Boomshots

Category: Jamaica

  • Vybz Kartel Is Back on Twitter

    Vybz Kartel Is Back on Twitter

    The Werlboss May Be Incarcerated But He Cannot Be Silenced #FB

    After 486 days of inactivity, Vybz Kartel’s official Twitter account, @IAmTheKartel, came roaring back to life this week—the same week that Kartel’s trial date was pushed back another five months for no apparent reason. No, the “dancehall hero and entrepreneur” does not have a computer in jail—not that we know of anyway—but he has given the green light to Michael Dawson, the co-author of his book, The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto  to take control of his Twitter account and use it to relay messages from Adidja Palmer and “to reveal to the public things that he had previously chosen to keep private.” Kartel spells out his reasons for this decision in a short manifesto called “I am not who Babylon says I am” that was tweeted from his account. “After being locked up without bail for nearly a year and a half, politicians still blame him for everything from scamming to teenage truancy to the increase in crime as he is constantly being portrayed as the root of all evil in Jamaica.” Kartel’s timeline is on and popping once again with remarks that are too hilarious NOT to have come directly from the Werlboss. He’s even promised to tweet his true feelings about Popcaan and Blak Ryno. Kartel’s immediate goal is to get 50,000 new followers as quickly as possible to prove that he may be incarcerated but he cannot be silenced. Read Kartel’s Latest Bold Statement After The Jump…
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  • HEAR THIS: Serani “Paper”

    When It Comes To Handling His Business, The Singer Is Playing No Games
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    Remember last July when Serani broke away from the Daseca production team? At the time the situation seemed like an amicable split. “I’ve watched my partners Craig and David grow substantially through sheer hard work,” Serani said at the time. “I believe that I should give them room to spread their wings… They’re very very talented brothers. I just believe that maybe we’d be better off doing out own thing. I’m not saying Daseca is split for good. Who knows what can happen in years to come? Craig and David are like my brothers, so no split and no negative vibe.” Well, that was then. But today we received a new tune from Serani’s Rockstone Media that tells a different story. Although no names are mentioned, it seems like this one might be directed at his former partners. He even references the early Serani & Bugle hit “Doh” and updates the line, saying “Me never know some of me friend dem no like me.” Check the tune and decide for yourself. Audio After The Jump… 

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  • Why Is Bunny Wailer Flipping on Snoop?

    Why Is Bunny Wailer Flipping on Snoop?

    We Thought It Was All Good Between Jah Bunny and Snoop Lion

    If you’ve see the Snoop Lion documentary, Reincarnated, you know that Snoop and Bunny Wailer got together and burned a peace pipe at Bunny’s house in Kingston. So it came as some surprise to read today’s TMZ item stating that Snoop was “Rejected” by Jah Bunny, an original member of the Wailing Wailers. Wailer claims Snoop has engaged in “outright fraudulent use of Rastafari Community’s personalities and symbolism” — and has failed to meet “contractual, moral and verbal commitments.” On second thought, maybe it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Later on in the film, Bunny showed up at a recording studio with a stern face, asking tough questions about Snoop Lion’s intentions and whether he was really true to the whole Rasta thing. Apparently Snoop’s response was good enough to convince Bunny to jump in the vocal booth and record some vocals with Diplo. But it would seem that Bunny has since rethought that decision. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: New Kingston “Life”

    Brand New Bubbler From Reggae’s Freshest Young Rhythm Section
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    New Kingston is a young trio of brothers—Tahir a.k.a. Slim on keyboards, Courtney on drums, and the eldest, Stephen a.k.a. Suki on guitar—who grew up surrounded by reggae music. Their manager Courtney Panton (who also happens to be their father) is a highly respected producer and session musician whose Brooklyn-based studio has been the birthplace of numerous reggae gems. After working with a wide range of stars from Collie Buddz to Shabba Ranks, New Kingston evolved into an act in their own right. Their fresh, eclectic take on roots rock reggae has won them a growing fanbase. “Life” is the latest single from their third album, Kingston University, which is due out this spring. Video And Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Vybz Kartel’s Trial Postponed Again

    But The Werlboss Vows He Won’t Let The System Break Him
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    The wait is still not over. After being ordered to wait until the new year to commence his trial, The Werlboss now faces another setback. We’re starting to get the feeling that the court is not in any hurry to see this trial go forward. On Monday, officials at Kingston’s Home Circuit Court placed another postponement on Vybz Kartel’s trial date—the second one put into effect since last November. The reasons for yet another delay? “Insufficient jurors.” But Kartel isn’t letting the politricks get to him. Read More After the Jump (more…)

  • BBC 1Xtra Tells The Sting Story

    Reshma B Reports From The World’s Greatest One-Night Reggae Show – Sting 2012
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  • WATCH THIS: Popcaan “So We Do It” Official Video

    Mixpak Rolls Out Another Banger
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    When the Hotskull and Dre Skull join forces good things happen. Behold the latest example of this principle: A maaad new video of Papi on the Kling Klang riddim, showing off all types of motorbike stunts courtesy of Jamaica’s own “Crazy Bikers” crew. Ah just so them do it.
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  • HEAR THIS: Flippa Moggela “Hear Mi Hear”

    Flippa Makes His Haters Be His Motivators
    FlippaMogelaboom    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…

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  • The Kotch Kontroversy: Did RDX Pirate Princz Charmin’s Tune?

    The Worlian Says Yes; The Renegade Says “Mi Nuh Know Nuttin”… Now Judge For Yourself
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    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…

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  • Lady Saw’s “Heels On” Video Shoot

    Lady Saw’s “Heels On” Video Shoot

    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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  • HEAR THIS: Chino “Sex Symbol” & “Argument (On Top Already)”

    Big Ship’s New “Quack” Riddim Brings Back Classic Dancehall Vibes
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    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…)

  • Snoop Lion Exec-Producing a 10-Part Series On Dancehall

    “Noisey Jamaica” Will Seek To Explicate “One of the Most Misunderstood Music Scenes of All Time” 
    NoiseyJamaicaFlyerBOOMSHOTS
    Yesterday Noisey premiered a new 10-part series devoted to the culture of dancehall called NOISEY JAMAICA. The series is executive produced by Snoop Lion and will feature such artists as Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Popcaan, Tommy Lee, Tifa, Spice, Konshens, Gaza Slim, and I-Octane. The online series premieres next week but you can check out the trailer right now. Video After The Jump… (more…)