Boomshots

Author: Boomshots

  • I-Octane Gives Thanks & Praise

    If Ungratefulness Cause Disaster, Octane Has Nothing To Worry About
    When I-Octane sings, “You no see say we nice?” he’s not just chatting lyrics. The singjay’s been turning up the heat for years, but he made 2012 hot like ten fireside—dropping hits all year long in Jamaica, traveling and touring internationally, and launching his long-awaited debut album, album, Crying to the Nation. But just when it seems he can’t blaze any hotter, Octane turns up the temperature.  When Reshma B caught up with Octane at Sumfest, he broke down all the reasons he has to be thankful. Like the songs says, “Me ting global, ah so de ting set.”   Video and Audio After The Jump…

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  • Boomshots Xmas Megamix 2012

    Reggae and Dancehall Selections to Slap Way Your Holiday

    Christmas in Jamaica is a serious matter. Parties, pepper lights, sorrel punch, and more than a little bit of music. But fret not, Boomshots has you covered with x-amount of musical ammunition, from the latest to the greatest. Whether it’s Bob Marley & The Wailers putting their own twist on “White Christmas,” Wayne Wonder & Cham celebrating “where there is no snow,” or The Silvertones marveling at the “bling bling lights, chicken and wine,” these sounds will make you feel more than fine. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Ziggy Marley’s Favorite Live Concerts

    Ziggy Has See Some Nice Shows In His Day, But A Few Stand Out From The Rest

    Just yesterday Ziggy Marley dropped his first live album in 12 years, Ziggy Marley In Concert (Boomshots premiered a track from it last week.)  Ziggy has worked plenty of stages in the twenty-seven years since the first Melody Makers album was released, Play the Game Right. The show on the album, recorded in Boulder Colorado, was a benefit to support the non-GMO movement in Colorado. “It was a very exciting night and it was a good show,” he recalls. “People were into it and we were into it. It was nice vibes.” Read More After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Wayne Marshall ft. Aidonia, Agent Sasco, I-Octane, Bounty Killer, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Vybz Kartel “Go Hard” Official Video

    The Tune Was Hard, But The Video Goes Harder

    When Wayne Marshall and co-producer Baby G first dreamed up the idea for “Go Hard” they envisioned an all-star dancehall posse cut. They were seeking to create a “mixtape style” record around an explosive rhythm track built by in-demand studio musician Teetimus. “We wanted to make a big collaborative dancehall track with that kind of Wu-Tang feel,” Marshall explains. “Hip-hop energy blended with thatdancehall snare—just something anthem-like.” Today the long-awaited video was released, and it’s every bit as epic as you need it to be. Go in. Video After The Jump…

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  • HEAR THIS: Slew Dem “Playground Vocal”

    UK Grime Posse Spits Hot Fire Over A Chopped & Screwed Dancehall Riddim
     
    The East London grim collective gets all greezy over Spooky’s “Playground” instrumental, a slowed-down sample of 2 Hard’s classic dancehall riddim the Playground, made famous on Sean Paul’s “Infiltrate” and Beenie Man’s “Who Am I.” UK Grime + JA dancehall = musical murderation. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Jah Cure “That Girl” Official Video

    Iyah Cure Is Searching For His Dream Girl
    Earlier this week Jah Cure released his long-awaited album World Cry—and the music is so good it was worth the wait. Here’s his latest visual from the album, for the romantic tune “That Girl.” Cure’s legions of female fans are guaranteed to go wild for this one. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Beres Hammond, and UB40 Rock Barclays Center in Brooklyn

    Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Beres Hammond, and UB40 Rock Barclays Center in Brooklyn

    Maxi Priest Performs For a Packed House at Sounds of Reggae

    Standing onstage in a T-shirt reading Flatbush Wah Gwan, Shaggy looked very much at home in the Barclays Center—the audaciously fly new arena on Atlantic Avenue that also serves as home of the Brooklyn Nets. “It’s very important that you came out in the masses as you did, so stand up and give yourself a round of applause,” Shaggy told the near-capacity crowd. “However I am a little bit disappointed because of the fact that this is West Indian party, and there is not party like a West Indian party. Yet still we have some old people siddown pon them chair like them no wan’ get up. And we no inna it tonight! So point dem out! The first time West Indian people are inside the Barclay Center and them siddung pon them backside? It nah go work!” After a little scolding from the Grammy Award winner—who ran through his catalog of chart-topping hits and invited sparring partners Rayvon and Red Fox on stage to perform dancehall boomshots like “Big Up” and “Bashment Party”—the party did in fact tun up. The Biolife Sounds of Reggae Concert also featured British reggae star Maxi Priest and internationally recognized reggae band UB40, as well as veteran reggae crooner Beres Hammond. Held under the patronage of the Consul General of Jamaica, Hon. Herman LaMont, the concert celebrated 50 years of Jamaican independence and raised over $10,000 . A portion of the concert proceeds to benefit the American Foundation for the University of The West Indies (AFUWI) scholarship fund. Maxi Priest turned in a solid performance to open the show, and UB40’s Ali Campbell proved that he still has the golden voice—if not the recent hits to hold the crowd during to the end of their ill-advised closing slot. But the night belonged to the legendary reggae vocalist Beres Hammond, who addressed the audience as “family” all night long and made the enormous venue feel as intimate as a house party. As he ran through a bushel basket of classics, from “Full Attention” to “Putting Up Resistance” and “What One Dance Can Do,” it was hard to tell who was having more fun—Beres or the audience. When all was said and done the crowd’s sentiment could best be summarized witha Beres lyric: “I wish you could stay longer.” Photos and Video After The Jump…

