Boomshots

Category: Reggae

  • WATCH THIS: Morgan Heritage “Selah” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Morgan Heritage “Selah” Official Music Video

    Around The World In Four Minutes and Fifty Seconds

    Having grown up between Massachusetts, Brooklyn, and Jamaica, the children of reggae singer Denroy Morgan were blessed with the opportunity to experience different ways of life in different places on earth. As they evolved into the Grammy-winning reggae supergroup Morgan Heritage, their career took them all over the planet. “The world is more beautiful than you know,” sings Peetah Morgan on “Selah” a hard-hitting reality track off Overstand Ent’s Mile High riddim (distributed by 21st Hapilos). “So much beauty my eyes behold, so much in school they never told.” Although their new video features stunning aerial shots of cities and natural wonders all over the globe, don’t mistake this for some kinda international flossing spree. The Morgan family drops knowledge over Winta James’ tough rub-a-dub riddim, exposing centuries of mental slavery and putting the truth-telling power of reggae music on full display. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • MOBO Awards Announce 2016 Best Reggae Artist Nominees

    MOBO Awards Announce 2016 Best Reggae Artist Nominees

    Will Popcaan Continue His Winning Streak?

    This morning in London the nominees for this year’s MoBo (Music of Black Origin) Awards were announced. Now celebrating its 21st year, the MoBos have often done a better job reflecting the sound of the streets than the Grammy’s, particularly in the Reggae award category, honoring not only the Best Reggae Album (like the Grammy’s) but the overall Best Reggae Artist. Last year’s nominees included UK-based Stylo G, Chronixx, Protoje, Omi [who might have been amused to be included in this category since the Jamaican-born pop artist always made clear that he’s not a reggae artist], with the award going to Mr. “World Cup” himself, Popcaan—who got the nod this year as well. His last trip to England resulted in a MixPak victory at the Red Bull Culture Clash. Check out his competition. Nominee List After The Jump… (more…)

  • Damian Marley Live at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom

    Damian Marley Live at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom

    A Souled-Out Show on the Road to Stony Hill

    Eleven years after welcoming us to Jamrock, Damian Marley is on the road to Stony Hill. It’s not just the name of the marijuana dispensary that the youngest Marley brother is opening near the Denver Bronco’s home field in Colorado. It’s not just the strand of weed that Jr. Gong personally helped to develop and test for said dispensary. Stony Hill, the name of the St. Andrew community north of Kingston where the young Lion grew up, is the title of Damian Marley’s upcoming fourth solo studio album. Full Review, Video & Photos After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Dexta Daps “Mi C Mi Bed N Miss U”

    HEAR THIS: Dexta Daps “Mi C Mi Bed N Miss U”

    Daps Gets All in His Feelings on this new Tune for the Ladies

    You might know Dexta Daps from his street anthem “Shabba Madda Pot” or his new collab with M.I.A. “Foreign Friend,” but the latest release from the dancehall heartthrob is entitled “Mi C Mi Bed N Miss U.” According to the artist “It’s about a real-life situation where you miss that person so much you go home from work one day and you just see the bed and you’re like, “Oh my God! Where’s my significant other?” In a recent interview with Pigeons & Planes, the Seaview Gardens star speculated as to why she’s not by his side in the tune. “Maybe she’s out there with another man?” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s cheating? That’s why I give her a Chinese Jordan.” This led correspondent Reshma B to probe further on Daps’ views on male-female relationships, as his hit tune “7Eleven” outlines a very open-minded approach to commitment. “Let me tell you what I really believe. Whether or not she is doing it I will never know, so I’m not gonna put it in my mind that she’s not, I’m not gonna put it in my mind that she is. I just don’t care. If she does, I’m right at “I don’t care.” And if she’s not, I’m still at “don’t care.” Me are her are good. We are still good.” Elsewhere in the Pigeons & Planes feature, Daps speaks about working with M.I.A. and the real-life inspiration for “Shabba Madda Pot.” Check the new sounds, plus highlights from this rare interview. Audio After The Jump…
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  • WATCH THIS: Gentleman ft. Ky-Mani Marley “Tomorrow” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Gentleman ft. Ky-Mani Marley “Tomorrow” Official Music Video

