Top 10 Johnny Osbourne Selections
The cold frost of winter, makes for the perfect season, for hot chocolate in the form of 10 decadent songs from the living legend, Johnny Osbourne. With a career that spans over 50 years, and music still in high demand, “The Godfather of Dancehall” created a plethora of songs for music lovers to indulge in. More […]
Reasoning with Tony Rebel before Rebel Salute: “I Rebel against things that are Wrong”
The Rebel With a Cause Looks Back Over 22 Years of Roots & Culture No meat, no alcohol, but plenty vibes. No hip-hop, no EDM, but nuff niceness. No stampedes, no slackness, but total niceness. Over the past 22 years, Rebel Salute has stuck to a winning formula and evolved into the people’s choice as […]
HEAR THIS: Inner Circle ft. Chronixx & Jacob Miller “Tenement Yard (News Carryin’ Dread)”
Jacob “Killer” Miller was one of reggae’s greatest performers. His merry, manic brilliance shines through clearly in the crucial 1980 concert doc Heartland Reggae, particularly the performance of “Tired Fe Lick Weed In A Bush” during which he puffs a huge spliff on stage while using his microphone to taunt the cops at the venue […]
Chronixx Talks “Tenement Yard” Collab with Inner Circle’s Roger Lewis
“Re-Presentation” of Jacob Miller’s 1975 Classic Set to Debut Monday on Mass Appeal Forty years ago, the late great Jacob “Killer” Miller released “Tenement Yard”, his first hit with the Inner Circle band. “Dreadlocks can’t live in a tenement yard,” the young Rasta rebel sang, lamenting all the “watchy watchy” people chatting his business in […]
Flashback Friday: Tenor Saw “Lots of Sign”
Tenor Saw Dies Tragically, Leaving Behind An Anthology of Dancehall Poetry Clive Bright aka Tenor Saw was a prominent Jamaican singer with an exceptional voice and a conscious, spiritual vibe to his music. Discovered at 19 years old by dancehall legend, Sugar Minott of YouthMan Promotions, who describes the first […]
Lee “Scratch” Perry Wants You To Stop Smoking Ganja
The Reggae Pioneer Tells The Fader About New Music, Old Studios, and Negative Influence Lee “Scratch” Perry, who crafted sounds for Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and countless others while releasing genre-formative albums of his own, is relaxing in a grand old English guest house in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. He has just gotten through performing at the […]
His Imperial Majesty
On November 2, 1930, the official crowning of a monarch occurred in Ethiopia Peoples of African descent, come from a lineage of kings and queens, as referenced in the bible. On this day, November 2, in 1930, Emperor Haile Selassie I and his wife, Empress Menen Asfaw were formally crowned with regalia, together in Ethiopia. […]
Reasoning with Lee “Scratch” Perry, The 2nd Chapter: “Too Much Weed, So I Get Crazy”
Scratch Shares His Thoughts on Sex, Ganja, and the Illuminati When we last caught up with the Upsetter, he was sharing his thoughts on music—both his latest releases, and his seminal early recordings at the Black Ark. Of course, Scratch being Scratch, the conversation also veered into related topics such as Duppies, the true racial […]
HEAR THIS: Bunny Rugs “Alone Again”
A Lost Session With Sly & Robbie Comes To Light This morning’s email contained a rare gift for all reggae lovers to cherish: a message from Guillaume Bougard, sharing this never-before-heard recording of the melancholy ballad “Alone Again” voiced the late great Bunny Rugs backed by Sly & Robbie. “Bunny Rugs recorded ‘Alone Again’ in 2010 […]
The Queen of Reggae Gets Her Groove On at Groovin’ In The Park
“This is My Moment,” said Marcia Griffiths, “And I’m Gonna Live It.” Marcia Griffiths, the undisputed Queen of reggae, hit Jamaica Queens NYC to celebate 50 years in the music biz at Groovin in the Park this June 29. Now in its 4th year, Groovin in the Park is an upscale affair that attracted 25,000 […]
Japanese Melodica Master Anna i Talks Augustus Pablo and His “Far East Style”
Classical Piano Lessons At Age Eight Didn’t Thrill Her, Then She Discovered Augustus Pablo July 1st marks the 20th anniversary of International Reggae Day a celebration of the global impact of Jamaica’s musical culture. And there’s no greater representative than Tokyo-born Anna i. She always loved music, so at the age of eight her parents gave her classical […]
Jabba Pledges Best of the Best 2014 Will Be 100% Caribbean, Says Reggae and Hip-Hop “Come In Like Oil and Water”
Promoter Promises to “Learn From His Mistakes” at BOTB 2014: Reggae & Soca—but NO Hip-Hop For the past eight years Best of the Best has been a fixture of Memorial Day Weekend in Miami, a big outdoor reggae and soca show that normally features top hip-hop acts as well. But this year, Reshma B caught up with Jabba who […]