CD Review: Abdel Wright – Abdel Wright
Have you ever heard of Abdel Wright? No? Me neither. That is, until the CD landed on my doorstep. He is a Jamaican singer songwriter who delivers a radio friendly brand of reggae and folk.
Dancehall reggae sometimes seems like a furiously insular form of music, but it’s not, and the rookie pop-star Rihanna is only the latest singer to discover how versatile the genre’s spring-loaded electronic rhythms can be.
All the world’s a stage for Daddy Yankee
Sitting in his suite in a Times Square hotel, sporting Rocawear and a white Yankee cap tilted to the side in just the right way, Puerto Rican reggaetón rapper Daddy Yankee had arrived. He was on a multi-city arena tour (his album “Barrio Fino” [Sony] has sold more than 3 million copies), and he was scheduled to play last Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards telecast in Miami Beach. After almost a decade in the underground, Daddy Yankee has gone worldwide.
Though considered the father of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc is often overlooked today.
The Jamaican-born artist was responsible for laying much of the music’s foundation. By spinning two copies of the same record on separate turntables, he invented the breakbeat — an extended rhythmic section from a hit song to which people can dance longer, a DJ can scratch or a hip-hopper can rap. He also came up with the term “B-boy” for break dancer.
Jamaican music industry loses US$ millions through intellectual property piracy
The Jamaican music industry, the world’s leading exporter of reggae music, is losing millions of dollars through intellectual property (IP) piracy and it is revenue that the country can ill afford to lose as it continues to develop its economy. So said one of the world’s leading experts on intellectual property law, Professor Doris Long.
Lopez, Williams Recording Reggaeton Song
Jennifer Lopez was in Puerto Rico this week to record a reggaeton song with rapper-producer Pharrell Williams.
The 37-year-old singer-actress arrived Tuesday to work on the track, which will be produced by top reggaeton duo LunyTunes, El Vocero and El Nuevo Dia newspapers reported.
Daddy Yankee becomes a breakout star
For a man who has been blasted by an AK-47, had part of an earlobe ripped off by a hysterical fan and is draped in so many diamonds he looks as if he’s crashed into a Harry Winston display case, Daddy Yankee has an alarmingly light security detail.
He’s in New York with a swarm of publicists, but no posse, to promote the U.S. leg of the “Who’s Your Daddy?” tour that opens Saturday at Madison Square Garden
Reggaeton revolution hits valley
The beat is still hip-hop, but with a fusion of dancehall reggae, merengue, salsa and cumbia, and the lyrics are in Spanish.
The Puerto Rican-driven musical craze has been exploding in the United States with artists like Daddy Yankee selling more than a million copies of his latest album, “Barrio Fino,” and launching an arena tour in New York today.
I Wayne’s ‘Lava Ground’ – One Of Year’s Best Singles
Roots and culture artists have long been a constant in Jamaica, from the influence of legends like Bob Marley to conscious roots dancehall singers like Garnet Silk. However, in the summer of 2004 a new and powerfully distinctive voice emerged on the reggae music scene. With a fresh timbre, substantive lyrics, and a passionate performance, this artist has almost single handedly led the new wave of roots and culture reggae music that has swept the island of Jamaica.
Damian Marley has his father’s thigh-skimming dreadlocks and the fine features of his Miss World mother, but when he takes to the stage he has an energy all his own.
The slender 27-year-old, the youngest of Bob Marley’s seven sons and the product of his affair with former beauty queen Cindy Breakspeare, is an animated column of kinetics, bounding about as his explosive single Welcome to Jamrock sets the dance floor alight.
