Spice talks Culture Clash and Why She Doesn’t Want You To Call Her Queen of the Dancehall
Just Call The Mad Gyal “Queen of the Stage” One day before the Red Bull Culture Clash, Reshma B sat down with Spice for an exclusive Boomshots interview. As usual the Mad Gyal and the Reggae Girl About Town kept it 100% real. In the first segment of their epic 3-part reasoning session, they speak […]
NO LONG TALK: Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor on the Red Bull & Guinness Decade
Dancehall’s First Podcast Hits #10 In Fine Style To commemorate the series tenth episode, Man Like Marvin Sparks drew for the decade’s defining producer, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor. 2016 marks ten years on from his classic breakthrough riddim, Red Bull & Guinness. The riddim boasted voicings from Vybz Kartel, Wayne Marshall and Sizzla to a […]
Reasoning with Beenie Man: “The music is Jamaican; the problem is, America can make it too.”
The Doctor Talks Drake, Popcaan & Kartel “Drake from Canada—Beenie Man from Jamaica—dah one yah a murda! Zagga.” When Drake’s album Views dropped at the end of April, Popcaan fans were surprised to hear a new voice on “Controlla”—a vintage Beenie Man sample appeared where Popcaan’s lyrics used to be. With Drake’s album topping the […]
That Time Drake Almost Got Arrested With “Mava-Dado” & Other Exciting Tales
40 And The 6 God Regale Nardwuar With Dancehall War Stories Earlier this week Drizzy linked with fellow Canadian phenom Nardwuar aka the Human Serviette for a typically epic interview/gift-giving-b/show-and-tell session. Amongst many highlights gleaned by the good folks at Billboard were several dancehall-related anecdotes—including a massive big up for the World Boss Vybz Kartel. […]
Reasoning with Sly Dunbar: “I’ve Seen All The Changes”
The Master Drummer Turns 64 Today Perhaps the most celebrated drum and bass duo in history—regardless of genre—Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare were both accomplished studio musicians before they met in the mid 1970s. “You know that record that goes ‘I am the magnificent!’?” says Dunbar, speaking of Dave & Ansel Collins’ 1971 smash “Double […]
Reasoning with Capleton: “Music Is A Mission”
Throwback Q&A with The Prophet • New York City 2000 A.D. I had been listening to Capleton for years before I got the chance to interview him at Def Jam Records offices on Varick Street in Manhattan. He sat smoking beedies and a spliff with his manager Stuart Brown a.k.a. African Star in the record […]
Reasoning with Popcaan:
“We Godly, But we Unruly Same Way”
EXCLUSIVE: The Unruly Boss Kicks It With Boomshots Long before Andrae Sutherland was known as Popcaan, back in primary school—the Jamaican equivalent of elementary—he wrote a letter to God. He asked the Lord to “open my brain in school” and to let him prosper in life. Moreover he asked God to allow his parents and […]
Real Talk With Tanya Stephens: “I’m Telling The Truth—That’s The Only Thing I Know”
Maybe You Can Handle The Ride—But Can You Handle The Truth? It may be true that women are far and few between in the reggae industry. But there’s no disputing the fact that Tanya Stephen is one of the best in the business. And not the good for a female—she’s one of the greatest songwriters […]
Reasoning with Sister Nancy
Dancehall’s Original Muma Talks “Bam Bam,” Rihanna, and Kanye West Quick: what’s the most sampled song in reggae history? If you guessed “Bam Bam” by Sister Nancy you know your stuff. Her 1982 album cut has provided raw material for dozens of records for artists ranging from Chris Brown to Too $hot to Diamond D. […]
WATCH THIS: Cham Exclusive “When I’m In The Studio I’m Floating—And I Don’t Smoke”
Live From The Reggae Cruise, The Kid Chops It Up With The Reggae Girl About Town On board the second annual Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise, Boomshots caught up with Cham for an exclusive in-depth interview. We got the inside scoop on Lawless, his first album since the classic Ghetto Story, scheduled to drop in […]
No Long Talk: Daddy Ernie On Freedom of Choice: “Who Want Vex, Vex!”
Host of UK Radio’s Superjam Reflects On His Legacy If you weren’t in London from the ’90s, you may not be aware of Daddy Ernie or the power of his radio show, SuperJam. As he says: “Who’s Daddy Ernie? Some black DJ who used to be on a station in Brixton that everybody used to wear big gold chains and […]
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 […]