OK, this is really getting ridiculous.

When last we polished off a plate of oxtails at the Jamaican Jerk Hut, the venerable Caribbean eatery at 15th and South, owner Lisa Wilson was still waging a David-and-Goliath battle with residents of Symphony House, a 32-story luxury condominium complex at Broad and Spruce.

via Annette John-Hall: Dispute between Jamaican Jerk Hut and Symphony House escalates.

It is Saturday evening at the Sweet Easy Restaurant in Oysterbay, Dar es Salaam, as advertised, reggae artiste Jhikoman is on stage performing.He is backed by his band Afrikabisa; it is one of those rare live performances in town which is opposed to the famous playback that most artistes use at concerts.

His ecstatic audience was made up of mainly tourists who just couldn’t have enough of his soothing songs which have become very popular in the Scandinavian countries.Though Jhikoman goes through his set unperturbed, what hits me odd is that among the audience Tanzanians are only a handful.

via Is reggae music on its deathbed in TZ?.

After a dry patch with international superstars giving Kenya a wide berth, the big shows have finally made a comeback, writes DAVID ODONGO

The last three years were particularly a dry period for the Kenyan entertainment scene. We had to crane our necks towards Uganda, as international acts livened their weekends. We looked towards Tanzania enviously as superstars wowed Dar es Salaam and Arusha, from Busta Rhymes to Alicia Keys, Akon, Shaggy, Beenie Man and Forest Whitaker. Spragga Benz, Kevin Little performed in Kampala.

via The Return of Big Shows.

A couple of weeks ago a documentary called The Story Of Lover’s Rock received a limited release in a handful of London cinemas – and it took them all by surprise.Most only booked it for one night, but quickly extended the run when their initial screenings sold out well in advance.In South London, where lovers rock was born, both the Ritzy in Brixton and the Streatham Odeon had to turn people away on the opening night and ended up scheduling additional shows to cope with demand.

via How South London gave the world lover’s rock

Miami Broward One Carnival dodges wicked weather

This weekend’s wicked weather was no match for carnival.

Thousands of revelers turned out to Sun Life Stadium Sunday to experience South Florida’s take on the age-old tradition.

Despite the drizzle, the annual parade of masquerade bands — with its dancers in sequined costumes and feathered headdresses, steel bands and 18-wheelers blasting infectious soca music — did not disappoint.

The Aggrolites get down to reggae’s heart and soul

Jesse Wagner grew up in a musical family. Both his father and uncle played in soul bands during the ’60s, performing Stax and Motown standards, which became the music of Wagner’s youth. When he was a teenager, looking for modern music and his own identity, he still longed to hear horns and gravitated to ska. From there, it was only a matter of time before he discovered reggae.

“When I was a kid, I got way into ska, but I thought ska was all about skanking it up, getting in the pit, and wearing checkered socks,” he says.

Kartel’s arrest could be first of many in Jamaica music industry, Police say

The surprise arrest of controversial Dancehall artiste, Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer could be the first of many within the Jamaican music industry as police claim more artistes are under investigation for various murders.

Kartel was arrested at his New Kingston hotel room on Thursday night after law enforcement officials discovered a small quantity of marijuana there. On Friday, police investigators raided two St. Andrew based properties allegedly owned by “Di Teacha,” as well as one in St. Catherine; Reportedly, Kartel is being investigated regarding the discovery of a badly burnt body found at one of his residences in Havendale, St. Andrew & the searches were part of a major case that the “Worl’ Boss” could be involved in.

Gambia: Dancehall Warrior On the Spotlight

King Zai, better knowned by his music sobriquet -Dancehall Warrior, is no doubt one of the hottest rising dancehall-reggae artist in the whole of Brikama.

The talented youngster, who was inspired into music because of his love for music, started his solo career way back in 1998, with a sound system called TC Sound.

Story of the Song: ‘Too Experienced’ written on a bus Bob Andy attaches no specific meaning to the song

Too Experienced is one of Bob Andy’s more popular songs, not only with audiences but also with those who have covered his songs. Barrington Levy, Eddie Lovette, Los Pericos (from Argentina), Ms Dynamite and Winston Francis have all done versions of Too Experienced – a song Bob Andy still does not know the meaning of, over 40 years after he wrote it on a bus from Parade in downtown Kingston to Cross Roads.

Lover’s rock: the story of reggae’s Motown

In 1979, Janet Kay’s piercing falsetto was one of the defining sounds of the summer. Silly Games, her bittersweet ode to a faltering relationship, enjoyed heavy radio play, thanks in part to a subtle arrangement by songwriter/producer Dennis Bovell, a distinctive drum pattern from Aswad’s Angus Gaye and distribution on a Warners subsidiary. The song reached No 2, the highest chart placing for a black, British woman at that point. It also signalled a coming of age for lover’s rock, the softened, British reggae sub-genre that focused on romance, but, as noted in Menelik Shabazz’s documentary The Story of Lover’s Rock, involved so much more than setting teenaged heartbreak to a reggae beat.