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  • Cham Brings Out Bounty Killer And Together They Tear Down The Place

    Peeeeople Dead…

    You can’t beat the raw excitement of two champion DJs passing the mic back and forth—unless of course it’s a sneak attack. And that’s just what happened on a recent Thursday night party at the University of West Indies in Kingston. The crowd was amped just to see Cham, but when the Warlord stepped out on stage unannounced, the whole thing went to “Another Level.” Video After The Jump…
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  • HEAR THIS: Ziggy Marley “Justice / War” Live Medley PREMIERE

    The  Brand New Selection From The Album Ziggy Marley In Concert

    “Justice” is not just standout cut from The Melody Makers’ 1989 album One Bright Day, it’s also the name of Ziggy’s daughter. On the new live album Ziggy Marley in Concert—available on iTunes next Tuesday, December 18—Ziggy blends “Justice” with one of his father’s greatest songs, which happens to be one of the few Bob Marley classics that Marley did not write. The lyrics to “War,” from the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration, were adapted from a speech made by Emperor Haile Selassie before the United Nations General Assembly in 1963. Audio After The Jump… 

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  • WATCH THIS: Spice Interview “She Can’t Style Me, Lyrically or Physically”

    The Mad Gyal Goes OnStage With Winford Williams To Talk Di Tings Dem

    The Dancehall girl fight continues to escalate as Spice visits OnStage with Winford Williams, the same show where Macka Diamond recently vented frustration against various female artists including Lady Saw and another whom she would refer to only as “the black one.” (UPDATE: Macka has even released a diss song called “Kill the Black One.”) Though she says she considers herself “Black and beautiful,” Spice made no attempt to hide her annoyance with Macka. “Me haffi box her down, jook out her eye, and nearly take out the eye outta her head,” Spice recalled of a physical confrontation between the artists some years back. Though the guys get most of the attention with their so-called beef and lyrical clashes, Spice says the dancehall divas have some serious rivalries of their own: “The women dem inna the business, them fight ‘gainst them one another. It come in like crab inna barrel. If you put on a nail polish, and it look better than fi her own, them wan’ chop off your fingers fe it.” Wow. Spice goes on to recall her falling out with Lady Saw. But she says her and Tifa’s song “Why You Mad” was not written for anyone in particular. Well, not anyone that she cares to mention at the moment. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Pusha T ft. Popcaan & Travis Scott “Blocka” Official Video

    Live From Matches Lane, It’s The Wrath of Caine

    Lots of rappers go to Jamaica to shoot videos. Very few go deep in the heart of Western Kingston like Pusha T did on this one. All the way live from Matthews Matches Lane, the PNP garrison where Zekes once ruled the scheme, Pusha kicks his ghetto metaphysics surrounded by bandana-faced bravehearts with chrome shotties. The gritty visual aesthetic is in keeping with previous Clipse and Pusha videos, only it’s transported to one of the most notorious blocks on Jamrock. Sure woulda been nice to hear more Popcaan on this track, but if Hotskull’s not already working on his own remix somebody needs to get him an instrumental like yesterday. Video After The Jump…
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  • WATCH THIS: Beres Hammond on Late Night

    Reggae Legend Makes History Sitting In With The Roots on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon

    Making his American TV debut, Beres sat in with The Roots on the latest episode of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Performing in and out of commercial breaks throughout the night, Beres shared airtime with actress Anne Hathaway, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, comedian Robert Smigel, and rapper Macklemore.Although it was tough hearing him get started on classics like “What One Dance Can Do” and “Double Trouble”—with Questlove killing it on reggae drums—only to have the show cut to commercial just when things were getting good. (Hopefully that video surfaces before long.) Still it was a great look for Beres, who performs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn Wedensday night. In case you missed this moment of reggae history, fret not thyself. Video After The Jump… (more…)