Boomshots

Category: NYC

  • A$AP Rocky, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes & More Turn Out To See Snoop “Reincarnated”

    A$AP Rocky, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes & More Turn Out To See Snoop “Reincarnated”

    Snoop Lion Hits 106 & Park Then Invites a Few Friends Over To Check Out His New Movie

     

    This past Thursday Snoop traveled to NYC to appear on BET’s 106 & Park and then host a private screening of his movie Reincarnated. Snoop may be into a new sound but hip-hop heavyweights like 50, Busta, and Rocky still count him as one of their own. The stars came out to eat some popcorn, sip some ginger beer, and watch the story of Snoop’s journey to Jamaica and his transition to reggae music. Would have been nice to see some more natty dreads in the place, but they were definitely represented on the silver screen. Video And Photo Gallery After The Jump…

    (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Romain Virgo “I Am Rich In Love” Pon Radio Lily

    Live & Direct From The Strictly Boomshots Show
    selector romain BOOMIt’s hard to believe that Miss Lily’s Variety is only a year old. It already feels like an NYC institution. Just think of all the magic moments that have gone down on RadioLily. This week the Miss Lily’s Family Style Vol. 1 CD hits stores, including cuts from many of the great artists who have passed through to nice up the place. Let’s take a look back at one of those very special nights… Video After The Jump…

    (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: New Kingston “Life”

    Brand New Bubbler From Reggae’s Freshest Young Rhythm Section
    NewKingstonBoomshots

    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…)

  • Win Tickets to See Femi Kuti Live in NYC

    The Afrobeat Legend Will Rock Webster Hall this Saturday—Don’t You Want To Catch Him Live?
    Femi4x6finalBOOMSHOTS
    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…

    (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Courtney John “Born To Fly”

    Ticklah Provides The Rub-A-Dub Wind Beneath Courtney’s Wings
    LNDB45-001-LABEL3_alt45
    From his work with the Dap Kings, Antibalas, and the Easy Star All-Stars, it ain’t hard to tell that BK’s own Victor Axelrod knows his was around a drum and bass line. On this brand-new Lion Dub production, he lays down one of his roots-rock Ticklah riddims especially designed to show off Courtney John’s delicate falsetto, resulting in sheer musical magic. And don’t forget the dub. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • New York City’s Reggae Record Shops

    New York City’s Reggae Record Shops

    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

    Moodies Records

    3976 White Plains Road, The Bronx

    Via AnimalNewYork

  • Johnny Osbourne, Red Fox & Screechy Dan Shock Out With The Roots

    The LargeUp Posse Knows How To Throw A Holiday Party
    Johnny-Osbourne-by-Corren-Conway
    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…)

  • I-Octane Pon Radio Lily “Me Ting Global, So De Ting Set”

    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…)

  • 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

    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….

    (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Beres Hammond on Late Night

    Reggae Legend Makes History Sitting In With The Roots on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon

    Making his American TV debut, Beres sat in with The Roots on the latest episode of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Performing in and out of commercial breaks throughout the night, Beres shared airtime with actress Anne Hathaway, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, comedian Robert Smigel, and rapper Macklemore.Although it was tough hearing him get started on classics like “What One Dance Can Do” and “Double Trouble”—with Questlove killing it on reggae drums—only to have the show cut to commercial just when things were getting good. (Hopefully that video surfaces before long.) Still it was a great look for Beres, who performs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn Wedensday night. In case you missed this moment of reggae history, fret not thyself. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Bob Marley Class Will Be In Session at NYU

    Sign Up This Week If You’re Ready For Some Higher Education
    Remember “Babylon System,” that cut off Bob Marley’s Survival album, in which the Tuff Gong sings about how the downpressor man is forever “Building church and university / Deceiving the people continually /Graduatin’ thieves and murderers / Suckin’ the blood of the sufferers.” Well chances are he wasn’t singing about the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts—and he definitely wasn’t singing about Vivien Goldman, aka the @PunkProfessor. She is one of the few Marley experts who actually spent significant time with Bob, both in her native London and in Jamaica. She’s also the author of The Book of Exodus, a definitive study of one of Marley’s most seminal works. She’s even gotten props from Bunny Wailer. Yes, the Honorable Neville Livingstone called her an “esteemed journalist of this time.” So if any university prof is gonna “tell the children the truth,” she’s a good bet. Goldman will be teaching a course on Bob Marley starting next month, and it’s open to all students—not just NYU enrolees. But the deadline to sign up is at the end of this week, so don’t sleep! This Monday she passed through the StrictlyBoomshots show on Radio Lily.com to drop some knowledge on Marley and post-colonialism. Those who have ears, let them hear. [Photograph by Kate Simon] Audio and Registration Links After The Jump…

    (more…)