Lucky Dube’s Killers Convicted
They tried to run, but they could not hide. Even their last, desperate escape attempt—using a brick to bash a police officer as their prison van arrived at Johannesberg High Court a few days ago—proved unsuccessful. And so Sfiso Mhlanga and Mbuti Mabe were back in court with their own heads bandaged. Their accomplice Julius Gxowa, who […]
REMIX: Mavado & Busta Rhymes “So Blessed”
Busta Rhymes just linked up with Mavado for the remix to “I’m So Special.” Like Jay-Z, G-Unit, Wyclef, Uncle Murda, Lil Kim AND Foxy Brown, Busta’s feeling the Gully God. But don’t call Busta a waggonist. He may have trimed his locks, but he’s always kept in touch with his Caribbean roots by showing love […]
Rihanna Affidavit
The year was 2006, Rihanna was 18 years old and performing in Jamaica for the first time. She had no drama with Chris Brown, just a song to sing. Can it be that it was all so simple then? Let’s go to the video tape: While you listen to the girl sing, check out the […]
VIDEO CLASH: Serani “No Games” Old to the New
The official video for Serani’s smash debuts on MTV next week. We’ve got it now: Question: Do you like the new official Universal Music Group video better than the yard version of the “No Games” video?
The Post Reggae Era
Remember that LKJ poem “It Noh Funny“? “People sayin’ dis, people sayin’ dat / bout the youth of today / how dem gone astray / And it noh funny” Well people have been saying this and that about the decline of reggae music lately. Despite the efforts of dancehall bashers, fossilized old-school devotees, the government, […]
REMIX: Biggie & Busy
Biggie Smalls & Busy Signal “Dead Wrong / Too Much Gun” The Remix March 9 is not a day to celebrate. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Biggie Smalls’ murder in Los Angeles. Our thoughts and prayers are with Christopher Wallace’s close friends and family. Unbelievable was deep, and Notorious was heartbreaking, but as Jay-Z […]
K’Naan To The World
Marley connoisseurs have been up on K’Naan for years now, but now that the poet/emcee/self-proclaimed “visual stenographer” is finally getting his shine, the rest of the world is starting to catch up.
Mavado on Hot 97
The Gully God passes through the #1 Hip Hop station in America to chop it up with Angie Martinez and promote his new album, Mr. Brooks: A Better Tomorrow.
Reggae Grammy Rewind
“Reggae Get The Grammy.” All These Years Later… do you still feel happy? “They nominate five ah we,” Yellowman chants over a bouncy Junjo Lawes riddim track. “Steel Pulse Black Uhuru and me / Peter Tosh and also Jimmy.”
Spear Burning Over Yonder
Photograph excerpted from SOUL REBEL: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley © 2009 by David Burnett. All rights reserved. Published by Insight Editions. Used with permission. www.InsightEditions.com This past Sunday, while 19-year-old Chris Brown was chilling in the L.A. County Jail and 20-year-old Rihanna was recovering from her injuries at a local hospital, 63-year-old Winston […]
WATCH THIS: Jay-Z feat. Santigold “Brooklyn”
Santigold & Jigga Go Hard For BK With A “Boom Bye Bye like Buju.” Brap. It should have come as no surprise when Jay-Z jumped on that Mavado track. First of all, Brooklyn is damn near Jamaica’s 15th parish, and its dancehall scene is a cosmos unto itself—impossible to overlook. Ever since Jay came out […]
WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Smoke Some High Grade”
Busy Signal Blazes Up The Maddest T-Pain Remix Can’t believe it? It ain’t nuttin new. Alliance pass through…