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 […]
WATCH THIS: Elephant Man x Starface
“Tek Wuk” Official Music Video PREMIERE
When Elephants Play The Grass Gets Trampled “The main idea was to paint a vivid picture of a twisted fantasy,” says director Peter Parkkerr of his latest video. “Starface played the role of a sexy French maid who serviced Elephant Man’s room. It’s definitely gonna light up your TV screens.” After one glass of wine, […]
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 […]
WATCH THIS: A-Game “Everyday” Official Music video
In Comes Swing Ting With A Next Mad Sinting You may recall the UK-based label Swing Ting aka “the big bad sound outta Manchester” from that Devin Di Dakta “Bubble” joint we premiered a while back. They’re back at it with another bass-heavy digital excursion pon the version. This tune features an artist known as […]
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 […]
Popcaan Performs Live At MOBO Awards
Unruly Gang Inna Glasgow The last time Popcaan set foot in the United Kingdom, he used an OVO duplate to seal up Mixpak’s decisive victory in the Red Bull Culture Clash. Now comes news that the Unruly Boss will be performing live at the 21st Annual MOBO Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. The awards, which honor […]