and was raised in Hanover, Jamaica. He migrated to the United States in 1988 and attended Erasmus Hall High school in Flatbush, a neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn NY.

Return of the Upsetter

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight: Lee “Scratch” Perry isn’t mad. Got that? Good.

Eccentric? Sure. Erratic beyond belief? Absolutely. A hyperactive huckster, trickster and holy fool given to spouting some of the most deranged psychobabble bollocks known to man, all rolled up into one bewildering, manic, wiry whole? Damned straight. But mad? Forget about it.

Granted, in the past he’s been prone to wearing electric fires on his head, burned down his near-mythical Black Ark studio, was seen walking around Kingston, Jamaica, backward for two days, and has on more than one occasion claimed both divine provenance and to be a survivor of ancient Egypt.

The King of Reggaetón

A long time ago, before he started draping himself in huge diamond medallions, before flocks of teenage girls began trailing him nearly everywhere, before he had a staff of 15 working day and night on the maintenance of his image, Daddy Yankee had a regular name, which was Raymond Ayala. When he is at home in Puerto Rico, his parents still call him Raymond, as does his older brother Nomar, who works as one of his managers, his wife, Mirredys Gonzalez, who is another manager, and his former neighbors at Villa Kennedy, the run-down San Juan public-housing project where he lived until a few years ago. To just about everybody else, he is Daddy Yankee.

Early success for Spear’s own label

Winston ‘Burning Spear’ Rodney has done the record label rounds, from Studio One to Island to Heartbeat. Now in his “pre-retirement” stage, as he puts it, his second album on his own Burning Music imprint, Our Music, has earned a nomination for the 2005 Reggae Grammy.

Of course, Grammy ground is not new territory for the man from the hills of St. Ann, birthplace of the man whose teachings he has been promoting for more than 30 years. And yes, Marcus Garvey does make an appearance among the 11 songs on Our Music ­ two, in fact, there is one song between ‘One Marcus’ and the album closing ‘Little Garvey’.

Fire in His Eyes

With a blazing new album out reggae maestro Capleton tells Davina Morris why he’s toppa tings

Spanish-based reggae label Minor7Flat5 recently released the collaborative album The Good, The Bad & The Blazing. Featuring Junior Kelly as ‘The Good’, Bounty Killer as ‘The Bad’ and… any guesses which red hot artist would claim to be ‘The Blazing’? Yep, Capleton — AKA the “fire man”— is the third piece in the puzzle and he was more than happy to tell us about the compilation album. But not before we got the pleasantries out the way…

The ‘Joseph Coat’ Effect: February A Banner Month for Jamaican Musicians

Needless to say, greatness in music, Jamaican or otherwise, is not simply a matter of birthdate. We have great entertainers born in every month, as is the case with other professions.

But we may be forgiven (with apologies to all the others) for highlighting the second month of the year.

In February, we celebrate -posthumously – not one but two major musicians, both of international renown.