The Afrobeat Legend Will Rock Webster Hall this Saturday—Don’t You Want To Catch Him Live?
Femi Kuti was born in London and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer and revolutionary icon Fela Anikulalpo Kuti. Femi inherited a gift for music and became a member of his father’s band, and later formed his own band, called Positive Force with Dele Sosimi, who formerly played keyboards with Fela. Like his late father, Femi Kuti plays an infectious style of music known as Afrobeat which fuses elements of jazz, funk, and traditional African music. Femi has been signed to major labels and nominated for Grammys, but like his father, he believes that “music is the weapon of the future.” In other words, he uses his music fearlessly as a means of speaking out on issues of social and political justice. He will be performing in New York this Saturday at Webster Hall, one of the city’s greatest music venues. Because we know this is a show that Boomshots readers will not want to miss, we’ve reserved a pair of tickets—and you’ve got a chance to win. Video & Contest Details After The Jump…
Category: Africa
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Win Tickets to See Femi Kuti Live in NYC
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I-Octane Pon Radio Lily “Me Ting Global, So De Ting Set”
Octane Passes Through The Strictly Boomshots Show—It Siiiick
If you didn’t know I-Octane was on a mission to Conquer the Globe, consider this your first and last warning. The dancehall singjay who’s been blazing Jamrock for the past seven years or so has set his sights on outernational acclaim. Conquer The Globe is actually the name of Octane’s new production company, and if you’ve been paying any attention to his career thus far, then you know Octane is an extrordinarily focused individual who usually accomplishes what he sets out to do. Early last year he released his debut album, Crying To The Nation, an outstanding suite of tunes that was critically acclaimed but criminally slept-on by the general public due to lackluster promotion and limited radio play. At the close of 2012, he blessed his fans with a free mixtape called Thankful, which served notice that Octane. Since then he’s dropped yet another banger called “Gal A Gimmi Bun” that’s rocking the streets of Kingston as you read this. Just before heading down to Rebel Salute, Octane passed through the Strictly Boomshots show for some reasoning and a wicked freestyle or two. It Siiiiick. Audio and Video After The Jump… (more…)
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Author Treks Through Jamaica, Africa, and the USA “Searching For Zion”
Emily Raboteau’s New Book Is One Reggae Lover’s Literary Quest For The Promised Land
In her book Searching For Zion, Emily Raboteau sets off on a diasporic quest for the mythical promised land that so many reggae artists have sung about over the years. If you’ve ever been puzzled by songs like Demond Dekker’s “The Israelites” or Dennis Brown’s “Children of Israel” then this book is just what you’re looking for. Why are Jamaican Rastafarians so obsessed with Israel anyway? And what about those elaborately dressed black Israelites one sometimes encounters on street corners? As a lover of Jah music and the daughter of an expert in African-American religion, the acclaimed author was well aware of the concept of “Zion” as a “place black people yearned to be.” Over the course of ten years, she visited Jamaica, Ethiopia, Ghana, and the American South, speaking with Rastas, mystics, and Katrina refugees, shedding light on their shared plight as well as their shared visions. While you wait for this enlightening book to download, check out Some of Our Favorite Zionist Reggae Jams After The Jump… (more…)
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Johnny Osbourne & Tarrus Riley Rock Miss Lily’s Variety Anniversary Bash
Last Night Come In Like A Stage Show
Last night Miss Lily’s Variety and Melvin’s Juice Box celebrated its first anniversary in fine style with an all-day party that was broadcast live on RadioLily.com. The place was packed with reggae royalty from early out. Dean Fraser and Tarrus Riley mingled with Clive Chin and Carol Dodd, who blessed the place with some amazing never-before-heard Studio One rarities (including “In My Fathers House” and “Ungodly King” by Dennis Brown, a new version of “Gorgon” by Cornell Campbell, “Mix It Up” by J.D. Smoothe, and the original “Shank-I-Sheck” instrumental by Roy Burroughs). Noel Alphonso, son of the late great Roland Alphonso (whose birthday was also last night) was in the place along with the whole Miss Lily’s family to enjoy one-of-a-kind live performances by the one and only Johnny Osbourne and Tarrus Riley—up close and personal with DJ Max Glazer at the controls. Video After The Jump… (more…) -
Miss Lily’s Variety Celebrates First Anniversary
Let’s Look Back At Some of the Most Memorable Radio Lily Moments So Far
They’ve been Playing the Peoples’ Music Night and Day for 364 days already. Tomorrow RadioLily.com hits the first year milestone in a big way with the legendary Johnny Osbourne live and direct and other special guests passing through. Make sure to catch The Best of Strictly Boomshots 2012 Saturday at 7pm. But for now, here are some of our favorite RadioLily moments so far. Audio After The Jump…. -
HEAR THIS: Miss Lily’s Family Style Vol. 1 “Megamix”
DJ Max Glazer Makes The Music Play—Right Away!
