Category: Outernational

Crossover and outside of core

Spice & Vybz Kartel “Conjugal Visit” Official Music Video

Prepare Yourself For Romping Shop Part Few

It’s been quite a while since Spice and Vybz Kartel hooked up. So much has changed in the six years since their smash hit “Romping Shop.” That sexy selection became one of the biggest international hits for both artists, even as it created a furor in Jamaica leading to strict new radio airplay regulations and sparking debates about free speech and censorship. Fast forward to 2014 and TJ Records has brought the hitmaking duo together for a “Conjugal Visit,” which will be released on Spice’s highly anticipated EP So Mi Like It on VP Records this December 2014. Directed by Xtreme Arts and shot on location in Kingston, Jamaica using a skillfully selected cast of orange-clad extras, the video premiered yesterday on WorldStarHipHop, where it racked in over 1.7 million views. Hit the jump to see what all the excitement is about. Video After The Jump… (more…)

November 3, 2014
Damian Marley & Friends Rock The Boat on the Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise

As Bob Marley Once Sang, We Were “All In The Same Boat, Rockin on The Same Rock”

When The Wailers linked with Lee “Scratch” Perry to record their classic African Herbsman selection “Don’t Rock My Boat” back in 1973, chances are Bob Marley had no idea that 40-plus years in the future his family would be rocking the biggest boat in reggae history. But when the Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise pulled away from the Port of Miami on Monday October 20th, the 2400 artists, selectors, and reggae lovers on board the luxury liner Norwegian Pearl were just as Bob sang, “All in the same boat, rocking on the same rock.” Continued After The Jump… (more…)

November 2, 2014
His Imperial Majesty

On November 2, 1930, the official crowning of a monarch occurred in Ethiopia

Peoples of African descent, come from a lineage of kings and queens, as referenced in the bible. On this day, November 2, in 1930, Emperor Haile Selassie I and his wife, Empress Menen Asfaw were formally crowned with regalia, together in Ethiopia.
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November 2, 2014
A Love We Can Feel: Respect To John Holt

Early Sunday morning, Reggae Legend, John Kenneth Holt, died at the age of 67 in London. Even after collapsing onstage during a performance at this summer’s One Love Festival in the UK, he insisted that his health was fine and said “I’ll be back.” Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1947, he entered talent competitions at an early age, throughout the island. Holt recorded his first single, “I Cried A Tear,” a song about lies and heartbreak, in London, 1963. This melancholy first tune, foreshadowed numerous follow up hits. More After The Jump…

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October 20, 2014
Top Ten At-Sea Selections

A Boomshots Playlist Inspired By The Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise

“Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean sea,” Super Cat once observed. “In case you never know, it fulla mic MCs.” The Land of Wood and Water is also full of boats and fishermen and as such it’s inspired countless reggae songs about the sea. Here’s a few of our favorite selections for all you Nautical Dreads. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

October 19, 2014
Gunman World: Inside Jamaica’s Shotta Culture

Exclusive Excerpt from Mass Appeal Mag Cover Story by Rob Kenner, Photography by Ruddy Roye

Jesquan Spence was not quite two years old when he saw the police kill his father. “The soldiers come in and take ’way the phones and say everybody fi sit down,” says the child’s grandmother, Michelle Davis, recalling that fateful Monday, May 24, 2010. “Then some police come in. Them say, ‘How many man in here?’ And them point ’pon me son.”

Jesquan’s dad, Errol Spence, was 22 years old, the only adult male in the Tivoli Gardens household where 17 family members and neighbors had been waiting out a government-imposed state of emergency for a week. Michelle Davis and Jesquan’s mother Jesean Williams will never forget the cops’ chilling words: “Them turn to us and say, ‘You know the good haffi suffer for the bad.’”

“But me no badman,” Errol Spence protested as three heavily armed police officers ordered him out of his seat and walked him into the kitchen. “Dat you say?” one of them replied. “You gwan dead today.” Continues After The Jump… (more…)

October 18, 2014
Global Spin Awards Announce 2014 Nominees

Third Annual Award Show Honoring The World’s Best DJs, From Rap to Reggae to EDM

The 2014 Global Spin Awards held their press conference today at Midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park Hotel to announce this year’s nominees for the third annual staging of the first award ceremony to focus on the cornerstone of hip-hop, dancehall, EDM, and so many other forms of youth music: The DJ. Boomshots was in the building to announce the nominees for Best Reggae DJ and a few other categories. After the festivities wrapped up, Reshma B caught up with DJ Funkmaster Flex, DJ KId Capri, and DJ Premier to speak about the awards and whether Paris Hilton deserved to be nominated. Nominees and Videos After The Jump… (more…)

September 17, 2014
Reasoning with Lee “Scratch” Perry: “The Black Ark Preserve Life and It Kill”

“I think the devil is a goat,” and other thoughts of a living legend.