    Cross-Cultural Collab Imagines A Brighter Future

    Strolling through the streets of old Havana, Gentleman & Ky-Mani invite the listener to “Step out of your comfort zone” on “Tomorrow,” the latest video from their collaborative album, Conversations. Breaking down the walls of musical and cultural apartheid, these eclectic artists—who share a love and respect for reggae while remaining open to all inspiration— joined forces to create a new project free of all self-imposed boundaries, written and recorded in JA with worldwide talents like Shane Brown and Clay in the mix. “Wonder what the world will bring tomorrow?” sings Gentleman on the track, visually interpreted by director Noël Dernesch for It’s Us Media.. “Will it be joy, will it be sorrow?” Ky-Mani offers no easy answers but puts the conversation in broader context. “The world is on the verge of change when nothing stays the same. But if by chance you find it strange. It’s just a part of what’s ordained.” Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Jah 9 Talks Yoga, Herbs and Holistic Healing: “This is no Devil Thing, This is Life!”

    Jah 9 Talks Yoga, Herbs and Holistic Healing: “This is no Devil Thing, This is Life!”

    Jamaican Warrior Goddess Vibes in the British countryside

    On a rainy day in Hainault Forest Country Park in Chigwell, Essex, Jah9 and her band performed at One Love, the UK’s No. 1 reggae and dub camping festival. Running through new songs like “Humble Me” and the warrior anthem “Unafraid” from her new album, which would be released on the mystical date of September 9, 2016 (2+0+1+6=9) a perfect convergence of 9s. “Every time we come to England we get more love,” Jah 9 told Reshma B in an exclusive interview. They spoke about the making of Jah9’s 9mm Vol 2 (“It’s not a mixtape,” she insists. “It’s groundings”) and the whole “Year of the 9” concept. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad “Really True” PREMIERE

    HEAR THIS: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad “Really True” PREMIERE

    Dry & Heavy Rochester Rub a Dub

    The Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (GPGDS) experience is not unlike Reservoir Dogs meets Gorillas in the Mist only with slightly disheveled pandas. At any given moment these five intrepid reggae musicians are traveling  state to stateon a daily mission to Make It Better—which just happens to be the title of the Rochester, New York–based band’s new album, dropping Sep 16th via the Rootfire cooperative. “There is a lot of intention in this release,” says singer-bassist James Searl. “We had a purpose to prove to ourselves recording this album. We wanted to know that we could put our heads down and do good work fast. It was a great release artistically. It uniquely sounds the most progressive of anything we have ever done while also sounding the most like our first album.” The drum roll rings out clear and true, the bass floods the place, and that organ melody sounds like it’s playing in the skate rink of your dreams. Boomshots proudly presents  a sweet slice of lovers rock from the forthcoming GPGDS album, asking a musical lovers question.  Audio After The Jump…
  • WATCH THIS: Jah Cure “Rasta” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Jah Cure “Rasta” Official Music Video

    New Video Goes Around the Globe With Cure

    What has Jah Cure been up to? We haven’t heard much from Iyacure since last year’s Grammy Awards, when his album The Cure was highly touted to win Best Reggae Album honors. Although the Morgan family ended up taking the title that year, the excellence of Cure’s self-produced album stands undiminished. Meanwhile, the singer has been keeping it cool and touring the world spreading Jah love, as seen in this new video for one “Rasta” of the standout tracks from the project. Shot on location in Greece, Rome, Paris, Venice, somewhere in the Alps, and God knows where else these big money visuals take you pretty much anywhere you want to be right now. Cure again! Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • How Gentleman Buss As A Reggae Artist

    How Gentleman Buss As A Reggae Artist

    The Tunes That Turned This Teenager From Köln, Germany Into A Certified Jamaican Star