Miss Lily’s hasn’t been around much more than a year, but the Houston Street hotspot is already an NYC institution, bringing yardstyle food, music, and vibes to Gotham City residents. When the good folks at RadioLily.com aren’t playing the people’s music (night and day) or playing host to reggae royalty that passes through Miss Lily’s restaurant (and the next-door chill spot Miss Lily’s Variety / Melvin’s Juicebar) on the regular, they’re hosting art exhibitions, publishing recherche books, and curating reggae-dancehall-soca anthologies like the oh-so-crucial Miss Lily’s Family Style Vol. 1. Peep my liner notes below, and keep clicking for a full track list and a taste of DJ Max Glazer’s murderous megamix. Audio After The Jump…
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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…)
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WATCH THIS: H.I.M. Haile Selassie’s Official State Visit To Jamaica
Happy Birthday To The King of Kings
Exactly 120 years ago today, Tafari Makonnen was born in the Harar province of Ethiopia. He would go on to become His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, still revered by the Rastafarian movement and countless reggae songs as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. In short, a Black God incarnate. When Emperor Selassie visited Jamaica On April 21, 1966 he was greeted like a messiah. Video after the jump. (more…) -
Romain Virgo Album Release Party
All Roads Lead To Miss Lily’s, Where Romain Virgo Will Perform Live On The Strictly Boomshots Show
Tonight at Miss Lily’s Variety in NYC, see why the critics are raving about Romain Virgo’s new album The System, when he stops by the Strictly Boomshots show. This one is not to be missed. So if you can’t pass through, make sure you tune in to RadioLily.com. (more…) -
WATCH THIS: Stephen Marley ft. Wale & The Cast of Fela “Made In Africa” Video
Ragga Marley Takes It Back To The Motherland In His Epic New Video
Walking back through Goree Island’s infamous Door of No Return, Stephen Marley flips the script on his epic video for “Made In Africa,” the opening track from his Grammy-winning album Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life. Shot on location in Ethiopia and Senegal, the cinematic video blends historic and modern footage to majestic effect. If this is the Root, we can’t wait for the fruit. (more…) -
K’Naan Speaks On #StopKony Mania
The Somali Rapper, Singer, and Activist Raises Questions About Do-Gooders Like Invisible Children
The most viral video in history is a 30-minute documentary called “Stop Kony.” The horrific clip about an African warlord with an army of child soldiers and underage prostitutes was viewed over 100 million times in a week, generating millions of dollars in donations to the organization Invisible Children. Soon thereafter Invisible Children’s founder, Jason Russell, went a little crazy in Cali—stripping butt naked and galavanting through the streets of San Diego. And that was before a video emerged of one of his colleagues swigging vodka and “joking” about pocketing 90% of the donations. Suffice it to say that there are serious questions to be raised about do-gooders trying to “save Africa.” To get some perspective, we caught up with K’Naan, whose song “Coming To America,” off his latest EP More Beautiful Than Silence, tells the story of his upbringing in Somalia. “I’ve gotten hundreds of messages about the ‘stop Kony’ thing,” he said. “[They’re like] ‘Would you say something about the ‘Stop Kony.’ Stop Kony!’” Though K’Naan takes the well-being of African people very seriously, he refused to get caught up in the #StopKony hype. Here’s why… (more…) -
WATCH THIS: The Weeknd “The Knowing”
Abel Tesfaye Takes Emperor Haile Selassie Back To The Future
The Weeknd is an enigmatic Ethiopian youth based in Canada who’s mesmerized the R&B world with his trippy mixtapes and a glorious guest spot on Drake’s album Take Care. Today he dropped a visionary video for “The Knowing” from his House of Balloons mixtape that opens with the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie and fast-forwards to the year 16311 A.D. on the planet Ethio X. Deep as we thought this dude was, he’s clearly on some next-level ancient futuristic shit. (more…)