Xana Romeo Talks About Her Debut Album “Wake Up” and Finding Her Own Way
A Reggae Legend’s Daughter Creating Conscious Reverberations Forty years ago Maxwell Livingston Smith, better known as Max Romeo, released his classic album War Inna Babylon on Island Records. The album featured classic hits like “Chase The Devil” (which would later be sampled by Kanye West for Jay Z’s song “Lucifer”). This song sent fans into […]
HEAR THIS: Major Lazer x Bad Royale
(ft. Toots & The Maytals) “My Number”
“The Dons of Caribbean Bass” Shamelessly Jack “54-46” The latest Major Lazer heat rock comes courtesy of living legend Toots Hibbert, the man who popularized the term “reggae” on his 1968 song “Do The Reggay.” As such, you might think Toots would be afforded a certain amount of respect—perhaps even have his name mentioned in […]
American Reggae Acts Dominate 2017 Grammy Nominations
Three Out of Six Nominees Are Based in the U.S.A. Earlier today The Recording Academy announced the 2017 Grammy Award nominations. Beyoncé topped all nominees with nine nods while Drake, Rihanna, and Kanye West snagged eight each. Rihanna & Drake’s dancehall cut “Work” was nominated for Record of the Year, although Drizzy’s chart-toppers “One Dance” and “Controller” were snubbed. […]
HEAR THIS: “Super Hi-Fi Plays Nirvana”
(Full Album Stream) PREMIERE
Grunge In Dub With Nuff Trombone Back when Ezra Gale—the bassist for undergound Brooklyn ensemble Super Hi-Fi—was in college, another band he played in opened for Nirvana. Now, 25 years after the Seattle trio’s classic Nevermind, he and Super Hi-Fi decided to put a very different spin on Kurt Cobain’s songbook. Super Hi-Fi Plays Nirvana […]
HEAR THIS: Tarrus Riley “Crime-Free Christmas”
Singy Singy Prays “Don’t Let Bloodshed Bruk The Vibes” “All I want for Christmas is to stay alive,” sings Tarrus Riley on this brand-new holiday boomshot, “Can’t take the sound of the 45!” Visions of yuletide merriment and “a new brand ride with a thick empress inside” are interspersed with heartfelt pleas for peace over […]
Half Pint Speaks on the Making of “Greetings”
“You may be raggedy and poor, but you are still rich in spirit” If you’ve ever been to a reggae party, it’s pretty much impossible that you’ve never heard “Greetings,” Half Pint’s raggamuffin anthem. Released in 1985 on George Phang’s legendary Powerhouse label, the song finds Half Pint representing for poor people over a hard-driving […]
WATCH THIS: Jah9 “Unafraid” Official Music Video
Lioness Order Lays Down The Law A lot of times when an artist starts to grow in popularity they tend to avoid rocking the boat and shun material that some may find controversial. That isn’t the case with Jah9 who has just released a video for the song “Unafraid,” which deals with the taboo subject […]
HEAR THIS: Slim Smith “Rougher Yet”
Special Request to the Trump Posse Those who happened to be in London when the Brexit vote went down will recognize the sense of disbelief sweeping America on this morning after. It soon became clear that many people didn’t actually understand what they had voted for. (Google searches for “What is Brexit?” and “What is […]
WATCH THIS: Hempress Sativa “Fight For Your Rights” Official Music Video
A Luta Continua When it comes to female reggae artists on the rise, Jah9 usually gets the lion’s share of the discussion. But she is not alone. Hempress Sativa is rapidly gaining the attention she deserves as a brilliant artist who can sing, dj, and even rap. First introduced to music by her father Albert […]
WATCH THIS: Raging Fyah “Dash Wata” Official Music Video
Go Ahead And Go Chasing Waterfalls The latest single off Raging Fyah’s third album, Everlasting, has a brand new splashy video shot in the most amazing waterfall this side of Niagra—and with a tune like this you won’t need Viagra. You see, Raging Fyah’s song, producde by Lamar “Riff Raff” Brown, isn’t actually about water […]
HEAR THIS: Willi Williams ft. U-Roy “Miss Cutie Cutie”
Foundation Artists In Action Singer-songwriter Willi Williams’ 1979 hit “Armagideon Time” is forever enshrined in the reggae canon. Perhaps the most famous song on Studio One’s immortal Real Rock rhythm, Williams’ original was covered by seminal UK punk band The Clash that same year. Now the foundation singer has teamed up with the godfather of […]
HEAR THIS: Maximum Sound “Royal Step Riddim” Megamix
In Comes Frenchie With A Thing Called Roots Plus Culture Over the past couple of decades Maximum Sound has distinguished itself as one of the more dependable modern reggae imprints when it comes to consistent high-quality music. Frenchie, the elusive producer behind the label, was born in France before relocating to the UK. His sound […]