    In late 2014 MTV invited Gentleman to record an “Unplugged” album, marking the first time any reggae artist had joined that respected series which has included the likes of Jay Z, Nirvana, and Lauryn Hill. With guest appearances by Shaggy, Ky-Mani Marley, Tanya Stephens, and Christopher Martin as well as the German duo Milky Chance, Gentleman and his acoustic band repped reggae music to the fullest. If it seems strange that a white man born in Germany should be chosen to represent a musical art form created in the Caribbean amongst the surviving descendants of African slaves, then you don’t know Tilmann Otto.  Boomshots recently caught up with the conscious German reggae singer—known to his fans as Gentleman—and spoke with him about his unlikely rise to the top of the reggae business, why it’s such an honor to record the MTV Ungplugged project, and what stories are dominating his attention these days and for the foreseeable future (Think: Songs About The Syrian Refugee Crisis.) Videos After The Jump… (more…)

  • Irie Jam Sizzles with Sizzla, Anthony B & Friends

    Irie Jam Sizzles with Sizzla, Anthony B & Friends

    Tropical Storm Stays Far, Roots Vibrations Catch A Fire At Queens Stage Show

    On Sunday, September 4, boom chunes reverberated from early afternoon across the pristine greens of Queens’ Roy Wilkins Park. It was Irie Jam Radio’s 23rd Anniversary and heavyweights were out in full force to celebrate. Though fallout from a tropical storm was supposed to drown out the festivities, Bobby Clarke and the Irie Jam family kept on “Holding Firm” and in the end the only thunder and lightning came from the line-up of roots rock reggae entertainers. The jewel in the crown of these royal revelries was the return of Sizzla Kalonji to the New York City stage. After enduring over eight years of the artist’s absence, being reunited never felt so good. Photos After The Jump…
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  • “LAVAAA!!!” The Irie Flame of I-Wayne

    “LAVAAA!!!” The Irie Flame of I-Wayne

    Lava Splash! Fire Dash! Everything Burn To Ash

    Sunday September 4th marked Irie Jam’s 23rd Anniversary concert spotlighting Sizzla Kalonji’s return-to-New-York performance after eight long years of absence. The supporting superstar line-up to the sizzling stage show included an artist who personifies lines from Kalonji’s “King in the Jungle.”  Seated up so high, yet so humble, I-Wayne brought his celestial presence and the hard/soft balance of his cool and deadly style to the Irie Jam Radio massive in the leafy green confines of Roy Wilkins Park. Mainstream airwaves aren’t the lane for I-Wayne. As the Prophet Capleton once put it, he is on a mission, not in a competition. To see him truly manifest is to catch him live in the flesh. After a seething set that made knowledge born that his musical ministry is service to the people—not about bulleting Billboard or gaining Grammys—we linked up with the Loyal Soliders Promotion crew backstage. I-Wayne broke it down with Boomshots as to what the Irie Jam performance meant to him, burning a righteous fire, and shedding light on the livity of a lava lyricist. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Busy Signal Helicopters In For Malawi Show With Custom Chopper

    Busy Signal Helicopters In For Malawi Show With Custom Chopper

    Turf Prez Flying High In Africa

    Busy Signal always gets made love in Africa, but yesterday’s concert in Malawi took the Turf Prez to another level—in his own personalized helicopter. The Jamaican reggae/dancehall star arrived in style for his Saturday night show at Civo stadium in Lilongwe thanks to Impact Events boss Lucius Banda, who called in a few favors with the Malawi Defense Force. The southeast African nation’s military forces kindly provided a personalized chopper for Busy—now that’s how you make an entrance!—and an extremely secure ride home after the show. “Safely escorted to hotel by the Army, no one can Harm Mi,” Busy posted on his IG, adding: “Oh, and and tell @reggaesumfest seh mi performed for 3 hours and 37 minutes with my personal Band. Thank you so much! GOD BLESS.” So the thing set. Check out the crowd reaction whenever Busy steps out the chopper or steps to the stage. Hot-head!  Videos After The Jump… (more…)