I’d been to Jamaica a few decades ago, when we could barely afford the airfare. We did what most tourists do: stayed at all-inclusives in Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Negril. At Rick’s Café we drank too much rum and watched the sunset as maniacs dived off the cliffs.

This time I wanted to go the road less travelled but I also wanted to revisit Negril and Mo-Bay and experience the laid-back island life. I was also armed with binoculars and a new zoom lens: a passion for flora and fauna had usurped — but not replaced — rum and reggae.

via It’s Jamaica, mon … where you go to really get away.

Behind the Screen at Tracks & Records on Tuesday treated young patrons to some classic Jamaican music, courtesy of the Captain, Freddie McGregor.The event began with the Big Ship band and Dean Frazer playing some old-school instrumentals.

Patrons quickly assembled in areas where they could best see the veteran in action.

via Freddie McGregor delivers Behind the Screen classic.

In its fight to earn freedom for Mark Myrie, the team, led by Chokwe Lumumba, is starting a campaign aimed at the United States Supreme Court.

The campaign, another letter-writing effort, tries to raise awareness about Buju’s drug case and points out the team’s stance against the artiste’s incarceration.

On wednesday, Lumumba’s team released a letter to the US Supreme Court, saying Buju has filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari, seeking a review and reversal of his conviction and subsequent 10-year sentencing on drug charges, stemming from a December 2009 incident in Florida.

via Buju’s lawyers start new campaign.

Prominent Dancehall/Reggae superstar, Busy Signal has returned to the streets of Jamaica after serving his six month prison term in the United States on a charge of absconding bail.

The popular entertainer, whose real name is Glendale Goshia Gordon arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on Friday night. Busy Signal was met at the airport by his manager, Shane Brown and fellow Dancehall superstar, Elephant Man, as well as friends and family.

via Back on home turf: Busy Signal returns to Jamaica after release from U.S. prison.

AARON Talbert, VP Records’ vice-president for Sales & Marketing, thinks the real problem for reggae music at the moment is its failure to produce a new superstar.

“What’s happened to reggae is that we have not broken a new artiste since Sean Paul in 2002,” Talbert said to the Jamaica Observer at last Friday’s launch of former Prime Minister Edward Seaga’s four-CD box set, Origins of Jamaican Music, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

via Reggae awaits next SUPERSTAR.

How did the brand, scourge of schoolchildren, become the music genre’s footwear of choice? A new book about this strange love affair explains why Kingston’s reggae stars regularly travelled to buy up the Somerset firm’s wares

via Clarks, the shoes that tap to Jamaica’s reggae beat.

In the glorious eras of the 1980s and ’90s of reggae/dancehall music, there were various recording artistes who held major sway in the Jamaican music industry.Many of the artistes of the era were so good at their craft, that some music lovers will argue that local music was at its best in the ’80s and ’90s.If that is the case, why are so many of those artistes missing from the scene today?

via Dancehall veterans left in the dust of time?.

One of the most popular and controversial books documenting the life of late Jamaican Reggae legend, Bob Marley will hit the shelves for a second time in the New Year.

Marley and Me: The Real Bob Marley Story has been scheduled for a February 2013 re-release by Kingston-based publishing house, LMH Publishing. The second edition of Marley and Me will be unveiled nearly 18 years after the original version of the book hit stores and could be released on what would have been Bob Marley’s 68th birthday on February 6, 2013.

via New edition of popular Marley book set for release on singer’s birthday.

Pop Quiz: What is the most successful reggae song in 2012? Who won the 2012 Grammy for best reggae album?

Too many Jamaicans are not able to answer those questions correctly. Reggae music has come a long way since its inception in the 1960s but the evolution seems to be greeted with waning interest.

It is unfortunate that the birthplace of one of the most unique and transcending music genres seems to have forgotten about it.

via Reggae searches for new greats – international charts still dominated by veterans.

Half-way up the stairs to the fourth floor at The Gleaner’s North Street, Kingston, office, Jahmali responds to the standard query about his well-being with “great!”

A few steps pass as he expands briefly that it is the best of musical times for him, a recent return from a performance in Bermuda part of the reason for the buoyancy (later he adds that there are also shows in Costa Rica and Trinidad this year and European festivals in 2013).

There is also his upcoming 15-track album Eclipse, which includes Comatose, Country Road, Revolving Door and Happy Ending Love Story.

via Best of musical times for Jahmali.