Roots reggae siren Likkle Mai branches out

You could call Likkle Mai a reggae singer, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But you wouldn’t be quite right either.

The diminutive vocalist– “likkle” is Jamaican patois for “little”–is nothing less than a reggae evangelist, intent on spreading the gospel far and wide. But rather than preach to the converted, as she arguably did while singing for the acclaimed, authenticity-minded group Dry & Heavy, Likkle Mai is reaching out to a less specialized audience.

All about Marley

DJ organizes benefit rooted in reggae’s ideals

Jessica McNamara seems very enthusiastic and excited about the realization of her dream. “Every Feb. 6 I’m wondering why there isn’t something going on for his birthday,” she says of her musical idol. After toying with the idea of hosting her own celebration for over a year, she finally went into action.

Caribbean collaboration: Sounds good

As Caribbean music takes its place in the United States and the rest of the world, Caribbean artistes continue to work together to make the music stronger.

Following the saying, “Unity is Strength,” entertainers combine their efforts for the betterment of the region. Some of the artistes who have made music together include Kevin Lyttle, Spragga Benz, Macka Diamond, Mr. Vegas, Machell Montano, Denise Belfon, Shaggy, Rihanna, Elephant Man and Sean Paul.

Air Jamaica Jazz fest 2K6 brought together jazzers old and new

The past staging of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival will be remembered as the one which confirmed the event as a world-class production.

True, there were a few hiccups – in particular the band changes, a few of which were excessively long – but this year, more than any previous one, Jamaican turned out to enjoy good music and the great atmosphere and even with the minor crush of Saturday night’s massive crowd, convivality generally prevailed.

The Rough Guide to Dub

Without the creativity of the Jamaican music scene in the early 1970s, modern pop music is unimaginable. Not only did reggae give the world both “rap” and dance-floor MCs who “played” their sound systems, but it also gave the world “dub” (essentially, separating a rhythm track from the rest of the song and then remixing and enhancing that rhythm track with new instruments and reverb).

Listening to this collection is to be reminded of the edginess and richness of Jamaica’s music scene. It is also to be reminded that the music, no matter how experimental, was always sweet and accessible.

Matisyahu’s Jewish floetry prevails

At first glance, it would seem as though Matisyahu is a huge practical joke put out to see if people will really pay attention to a notion as bogus as a Jewish rapper. But surprisingly, orthodox Jewish rapper Matisyahu, real name Matthew Miller, seems to have found a shtick that, well, sticks.

Matisyahu’s heavily reggae-influenced beats serve as an unlikely but fitting backdrop to his raps about his faith. In fact, Live At Stubb’s could be a religious album, with the majority of the lyrics covering different aspects of his spiritual journey to Judaism.

Dreadlock holiday for Third World

Roots reggae – the most pure form of the genre – runs through Steven “Cat” Coore’s blood.

But over the years many purists have doubted it because his band, Third World, played a style of preened reggae that mixed in pop, rock, and R&B. They were seemingly dead-set on crossover success.

Marley Family Ready To Reggae

It happened in Jamaica in 2002. It was followed by another in Miami the following year and one in Ethiopia last year.

Next week Friday, February 3 Bob Marley, the reggae legends birthday celebrated in grand concerts at the three venues mentioned above will be repeated in the Garden City of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

Marley’s 61st birthday programme organised by the Bob and Rita Malrley Foundations will be celebrated through three major concerts and a symposium in Kumasi and Accra.

Reggae legend still has rivers to cross

Jimmy Cliff realised he had a good voice when he started singing at school during lunchtime and the girls came running.

“They said they thought they heard a radio. I said, ‘No, that was me’. And that’s when I thought, ‘Hey, I think I’ve got something here’,” he laughs huskily.

“And even when I sing now, people are attracted to my voice,” says Cliff, 57, who heads to New Zealand in March.

Damian Marley to meld reggae styles in Aspen

The child of reggae king Bob Marley and 1976 Miss World Cindy Breakspeare, Marley lived in two worlds: his father’s musical realm, which revolved around downtown Kingston, Jamaica, and his mother’s well-to-do uptown existence. Halfway Tree is the name of the roundabout that separates downtown from uptown Kingston.

But the 28-year-old, the youngest son of Bob Marley, straddled a musical world as well. From his father, he got a massive hit of roots reggae, a style that emphasizes conscious lyrics, gentle Caribbean rhythms and live instrumentation. However, in the ’80s, which were the younger Marley’s formative decade, dancehall had become the rage in Jamaica. Analogous to American hip-hop, dancehall was a fiercer type of music in its lyrics and beats. Moreover, it was a style oriented to DJs and producers, heavy on sampling existing tracks.