New Artist Azia Crosses Cultural Barriers
Haitian Artist Azia Releases Powerful Music for Change We met up with new artist, Azia during her Labor Day Weekend Tour, which included a series of shows at local venues in New York City and a live performance on the Haitian Allstarz and WBAI 99.5 FM truck, at the West Indian American Day Carnival. We […]
Reasoning With Estelle: “Reggae Is In My Soul”
West London Singer Delves Deep Into Her Reggae Roots The first time most of the world heard about Estelle Fanta Swaray, she was collaborating with Kanye West on the Grammy-winning smash “American Boy.” That song, which featured Kanye spitting his best soundboy slang—”Here comes the number-one champion sound!”—appeared on her 2008 album Shine, along with […]
Unsung Hero of the Year: Sister Nancy
What a Bam Bam! Boomshots sends a special year-end shout out to Dancehall’s Original Muma, Sister Nancy. Alongside featured artists Rihanna and Swizz Beatz, Nancy is the unsung hero of “Famous” by Kanye West, one of the year’s biggest tunes, nominated for two Grammy Awards. For well over a minute of the 3:16 track, Nancy’s […]
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 […]
Popcaan Joins Rihanna and Kanye on Final Night of OVO Fest
Drizzy Invites The Unruly Boss & Few More Friends To Toronto Future was there as expected. Ditto for Drizzy and Roy Wood$. But this year’s OVO Fest was all about the unexpected guests. People like Rihanna, who was technically still a “surprise” during her second consecutive guest set at OVO Fest, performing “Work” and “Too […]
Tune For Tune: Battle of the UK “Panda” Refixes
Who Flipped The “Panda” Beat Better: Gappy Ranks or Lady Leshur? All this week we’ve been deluged with a Desiigner media blitz since the 19-year-old Barbados-by-way-of-Brooklyn eccentric dropped the Tidal-exclusive video for his chart-topping smash “Panda.” Though he spends most of the tune talking about Atlanta—and sounding a whole lot like Future sippin’ on some […]
HEAR THIS: Kanye West ft. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz “Famous”
Don’t Watch The Swift Diss—Watch The Beat. What a Bam Bam! Before anybody knew anything about Kanye’s remarkable TLOP album they heard that he had dissed Taylor Swift. Then the news was all about how you couldn’t find the album anywhere except on Tidal. Well, now that “Famous” is finally available on Apple Music and […]
Assassin Talks “Theory of Reggaetivity”: “Roots Proponents See Me as a Baldhead Rasta”
Agent Sasco Links Protoje & Chronixx, Returns To The Roots Yesterday Assassin aka Agent Sasco released Theory of Reggaetivity, his first album in over 10 years. The 14-song set shot straight toward the highest regions of the iTunes reggae chart, landing just below Bob Marley’s Legend, which is appropriate for the dancehall DJ’s first all-reggae […]
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. […]
HEAR THIS: Jully Black ft. Tanya Stephens “Bom Bom” Remix
Two Dancehall Divas Tackle The Track Sister Nancy Made “Famous” This weekend the Internet is buzzing about Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift on a track called “Famous.” The song, which apparently features Rihanna and Swizz Beatz, is part of his new album, The Life of Pablo, and isn’t released yet. If you were one of […]
HEAR THIS: Allan Kingdom ft. Chronixx “Fables”
St. Paul Spitter And Spanish Town Stepper Join Forces In a Quest for Truth When Kanye West features you on a track alongside Paul McCartney and Theophilus London, that’s what is known as a “good look.” Just ask Allan Kingdom, a Canadian-born African youth (mom from South Africa, dad from Tanzania) who’s now based in […]
Reasoning with Assassin aka Agent Sasco—Rap’s Best Kept Secret Weapon
First Kardinal, Then Kanye and Kendrick—Assassin Is the Go-To DJ for Dancehall Features. He’s your favorite rapper’s favorite dancehall artist. But chances are you’ve never heard his name. That’s because Assassin aka Agent Sasco — his secret-agent alter-ego — has basically gone undercover for his two biggest records: Kanye West’s “I’m In It” off the […]