WATCH THIS: Ini Kamoze “Hill & Gully Ride (Remix)” Official Music Video
The Lyrical Gangster Rides Again You don’t have to be a reggae fanatic to know Ini Kamoze’s voice. He’s the one who sings the hook—”Out in the streets they call it murder“—on Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley’s 2005 banger “Welcome To Jamrock.” And back in 1994, the “lyrical gangster” was responsible for the worldwide smash hit […]
HEAR THIS: Alkaline “Anywhere We Go” & “In This World”
Plug Into Both Sides Of The Alkaline Battery An Alkaline battery has two sides, one positive and one negative. The same goes for the controversial dancehall star of the same name. When I sat down to chat with him last December at 21st Hapilos headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, he was already emerging as one of […]
WATCH THIS: Black Lion & The Wizard ft. Kat Dahlia, Nyanda & Kemist “Mash It Up” Official Music Video
What could be more fun than rolling through Kingston street dances with Kat Dahlia, Nyanda (of Brick & Lace), and The Wizard? How about adding Black Lion and Kemist to the mix—and shooting a music video for their posse cut “Mash It Up” while you’re at it? Like the song says, “they do what they do and and […]
WATCH THIS: Timberlee “Shmurda Freestyle” Video
The Man Dem Say She Body Well Shampoo Squeaky Remember Timberlee, the dancehall chica who made you “Bubble Like Soup” in a pot? She’s the latest to jump on the beat to Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Nigga” with a fiery freestyle. Although the dancehall artist confirms that she’s “definitely not changing my musical style,” she does […]
WATCH THIS: Ini Kamoze “Hill & Gully Ride (Remix)” Music Video Teaser
You Better Hold On Good The original Hot Stepper (aka the “Lyrical Gangsta”—Murdera!) links up with Jamaican producer Kareem Burrell of XTM Nation (son of the late great Fatis Burrell, founder of the legendary Xterminator label) for this 2014 update of a classic Fatis production, first released 30 years ago. Today we get the first […]
Who is Shifta?
Born In Jamaica, Based In Miami, Ready For The World Dancehall is undergoing a changing of the guard right now with new talent bubbling up from the underground to the top of the game faster than ever. One of the new names to catch our eye and our ear is a youth called Shifta, whose […]
Spice & Vybz Kartel “Conjugal Visit” Official Music Video
Prepare Yourself For Romping Shop Part Few It’s been quite a while since Spice and Vybz Kartel hooked up. So much has changed in the six years since their smash hit “Romping Shop.” That sexy selection became one of the biggest international hits for both artists, even as it created a furor in Jamaica leading […]
Damian Marley & Friends Rock The Boat on the Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise
As Bob Marley Once Sang, We Were “All In The Same Boat, Rockin on The Same Rock” When The Wailers linked with Lee “Scratch” Perry to record their classic African Herbsman selection “Don’t Rock My Boat” back in 1973, chances are Bob Marley had no idea that 40-plus years in the future his family would […]
Full Moon Playlist
Ten Scary Selections for Your Halloween Party Playlist With fall comes one of the most festive holidays, Halloween. Elaborate costumes emulate scary and fictional characters; superheroes and sexy alter-egos. Children trick or treat for sweet candies and visit pumpkin patches. However, the holiday was created to remember the dead saints or “hallows.” This Boomshots […]
Top Ten At-Sea Selections
A Boomshots Playlist Inspired By The Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise “Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean sea,” Super Cat once observed. “In case you never know, it fulla mic MCs.” The Land of Wood and Water is also full of boats and fishermen and as such it’s inspired countless reggae songs about the […]
Gunman World: Inside Jamaica’s Shotta Culture
Exclusive Excerpt from Mass Appeal Mag Cover Story by Rob Kenner, Photography by Ruddy Roye Jesquan Spence was not quite two years old when he saw the police kill his father. “The soldiers come in and take ’way the phones and say everybody fi sit down,” says the child’s grandmother, Michelle Davis, recalling that fateful […]
WATCH THIS: I-Octane “What a Way We Shattin'” Official Music Video
The Shot Heard Round The Globe As mentioned in the latest Mass Appeal cover story, “Gunman World,” Jamaican music has a long tradition of songs in which a metaphorical gun salute is the highest form of praise. The title of I-Octane’s latest track, “What a Way We Shattin,” voiced on DJ Sunshine’s “Wul Dem” riddim, […]