Eesah Talks About How Marijuana Influences His Creativity
On 4/20 we interview Eesah, whose singles are starting to take off at an exponential rate on social media. He writes music about love, inspiration and reality and merges music genres as a former musical engineer. The artist talks about how marijuana helps him to get in touch with his spiritual, inner self to channel his creativity. Video & Interview After The Jump…
The Newly Energized Entertainer Hints That A Busy Signal U.S. Tour Is In The Works
Reanno Gordon, Busy Signal continues to stand out as an artist in 2017. He stepped out onto the musical scene in 2002, modeling his career after international reggae icon, Bounty Killer. Now he has an even clearer vision for his future with his new VISA status. In January, Busy Signal visited New York for a quick media run with Ebro Darden, Laura Styles, Funk Masterflex,Bobby Konders and Jabba for Hot 97 FM and Reshma B for Boomshots TV (four-part interview at the end of article) to discuss his new EP, Fresh From Yaad. Following this, Busy embarked on an European Tour and this week he revived up his fans in the U.S. with a tweet: “Coming to a city near you. Wherever in world you are! ASAP- Turf President.” In light of the impending tour, this article will serve to give an in-depth review of the Fresh From Yaad EP. Album Review After The Jump
Remix adds R&B Flavor to Dancehall Smash Hit
The ladies received a special treat on March 21, 2017. Two heartthrobs in the genres of R&B and Dancehall, respectively, collaborated on a remix for a song released in 2016. Konshen’s incendiary hit “Bruk Off Yuh Back” on the Moskato riddim produced by Christopher Birch, begins: “Wah dis make you feel like do? / Wah dis make you feel like do? / Wah dis make you? For most dancehall lovers, this song makes you want to break into dance moves. The song merged into mainstream music culture and remains an international hit. More After The Jump…
A Thought Provoking Soca Song Makes It All The Way To The International Soca Monarch Finals
When Orlando Octave’s father entered him into a local television competition in Trinidad, his life changed forever. After, a few local hits, he wrote a breakthrough song “Single,” that catapulted him to a spot in the International Soca Monarch Finals. We spoke to him a few days before the competition to learn the message behind this smash hit. Interview After The Jump…
Multi-talented Musician & Burgeoning Business Mogul Builds His Brand
Jah Bami, born Marvin Walters in Trinidad and Tobago, learned to play instruments at a young age-including the guitar, piano, drums and steel pan. His mastery of instruments earned him a musical scholarship to the University of the West Indies, which provided him a plethora of opportunities to take his career to the next level. Now he tours the world solo and as part of his deejay group, Suns of Dub. Furthermore, Jah Bami owns a record label, clothing line and brand of smoke wrapping papers. We spoke to Jah Bami about his many hats in the entertainment business. Interview After The Jump… (more…)
Reasoning With Ghana’s Next To Bust
As the new year begins, so does the quest for which new artist will make an impact on the scene. One of those artist could be ghanaian singer/songwriter Jojo Abot who seamlessly blends electronica, indie-soul, reggae, house, and acoustic instrumentation on top of vocals sung in either English or Ewe, a language spoken in southern Ghana. Abot spends her time between three different locations, her native Ghana, Copenhagen, and New York City. The first part of 2017 already saw her performing at Global Fest on Jan.8th at Webster Hall in NYC, three days later at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, and the MLH (Ms. Lauryn Hill) Caravan at Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 25th. For the latter performance, Abot will be opening for Ms. Lauryn Hill along with Little Simz, and Kehlani. Video And Interview After The Jump… (more…)
Dancehall Artist With A Certified Diamond Tune Gives Electrifying Performance at Stage 48
Recently obtaining his “wings to fly” (VISA to the U.S.A.), Charly Black took flight to New York City for a quick press run ahead of next month’s U.S. promotional tour in support of his certified diamond song, “Party Animal.” First stop was Hot 97’s “Ebro In the Morning” Show on January 11 with Ebro, Laura Stylez and DJ Kastone. Later that evening he linked with the Boomshots crew for an in-depth reasoning. A few days later “the international sensation” (as Ebro described him) flew out to Jazzy T ‘s (Renaissance Sound) Earthstrong Party at Luxy in Toronto. The Trelawny General returned to NYC the following Sunday, drawing in a capacity crowd for his first live performance in New York at Stage 48. More After The Jump…
