Some Boy Only Feel Bad, But Elly Real Bad
You already know Truckback and Payday Music do their thing a little bit different. Like this new tune from Elephant Man—it’s not a song; it’s a flippin’ movie. So it doesn’t come with a video, it comes with a preview. When their pretty blonde agent gets kidnapped, Elly and his team have to parachute in and extract her. And of course they brought along some tall-up guns with red and green lasers on top. Get the picture? Yup—bare badness. Video After The Jump… (more…)
Wasp Stings Up Hit-Boy’s “Clique” Beat On The Madboss’s New Mixtape
Wasp is one of those artists who’s been doing his thing long enough to have a few hits under his belt and a little bit of buzz—yet somehow his crazy skills still go unappreciated. But sometimes a great mixtape freestyle can fix a problem like that. Check out the way Wasp deals with the “Clique” beat—”The one with the curve dem me ah observe them”—on this cut from DJ Wah Wa’s new mixtape Str8 Up World. Wasp is not the first to say “me flow ah de baddest,” but he may just have a point. It’s an eye-opener to witness an undeground dancehall artist ripping up a G.O.O.D. Music track as well as or better than Big Sean, Jay-Z or Kanye. If I had a tune this hot on my hard drive, I’d call The Untouchable Dancers and director Icey Jace to shoot a video too. Two questions: What is up with Wah Wa’s space alien motorcycle helmet? And what’s that thing Wasp puts into his boombox? A cassette!?! Video After The Jump… (more…)
Saw Kicks Into Overdrive
We knew this song was a hit from the first time we heard it. Like any great song it brought vivid images to mind. But rarely does a dancehall video live up to the visions of one’s own imagination. Lady Saw’s “Heels On” video, shot on location in and around Saw’s house on New Year’s Eve 2012, is a rare exception to the rule. The sexy, sophisticated Scorpio21-directed clip doesn’t just equal expectations; it exceeds them. Video After The Jump… (more…)
Who Says Vinyl Is Dead? In These Temples of Tune, You’ll Find LPs & 45s In Stacks & Piles
You may get your music mostly via Spotify or Sharebeast, but deep down you know vinyl is way more fly. For half a century now reggae music has been pressed up on 45s and served like hot flapjacks at record shops throughout the five boroughs. NYC and London are the meccas—outside of Jamrock of course—but no matter where you live, chances are there’s a West Indian spot nearby where you can pick up some musical ammunition to throw on your phonographic Hi-Fi system and murder any drumpan. As my bredren Sherman once said, you cyaan chop a soundbwoy with an mp3. AnimalNewYork’s Ayman Ismail dropped by a few of our favorite NYC reggae spots with his camera and this is what he saw. Click On Photo Above To View Gallery
Via AnimalNewYork
Did Somebody Order a Pizza With Extra Sausage?
Everybody has something to get off their chest. And DeMarco’s latest music video is supposed to be about freeing up his conscience. Except by the looks of this clip, DeMarco did nothing wrong—he’s just another innocent pizza deliveryman, handcuffed and victimized by a bunch of scantily clad bashment girls. It’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it. Video After The Jump… (more…)
The LargeUp Posse Knows How To Throw A Holiday Party
Late last year at Brooklyn Bowl, our peoples over at LargeUp threw a little holiday jam with The Roots as the house band. They invited NYC dancehall all-stars Red Fox, Screechy Dan, and the legendary Johnny Osbourne. This may be the first time anybody played the Sleng Teng riddim on a tuba. Video After The Jump… (more…)
Even A Mad Gyal Has Her Limits
Who is this dude? He sure loves to wuk, and apparently he’s exceptionally well endowed—enough to have Spice bawling for mercy on this new cut off Cashflow’s 1990 Riddim. Whoever he is, his appetite for sex appears to be more than even Mad Gyal Spice can handle—he’s got her sounding like Pupa San back in the day. Audio After The Jump… (more…)
Flippa Makes His Haters Be His Motivators
