Boomshots

Category: Interview

  • The Heatwave Picks Their Top Boomshots

    Reshma B Reasons With Gabriel To Find Out How The Heatwave Keeps It Hot

    After mashing up this year’s Notting Hill Carnival and taking a crazy road trip to Croatia, UK bashment sound The Heatwave will be releasing a brand new remix today. (RDX & Friends ”Jump”.) We reckoned this would be a great time to catch up with Gabriel—one of the DJ collective’s top selectors—to find out which songs and artists are ramming their Hot Wuk and Madd Raff sessions right about now. He chats with ReggaeGirlAboutTown about the influence of Jamaican music on the UK underground, and explains why he doesn’t do the Dutty Wine.  Interview After The Jump

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  • INTERVIEW: Real McKoy Speaks On His “Bigger Brother” Busy Signal

    Up-and-coming Trainline Records Producer Is The Man Behind The Bing Riddim

    We all appreciate good music. No doubt we’re familiar with the artists, but rarely do we get up close and personal with the individuals behind the scenes—the producers and engineers sweating to bring us the music we crave. I had an opportunity recently to catch up with a brilliant young producer and artist by the name of Gilmore Walters, more popularly known as Real McKoy. We spoke about his record label/studio Trainline Records, his latest productions, as well as his friendship with Busy Signal. Interview After The Jump.

  • Reasoning With Scientist

    A Dub Legend Speaks on King Tubby, The Roots of Dub, & The Vampire-Killing Power of Drum & Bass

    History will be made tonight at B.B. King’s in New York City when the Dub Champions Festival presents Scientist and the Roots Radics band performing their legendary 1981 album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires live in its entirety for the first time ever. The Radics’s sessions for Henry “Junjo” Lawes at Channel One Studio became the stuff of legend, largely because the brilliant young engineer Scientist was at the controls. Born Overton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, Scientist was just a teenager when he first began working with King Tubby’s, the originator of dub music. He managed to win Tubby’s confidence and the student soon became a master, the most in-demand studio engineer in Jamaica. With a big assist from Emch of Subatomic Sounds we caught up with Scientist for this rare in-depth interview and he had so much things to say. Suffice it to say that half the story has never been told. Q&A after the jump. (more…)

  • INTERVIEW: Diana King Speaks on Putting Out Her Own Album and Coming Out as Gay

    KingSinga Nuh Fraid Fe Talk; In This Muma Shilo Exclusive, She Puts All Her Business Outta Door 

    With unparalleled vocal power and passion, diverse style, edgy lyrics, exotic beauty, and a sharp, opinionated mind, Diana King is quite simply a star. Known to her fans as ‘KINGSINGA,’ she’s responsible for chart topping hits like “Shy Guy” from the soundtrack of the movie Bad Boys, “Say a Little Prayer” from the soundtrack to My Best Friends Wedding, “Spanish Town Blues” from Anniversary, Sly & Robbie’s Grammy-nominated album. She also co-wrote and was featured on “Treat Her Like a Lady” from Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love album. She’s even flipped a fierce dancehall style on “Respect” from The Notorious B.I.G’s debut album Ready to Die. After selling more than 5 million copies of her debut album Tougher Than Love, King went on to establish her own ThinkLikeAGirl imprint, which will release her album AgirLnaMeKING—which maintains her unique style of blending reggae with R&B, soul, dance and straight-up pop. As a woman in the reggae business, she’s no stranger to adversity. But she developed a resiliency that helped her when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few years ago. After a long bout with depression she rejected the drugs that her doctors prescribed, tried natural remedies, and literally willed herself to walk again. More recently she made headlines around the world when she decided to proclaim her sexual identity as a lesbian—breaking a major taboo in Jamaican cutlure. As you can see from our exclusive interview, Diana has always believed in staying true to herself, both as an artist and as a person. (more…)

  • INTERVIEW: “Swagga Dem” Stylo G Speaks On Style

    Reshma B Reasons With Stylo G: Part 1 of 3

    Last summer when “Call Me A Yardie” seemed to blasting out of every passing car in London, we caught up with Stylo G for an in-depth interview. Since that time, the song has only gotten bigger, and Stylo’s continued to solidify his position as the next big breakout star from the UK. Most recently he released a video for “Dash Out,” his hot collabo with Chip. In this first part of a three-part series, Stylo talks about how he got his name, how he made the adjustment from Jamaica to England, and why you ain’t saying nothing if you don’t have your Air Force One trainers.