Keeping Sound System Safe From The Culture Vultures
As co-founder of Irish & Chin, one of the most respected reggae promotion companies in the world, Garfield “Chin” Bourne has left his mark on the music industry and popular culture as a whole. He is the founder of SoundChat Radio and a range of media ventures, but Chin may be best known as a leading advocate of sound system culture at a time where hardcore soundclash audience is aging, and the appropriation of dancehall culture is not limited to international artists reworking Jamaican rhythms to hit the pop charts. The rise of EDM music and the success of the recent Red Bull Culture Clash highlight the impact of Jamaican sound systems on worldwide pop music, even as the originators of the culture who are still active tend to be marginalized. Interview After The Jump… (more…)
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 a frenzy with its balance of spiritual and conscious lyrics over the Lee “Scratch” Perry–produced riddim. Max Romeo “put on his iron shirt” and chased the Devil out of Earth with his lyrical prowess—and he’s still making music to this day. Now, four decades later, it should come as no surprise that his daughter is stepping forward along a similar path. Azana Makeeda Smith, aka Xana Romeo, brings a unique feminine fierceness with her incendiary lyrics. She has a great vocal range and her enunciation is clear and precise, adding to the palpable power of her music. With her debut album, Wake Up releasing today, we linked with Xana Romeo, CEO of Charmax Music to discuss her debut album. Interview After The Jump…
Lioness Order Lays Down The Law
A lot of times when an artist starts to grow in popularity they tend to avoid rocking the boat and shun material that some may find controversial. That isn’t the case with Jah9 who has just released a video for the song “Unafraid,” which deals with the taboo subject of child molestation. When she sings “Nasty likkle teacher bwoy touching on my nephew, stirring up the dragon in my head,” the outrage is understandable. But lines like “Willing to stick a head ‘pon a fence” will definitely make some people uncomfortable. Boomshots reached out to the artist for some insight. “We’re not promoting violence,” she explained, “but we’re not promoting complacency about such a serious thing.” Video and Interview After The Jump… (more…)
Host of UK Radio’s Superjam Reflects On His Legacy
If you weren’t in London from the ’90s, you may not be aware of Daddy Ernie or the power of his radio show, SuperJam. As he says: “Who’s Daddy Ernie? Some black DJ who used to be on a station in Brixton that everybody used to wear big gold chains and rings.” What you should know is he’s one of the most respected and important British contributors in the history of Jamaican music. He’s also the only person in history to present a reggae show Monday to Friday on a legal radio station. And it was prime time from 1990 to (about) 2003/2004. The way things are, it’s likely he’ll be the sole claimant forever. Daddy Ernie’s SuperJam ran alongside Choice FM’s lifespan (1990–2013), becoming one of the stations most listened to shows and amongst the highest paid specialist DJs on the station. Podcast After The Jump… (more…)
Ten Years After Daseca’s Breakthrough Riddim, Serani Reflects
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Serani (former one-third of Jamaican producers Daseca) reminisced on the creation, influence and legacy of Anger Management riddim on its 10th anniversary. Though officially released towards the end of 2004, it buss (a.k.a. impacted) in 2005. Made on a PC via a Triton keyboard in not much time (approximately 15mins), it went on to become one of the most memorable, gun finger-raising (critically-acclaimed) riddims of the noughties. The era-defining riddim spawned hits by legends Bounty Killer (“Gun Heaven”) and Sizzla (“No Way”), an establishing star in Vybz Kartel (“War Nah Talk Over”) and kick -tarted the career of a young talent from Cassava Piece by the name of David Brooks, better known as Mavado (“Real McKoy”). Everything was light prior to Anger Management. And things in the dancehall became a helluva lot darker after it ruled the airwaves and the streets. Audio After The Jump…
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