The Heatmakerz’ Baddest Reggae Samples
Rsonist Breaks Down The Reggae Roots Of The Heatmakerz’ Crack Music Gregory Green aka Rsonist was born in Mandeville, Jamaica and moved to NYC as a youth. He was fascinated by music all his life, and grew up to establish The Heatmakerz production team in the early 2000s. They made their name working with Cam’Ron […]
Chronixx & Dre Island Shock Out In Central London
Zinc Fence Redemption Rock Out In A NeoClassical Courtyard Overlooking the River Thames As Chronixx and his trusty Zinc Fence Redemption band continue stampeding through the UK on the Reparations Tour, certain moments seem to stand out as obvious milestones. This weekend’s historic performance at Somerset House, a landmark neoclassical building in central London just […]
UB40 & Nature Rock the Royal Botanic Gardens
Veteran British Band & A Rising Jamaican Star Shine At England’s Kew The Music Fest It’s been more than 30 years since the British reggae supergroup UB40 dropped their breakthrough album, Labour of Love. These cover versions of classic Jamaican rock steady and reggae tracks—songs like “Red Red Wine” and “Cherry O Baby” and “Johnny […]
Jah Cure Speaks on The Cure Album: “I’m trying something new with a new feel—we need that in reggae.”
“I’m trying to implement some of the old and modify it and move forward,” says Cure. From the first single, to the first video, to the first glimpse of the cover art, Jah Cure’s latest album—titled simply The Cure—has had in suspense for months now. At last the waiting is over and we can dive […]
DOWNLOAD: Konshens Mixtape
“Money Plan Complete”
Like Kanye Said Money Isn’t Everything, Not Having It IS Konshens put it plain from early out. The first time he stopped by the Strictly Boomshots show he explained how he drew a musical line in the sand and said “this year me haffi be the winner.” The reason? Not vanity, but because “me nah […]
Soca Wuk: Classic Foreigner Frank and New Skinny Banton
New and Old Soca Regarding Employee Benefits Summer time brings the hot calypso tunes with the double entrende narratives. These songs make you want to dance and laugh out loud at the same time. The ones regarding employment are interesting and usually involve a days work, where the laboror (also the narrator) is hired […]
HEAR THIS: Michael Rose “Warrior”
Bless Up the Grammy Winner From Waterhouse On Another Earthstrong “Life is a gamble,” sings Michael “Grammy” Rose on the title track from his powerful 2007 roots rock reggae album produced by the Twilight Circus crew. “Cease fire!” Since joining forces with Black Uhuru in 1977, Rose has remained at the forefront of reggae music […]
HEAR THIS: John Holt “My Heart Is Gone”
Celebrating The Birth of a Legend On this day in 1947, Winston “John” Holt was born in Greenwich Farm, Jamaica. His destiny in music was clear before he hit his teenage years, and he soon became a standout at the talent show circuit. His first recordings included “I Cried A Tear” for producer Leslie Kong […]
Flashback Friday: Wayne Wonder, “No Letting Go”
In 2003, when “No Letting Go” hit MTV, Wayne Wonder’s music career went into a projectile motion that continues to reach new heights. Twelve years later, fans are still expressing their love for this song on YouTube and other social media. I caught up with Wayne Wonder this week to find out his inspiration for […]
HEAR THIS: Chronixx “Ghetto People”
All A We Ghetto People It has been a while since we last heard from Chronixx. It’s nice to hear from the yute every now and again as he tells us what he’s up to and what’s on his mind. Namely, teaming up with Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, the mastermind behind the “On The Corner” […]
WATCH THIS: Alborosie “Rocky Road” Official Music Video
Puppa Albo On Some Real-Life Shit Alborosie reflects on the cycle of life and his own mortality in this thought-provoking video, portaying himself in a few years’ time, with grey dreads watching videotapes of the memories of his life. Come to think of it, the last time Boomshots caught up with Puppa Albo he […]
WATCH THIS: Fuse ODG “Top of my Charts” Official Music Video
The UK Afro-Beat Star Drops Some Straight Lovers Rock Born in Ghana and based in London, Fuse ODG champions a musical wave known as AfroBeat in the UK, but to island ears it sometimes sounds a lot like reggae music. On this particular track—which hits stoees next week—he’s taking it straight to Jamrock by way […]