A rebel and his lawyer

Patrick ‘Tony Rebel’ Barrett is regarded as a ‘Rebel with distinction’, who ignites audiences locally and internationally with his conscious reggae lyrics, such as Jah By My Side, Sweet Jamaica, Loyal Soldier and Fresh Vegetable.

His first release was the single Casino in 1988. His big hit came in 1989 with the release of Fresh Vegetable. In 1992, he signed a deal with Columbia Records, who released Vibes of the Times the following year, and in 1994 he founded his own record label, Flames Productions.

Flourgon ‘Run Tings’ in late ’80s

Flourgon was one of the first dons of dancehall music. Born Michael May in Kingston, Flourgon began his career on the sound system circuit, performing with Stone Love, Small Axe, Rambo Mango and his own Sweet Love set. He often performed alongside his DJ sibling, Red Dragon, with whom he nurtured the careers of Buju Banton and Terry Ganzie.

Jamaican musician who named genre stays with the beat

When it comes to reggae music, there are still a few performers on the road who can boast of having been around since the genre’s early days.

Only one of them can rightfully claim to have named the genre.

Dave Stelfox on ‘white reggae’, once reviled, but now taking off around the world

For a small place, Jamaica exerts a big influence. It covers an area of less than 11,000 sq km, with fewer than 3 million inhabitants. But ask anyone with even a passing interest in music to name its principal export and you’ll get the same answer: reggae. Once it leaves Kingston, however, this Jamaican product takes on new tinges.

No Strings Now

Things have been weird for Ali Campbell since he announced his split from UB40, the massively successful British reggae band he formed with his brother Robin and six schoolfriends nearly 30 years ago.

The Dorset-based vocalist has experienced the pain of being shunned by his former band-mates and the joy of launching a new band in which he can play what he wants without having to put every decision to an eight man vote.

Jamaica Gleaner News – The Jamaican music video – The Best and worst of times

Poco Party (Lovindeer) – This one captures pocomania at its best and the scene where Uncle Tom loses his teeth is priceless.

Wild Gilbert – Lovindeer scored again with this one. Anybody who says they could not relate to even one line, is embellishing.

Mikey Dread Remembered

Like most tales of triumph and tragedy, the life, career, and untimely passing of reggae pioneer Mikey Dread at age 53 will live on long beyond his time on earth. There aren’t many artists in the history of the genre who were able to gain acceptance for reggae the way Mikey did. But he didn’t do it as a singer or as a producer (which he would later become known for) but rather as an on-air personality at Jamaica Broadcast Company (JBC) in the mid-1970s.

Alpha Blondy is back with a globally minded, trilingual reggae album

That veteran African reggae star Alpha Blondy is back with a new album, Jah Victory – a nod to his 1982 debut Jah Glory – is a clear sign that things are going more smoothly in his country.

A half-decade back, the Ivory Coast icon vowed not to record another album until the political situation improved. A peace treaty signed between the government and rebel forces in March of last year brought relief.

Toots kicks off Do the Reggae world tour

Reggae icon Toots and the Maytals kicks of the first leg of his Do the Reggae world tour this month, celebrating the 40th anniversary recording of Do the Reggae which has been credited for giving the genre its name.

Maxi gets close to UB40

Lovers Rock singer Maxi Priest will replace Ali Campbell as UB40′s frontman, a British newspaper has reported.

UB40′s hometown ‘paper’, The Birmingham Mail, in its March 14 edition, quoted a source close to the band as saying Priest has recorded a version of Marley’s I Shot The Sheriff with them.