Whether you prefer to call him a madman or a genius, there’s no doubt that Lee “Scratch” Perry is a living legend. The man who gave the Wailers their “Natural Mystic” and pushed the frontiers of dub music at his Black Ark studio has never lost his creative mojo, even at the age of 78. Next week he will host his first New York art installation, followed by a live performance at Brooklyn Bowl with Subatomic Sound System as part of the annual Dub Champions Festival. In the first installment of Reshma B‘s exclusive interview with The Upsetter aka the Super Ape aka Pipecock Jaxson, he talks about two of his most recent collaborations—the Vibes EP, a collaboration with the Swiss musician Iguana, and the Back on the Controls project for which the London-based Rolling Lion team recreated all the exact recording equipment and techniques used at the Black Ark. “The Ark of the Covenant is a spirtual vibration,” scratch explains. “Ancient spirits speak… Everything is spirit. Because God is a spirit and Satan the devil also is a spirit. But Satan need competition.” In part one of the interview, find out why Scratch sprinkles white rum inside the studio before beginning a recording session. And in the second installment, discover who Scratch was taking revenge on when he built his own studio, The Black Ark, and find out how it had so many awesome powers: “It produce rain, whirlwind, hurricane, tidal wave, thunder, hailstone, earthquake, and it preserve life and it kill. It cripple, it cramp, and paralyze.” Videos After The Jump… (more…)

September 17, 2014
WATCH THIS: LL Cool J ft. Mavado “The Hustler” Official Music Video

The G.OA.T And The Gully Gad Link For Di Hustlas Dem

LL drops the visual to his long awaited single “The Hustler” off the highly anticipated “The G.O.A.T. 2.” An unlikely pairing, LL pegs Mavado to lend his distinct vocals to the gritty track. Not to be out done by his younger counterparts, LL reminds us why he’s known as “The Greatest Of All Time.” Video After The Jump…
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September 11, 2014
HEAR THIS: Shaggy ft. Sanchez “With You”

Two Dancehall Giants Link To Make A Modern Classic

Maintaining the vibes of his brilliant Sly & Robbie collaboration album Out of Many One Music Shaggy continues to build with some of the greatest talents of the reggae and dancehall genre. On this brand new release he joins forces with the elusive singer Sanchez D to create a next modern classic. “Now you’re tuned to the immortal sound,” Shagsman says and Sanchez chimes in about being “Better when we are together.” Ladies this is yours. Audio After The Jump…
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August 13, 2014
Reasoning with SOJA’s Jacob Hemphill: “If I die tomorrow, at least I got to do this tonight”

Lead Singer of America’s Top Reggae Band Chats About His Ambition To Follow Bob Marley’s Footsteps

Tonight in D.C. SOJA will celebrate the release of their latest album, Amid the Noise and Haste. The band has developed a massive international following since being founded in Arlington, Virginia 1997. During a recent pass through NYC, SOJA lead vocalist Jacob Hemphill chatted with Rob Kenner about how he and his friends fell in love with reggae and decided to start what’s become one of the biggest reggae bands in the world. “When I was a kid I grew up in Africa,” he says. Based on his observations there, he says, “I thought black people are happier than white people.” Eventually he came to a larger realization: “Life is not about accumulating crap.” Instead of doing “the reggae move” (“girl song, weed song, etc”) he decided to “do the Bob Marley” and try to change the world. “If I squander this opportunity,” he says, “that’ll be the biggest mistake of my life.” The new album—whose thought-provoking title is taken from Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata—was produced in conjunction with dancehall selector turned pop hit maker Supa Dups, and includes features from Damian Marley, J Boog, and Michael Franti among others. Hemphill says he sees SOJA as distinct from the “California Roots” movement, and speaks of an ambition to be bigger than the genre of reggae, not unlike Bob Marley. Speaking about the group’s perception in Jamaica and the rest of the world, Hemphill said “We haven’t been [to Jamaica yet],” he says, “but those guys have so much love for us.” He also speaks on his sense of mission. “If they shoot me, it’s gonna be 20 times bigger than it ever was before they shot me… If I was to die tomorrow, at least I got to do this tonight.” Video After The Jump… (more…)

August 12, 2014
Chronixx & Protoje Live in London

Two Leading Lights of Jamaica’s Reggae Revival Touch Down in Brixton

“If we don’t have new talent there is no future,” said David “RamJam” Rodigan last night onstage at the Electric in Brixton, South London. The elder statesman of British reggae radio has often expressed his concerns about the direction in which Jamaican music has been heading. But last night’s live set by Chronixx and the Zinc Fence Redemption band suggested a brighter tomorrow. Riding high off a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, which sent his Dread & Terrible EP soaring to the top of the reggae charts, Chronixx brought a palpable intensity to the stage from his first tune (“Alpha and Omega”) to his final encore (“Odd Ras”). One highlight of the sold-out show was the surprise appearance of Protoje, fresh off a successful European tour, who stepped in to support his bredren and perform their smash hit “Who Knows” live. After he and Diggy blazed the stage, Chronixx went on to perform “Here Comes Trouble” and even flashed a few lines of Jesse Royal, Jah9, and Damian Marley pon the riddim. As Rodigan exclaimed by show’s end: “History was made tonight… The future of this magnificent music is secure.” Video After The Jump… (more…)

August 11, 2014