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  • INTERVIEW: Reasoning With Stylo G

    Stylo Tells The ReggaeGirlAboutTown All About “Dash Out”

    In the midst of all London Olympics madness, Boomshots UK Correspondent Reshma B caught up with Stylo G at the Puma Yard in London’s Brick Lane, where he and his bredren Stamma Kid were set to perform. The Jamacican-born UK artist told the ReggaeGirlAboutTown all about his future projects, including his hot new single with Chip, “Dash Out.” The sexy new “Dash Out” music video will premiere on Boomshots.com later today. In the meantime check out the reasoning with Reshma B. Video interview after the jump…
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  • INTERVIEW: Reasoning With Gappy Ranks

    The Big Bad UK DJ Tells The ReggaeGirlAboutTown Why He Loves Dancehall

    This week Gappy Ranks debuted a brand-new world exclusive with Federation Sound. The tune is called “Love Dancehall” and if you haven’t heard his plea to free Kartel from the prison cell, you might want to get familiar. Gappy’s been keeping the dancehall full of niceness for a good likkle while now. His first two albums, Put The Stereo On for V.P. and Thanks & Praise for his own Hot Coffee Music imprint, are both must-haves for any respectable reggae collection. This year he added the herbalicious Cookies EP. And as he told Reshma B just after stepping off stage at London’s IndigO2, he’ll soon begin working on his third album, to be called Breakfast in Jamaica. So what’s he gonna cook up next? Video interview after the jump…
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  • WATCH THIS: Aidonia “Teach Me How To Tan Tuddy”

    Didi Offers The Reggae Girl About Town Some Private Lessons

    Right after Aidonia ripped the stage at Reggae Sumfest Dancehall Night 2012, the ReggaeGirlAboutTown caught up with Didi backstage. She asked about his video “Tan Tuddy,” which premiered on Boomshots, and he offered to give her private lessions. Another Boomshots.com exclusive.
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  • Interview: Reasoning With Storm Saulter

    The Director of Better Mus Come Talks New Caribbean Cinema

    After apprenticing with Lil X and attending film school in Los Angeles, Storm Saulter returned to Jamaica to jump-start a movement that he calls “New Caribbean Cinema.” His first feature length film, Better Mus Come, is a gritty period piece is set within the politically charged turf wars of 1970s, when Kingston, Jamaica was on the front lines of the Cold War and poor ghetto dwellers were manipulated like pawns on a much larger chess board. The film tells the story of a young father who must choose between turning his back on the gangster life and making a better life for his five-year old son. It’s also a story of forbidden love that entices a boy and a girl to tempt fate and cross over the borderlines that crisscross the streets of Kingston. Loosely based on real events, the film courageously breaks an unwritten code of silence about depicting controversial events like the Green Bay Massacre—a landmark event in Jamaica’s political history during which government forces ambushed and shot to death a group of gunmen aligned with the opposition political party. This do not go unnoticed by the powers that be in Jamaica, who closely monitored the production and even sent spies to the set.

    But all the drama was well worth it. After a successful run in Jamaica, Better Mus Come went on to win the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at both the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival and the Bahamas International Film Festivals. It’s been screened at the Toronto international film festival, L.A.’s Pan-African film festival and at Lincoln Center in New York. Tomorrow Better Mus Come will be seen for the first time in the UK at the British Film Institute. (The following day BFI will host the world premiere of Ring Di Alarm, a compilation of seven short films that Storm calls “a true experiment in guerilla film making in the Caribbean.”) Reshma B caught up with Storm to talk about his first film and how the movement is coming along. (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Reasoning With Christopher Ellis

    Alton Ellis’s Youngest Son Links With The Marley Brothers To Carry On His Own Musical Mission

    Right after his performance with the Ghetto Youths International Crew at London’s IndigO2, Chris Ellis spoke with Reshma B about how he linked with Stephen and Damian Marley, his new music through the Ghetto Youths International crew, and his relationship with his legendary father, Alton Ellis, the godfather of rock steady. “It was like a lineage thing. It was more than that. Our fathers were in Trenchtown and Bob Marley was in Trenchtown. It’s that kind of ordained kind of angle I’m coming from. It was there.” Video after the jump.

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  • WATCH THIS: Rick Ross Bigs Up Jamaica

    Ricky Rozay Rocks Alongside Maybach Music Dancehall Artist Magazeen

    Ricky Rozay rocks the 2011 New Jersey Reggae Fest with a little help from his Jamaican bredren Magazeen, the first dancehall artist to get down with the Maybach Music movement. After getting offstage, Maga remembers meeting Da Boss at a Miami car wash, and Rozay talks about growing up around Jamaican culture in Miami, and shooting a music video on Hellshire Beach. Big shout to Shirea Triple C representing Boomshots the fullest. Video after the jump.
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  • WATCH THIS: Sean Paul Talks “Tomahawk Technique” And Hits Back At Haters

    Dutty Paul Speaks On The International Response To His Latest Album—And Brushes Off The Backlash
    Backstage at the NYC release party for his 5th album, “Tomahawk Technique,” Dutty Paul took time out to reason with the Reggae Girl About Town. Sean has sold more albums in his career than 99% of the rest of the dancehall fraternity combined. But as we all know, great success often comes with a side order of hate. Some longtime fans have complained that his new album blends international pop sounds and production to his usual dancehall recipe. But Sean defends his work here, saying it’s all part of his campaign to take dancehall to the next level. Sean Paul also talks about working with Kelly Rowland, looks forward to mashing up this weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, and explains what motivated his Twitter rant. (more…)