Flip Money’s “Raw Cash” riddim has more than a few standout tracks: I-Octane’s “Mad Dem,” Mavado’s “Million Dollar Man,” and Agent Sasco’s “Don’t Violate” are all on point. But the artist formerly known as Flippa Mafia—last seen at Sting splashing Ace of Spades champagne and flinging handfuls of cash out of a Louis Vuitton roll-away bag, because Moggeling ain’t cheap—is hitting hard with his “I Care Zero” anthem “Hear Mi Hear.” As the Moggela points out, “when you’re important people ah go talk bout you.” When the haters chat it’s not the he doesn’t hear; he just doesn’t care. Audio After The Jump…
The Worlian Says Yes; The Renegade Says “Mi Nuh Know Nuttin”… Now Judge For Yourself
Earlier this week the Jamaica Star ran an interview with a little-known dancehall artist called Princz Charmin, in which he accused the well-known dancehall duo RDX of stealing his song, “Kotch It Deh Soh,” which has become a hit in St. Lucia. “Dem build a rhythm similar,” explained the artist, “only changing a few phrases. Syndicate Records had sent the rhythm to RDX through Cashflow and wi nuh get nuh reply from dem… then suddenly RDX come with a song name Kotch.” The Star also contacted DJ Neil Cashflow, the producer of the RDX song, who told them “I don’t know this young artiste and this label. They would have to take it up with RDX because this has nothing to do with Cashflow.” Renegade of RDX offered a similar statment: “Mi nuh know nuhbody and mi nuh know nothing bout nuh song, mi just duh mi song, mi nuh have nuh more comment bout nothing.” Princz Charmin, also known as the Worlian, and his Riddim Syndicate bredren took their grievances to YouTube, posting a clip in which they say “stop tief the people dem tings.” Like “biting” in hip-hop, pirating styles has been a longstanding issue in dancehall, but it’s difficult to prove. The similarity of titles might “look a way” but it’s hardly proof of piracy. Kotch is a popular slang meaning to hang or chill for a moment—or for a girl to put something special someplace special. (Just think of how many tunes named “Wine” are released each month.) The late Risto Benjie made a tune called “Don’t Pirate It” way back in the 80s. Often songs would be released with the word “original” added to the title as a way of asserting that another artist had stolen their idea. For instance, Shabba Ranks has claimed that Red Dragon got his smash hit “Hol A Fresh” from overhearing the young Ranks chatting the same style live on a sound system. When he dropped his version he called it “Original Fresh.” So what’s the real deal with this Princz Charmin / RDX dispute? There’s really only one way to be sure—hear the tunes and judge for yourself. Videos After The Jump…
Behind The Scenes With Saw And Shaggy In The Queen of the Dancehall’s Bedroom
Tonight Lady Saw premieres the long-awaited video for her smash hit “Heels On” This Teetimus-composed track is the first single from Saw’s self-produced Alter Ego album. “Heels On” has been making waves intetrnationally and the video is every bit as hot as you’d expect it to be. Last week Boomshots brought you the exclusive on-set photos and interviews. Now catch a glimpse of Saw & Shaggy steaming up the set of the video, which was shot inside Lady Saw’s house in the hills about Kingston, Jamaica. Video After The Jump…
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Big Ship’s New “Quack” Riddim Brings Back Classic Dancehall Vibes
The Big Ship family is definitely not ramping in 2013. Di Genius kicked off the new year by blasting hypocrites and parasites in the reggae industry with his track “Me Alone.” Now Chino’s followed up with two of his biggest baddest boasiest tunes ever. First up is “Sex Symbol,” which is all about how “the gal dem horny and thirsty” and “some bwoy ah carry feelings” because he’s got the ladies on lock from New York to London. But that’s just a warmup for Chino’s second tune on the “Quack” riddim—Big Ship’s hard-hitting re-lick of Jammy’s immortal 1987 “Duck” riddim. And Chino’s lyrics hit just as hard as the track: “Argument” is all about how Big Ship is “on top already” and how they “represent for Gregory, Sugar, Dennis Brown, Bob .” And just in case you feel Chino’s getting too hype; he’s one step ahead of you on that argument too: “We no frighten fi vanity,” he says at one point, “caw we have proper meddy.” Alright Chino, mek it go so then. Audio After The Jump… (more…)