HEAR THIS: Mr. Vegas “Dancehall Dab”
New Year, New Style, New Dance A Lick It’s straaange how the dances are changing, as Barrington Levy observed many years ago. Just the other day our peoples at Mass Appeal made a flex down to ATL where the Migos explained the origins of the dab—the dance that looks sorta like you’re sneezing into your […]
WATCH THIS: RDX “Foot A Talk” Official Music Video
RDX Gets The Whole World Dancing RDX is an abbreviation for Research Department Formula X, a high explosive developed by the U.S. military that’s more powerful than TNT. But today we’re talking about RDX the Jamaican dancehall duo, aka Renegade and Delomar, whose explosive catalog of high-energy tunes has made them a favorite of the […]
No Long Talk: Serani Relives the Anger Management Riddim
Ten Years After Daseca’s Breakthrough Riddim, Serani Reflects Multi-instrumentalist and producer Serani (former one-third of Jamaican producers Daseca) reminisced on the creation, influence and legacy of Anger Management riddim on its 10th anniversary. Though officially released towards the end of 2004, it buss (a.k.a. impacted) in 2005. Made on a PC via a Triton keyboard […]
HEAR THIS: R. City ft. Adam Levine, Agent Sasco, Popcaan, Kardinal Offishall & Bunji Garlin “Locked Away” Dancehall Remix
USVI x JA x TNT x TDot Link Up On This Mega Refix Over New Year’s weekend, Shaggy & Friends annual fundraiser went down in Kingston, Jamaica with the usual star-studded guest list—hailing from yard and abroad—all to raise funds for Jamaica’s Bustamante Hospital for Children. (That “one ticket = one life” slogan is no […]
“Sorry,” Not Sorry: A Justin Bieber Remix Rewind
Biebz x Skrillex Have The Dance On Lock Ever since the “Tropical House” track “Sorry” dropped last October, it’s been going HAM in the dancehall. If the ragga drum patterns didn’t tip you off, then those New Zealand bashment girls in the official video—Ladies of ReQuest joining forces with the Royal Dance Crew—must have driven […]
HEAR THIS: Popcaan “Where We Come From” Heatwave Remix
Unruly UK Refix Pon The Golden Hen Riddim It’s been a minute since we heard from our peoples across the pond, but the Heatwave just popped three new refixes into our inbox. As usual, we’re sharing the best bits straightaway. If you’re like us, you’ve kept the title track to Popcaan’s Where We Come From […]
Billboard’s Best Reggae Albums of 2015
Boomshots Selects The Year’s Essential Reggae Discs As reggae lovers mark the 70th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth, the music that the Tuff Gong spread around the globe has come full circle. While dancehall permutations from Major Lazer to Justin Bieber reverberate throughout pop culture, and Brits from Joss Stone to Keith Richards try their […]
The Biggest Riddims of 2015
Who Run The Place? Johnny Wonder, CEO of 21st Hapilos, Counts Down The Year’s Top Juggling When pressed to identify his most influential rhythm track or “riddim” of all time, the late Clement S. “Coxsone” Dodd chose the “Real Rock.” And Downbeat ought to know, half a century ago his house band, Sound Dimension, laid […]
WATCH THIS: Lady Bee & Noise Cans ft. Mr. Vegas “Bucka” Official Music Video
Mr. Vegas Puts the “V” in “Versatility” Clifford Smith, better known to reggae and dancehall fans worldwide as Mr. Vegas, put the V in versatility. Earlier this year, he released the critically acclaimed Lovers Rock and Soul album, an excursion into vintage reggae. After that he dropped a classic ’80s-style dancehall track (set to King […]
PREMIERE: I-Octane “Hello” Mixtape
Download A Musical Holiday Present From Conquer The Globe X Street Team “Them say we would not turn a star but we now become an icon,” sings I-Octane on his aptly titled rub-a-dub selection “Life is What You Make It.” Since setting his mission statement in the establishment of Conquer The Globe productions, the “Hot […]
HEAR THIS: Jacob Miller & Ray I “Natty Christmas” LP
Sounds Called Bruk Pocket Day We Never Feel No Way There’s nothing quite like Christmas in Jamaica, but no matter where you are celebrating this day, you can do it inna rub-a-dub style. And there’s no better way to do that than with the rockers master Jacob Miller alongside the Inner Circle Rhythm Section plus […]
WATCH THIS: Lucas DiPasquale ft. Popcaan “No Talking” Video Shoot Behind-The-Scenes
Video After The Jump… Growing up in Markham, Ontario, which lies within the greater Toronto metropolitan area Lucas DiPasquale was exposed to a certain amount of Caribbean culture and Jamaica patois without even trying. But when he posted his “Popcaan mashup” on YouTube back in April 2014, few understood how a skinny white kid could […]