Boomshots

Category: Reggae

  • HEAR THIS: Meleku “What to Make”

    HEAR THIS: Meleku “What to Make”

    Sizzla Kalonji’s Son Links With XTM Nation & Keeps The Fire Blazing

    Asking the musical question “What to make of this world,” Meleku, the son of Sizzla Kalonji, steps forward on his own quest for wisdom, knowledge and overstanding. Continuing a multi-generational collaboration, Meleku has linked up with Kareem “Remus” Burrell, son of legendary producer Philip “Fatis” Burrell, the man who first championed a young Sizzla (born Miguel Collins) on the mighty Xterminator label. Just as Remus keeps carrying his father’s works forward with his new XTM Nation imprint, likewise Meleku is keeping his father’s lyrical fire blazing.  Audio & Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Reasoning with Christopher Martin: “I’m a Lover from Birth”

    Reasoning with Christopher Martin:
    “I’m a Lover from Birth”

    “SssMartin” Speaks on Spearheading the Sugar Reggae Movement

    Ever since winning Digicel Rising Stars way back in 2005, Christopher Martin has emerged as one of Jamaica’s premiere entertainers, topping the charts with hits like “Cheaters Prayer” and starring in the recent motion picture Destiny. But his rise to the top of the game stretches back long before he appeared on the television talent show. As he explains in an exclusive Boomshots interview, Martin started singing in church at the age of four, progressing through school choirs and glee clubs. “I sang every chance I got,” he tells Reshma B, “and it’s been niceness ever since.” The singer’s new album is due to drop on V.P. Records this October. The lead single is “Under The Influence,” a track on Anju Blaxx’s “Mildew” Riddim. He says he does in fact prefer making love under the influence—but not so much that he can’t remember the fun. Born on Valentine’s Day, Martin says he’s a “lover from birth” who understands that his core fanbase is female. “I feel like I do this type of music cause it’s real to me,” says Martin, who calls his specialty “sugar reggae” because it’s extras sweet. This coming Saturday Chris Martin will be pouring out some sugar at Reggae Sumfesr in Montego Bay. I the meantime check out the reasoning.  Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Akae Beka “Like Rhyme”

    vaughnBOOMSHOTSVaughn Benjamin’s Poetry In Song

    A master of word play, Vaughn Benjamin (Akae Beka), the prolific songwriter of Midnite Band, supersedes our expectations on his recent solo album, “Portals,” I-grade Records. This July, the artist from St. Croix  trods out for the “Portals Summer Tour.” Manager, Preston Powell predicts that venues will be bursting at the seams for fans who adore this “solo project,” with conscious hits about relationships, spirituality and life.  Fan favorite,  “Like Rhyme” really demonstrates the creativity and intellectual prowess of this lyricist. The entire song is poetry with each line reverberating a natural wave of consciousness.  Moreover it is not just the way the words sound but how the message is physically delivered and neatly packaged into one song.

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  • A Musical Response to Injustice

    A Musical Response to Injustice

    Lyrics for a Perilous Time

    This is a reflective Sabbath, with the killing of two African American males by police officers. What followed was an uproar on social media and peaceful protests across the United States. The recorded narratives of “what happened” reveal the loss of human life for trivial reasons such as a routine traffic stop or walking. This highlights an overt disparity in law enforcement in the United States.

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  • WATCH THIS: Protoje Talks “Can’t Feel No Way”

    WATCH THIS: Protoje Talks “Can’t Feel No Way”

    Diggy British Talks “Royalty Free”

    Since Protoje’s remarkable Ancient Future joined the legions of crucial reggae albums overlooked by the Grammy Awards, Diggy British hasn’t slowed down at all. The five songs comprising the B-side of his latest release, Royalty Free, have set the Internets ablaze since it was uploaded to his Soundcloud, demonstrating the full range of the artists’ creative powers. One track in particular, “Can’t Feel No Way,” produced by Tracker John, M.D., stood out from the rest—promptly getting added to BBC Radio 1 and showcasing sicker than your average flows and rhyme patterns that far surpass any “reggae revival” limitations. Today Boomshots proudly premieres the visuals for said track, along with Reshma B’s exclusive interview with Protoje, wherein Diggy British details the albums’ diverse influences, from Makaveli’s Seven Day Theory to Twin of Twins Stir It Up, and confirms for the record that he does in fact, feel no way whatsoever. Videos After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Micah Shemaiah featuring Rassi Hardknocks “Legal” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Micah Shemaiah featuring Rassi Hardknocks “Legal” Official Music Video

    Check out the new video for “Legal”  with Cameos from Yaadcore, Keida and Exile Di Brave

    The decriminalization of marijuana remains a huge topic of interest for reggae music in 2016.  Reggae has always been a medium for social commentary and these lyrics reflect global changes regarding this plant. The highly anticipated visual for the Uncle Ben (Channel One) produced song was released this week. The video directed by Sherkhan Chiffre of Raatid Magic Films features Micah Shemaiah, Rassi Hardknocks and friends handling the herb discretely. Video After The Jump…

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  • WATCH THIS: Omari Banks ft. Duane Stephenson “System Set” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Omari Banks ft. Duane Stephenson “System Set” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    Omari Fights The Right Fight

    The quest for wisdom knowledge and overstanding is not about having all the answers. The real major key—shout to DJ Khaled—is asking the right questions. The Crown Prince of Reggae, Dennis Emmanuel Brown, once sang a song that asked “Do you know what it means to have a revolution?” Elsewhere D. Brown observed “Them ah fight them mothers, them ah kill them brothers, some ah fight them sister, some a fight them father,” then he asked a musical question that was more like a challenge: “Who they gonna fight when the right fight comes?” Although Dennis passed away without receiving a good answer, there were other seekers who picked up his line of questioning. On Tarrus Riley’s seminal 2006 album Parables  Singy Singy sang a song called “System Set” (subtitled “Willie Lynch Syndrome” after a notorious speech attributed to a West Indian slave master who advised that the best way to control unruly slaves was to, in other words, to divide and rule.)  “In the race for a dollar, friends turn sour—even Mama ‘gainst Dada,” Riley’s song observed. “And I heard that gunshot ah shower over rice and flour—This we can’t allow yah. It makes no sense to fight for food. I’d rather wait for harvest.” And then he completes the thought with a powerful question: “Tell me who and what it profits?” (The modern day Willie Lynches of course, people like Donald Trump.) Today Boomshots proudly premieres the music video for Omari Banks’ song of the same name. But make no mistake, the 2016 version of “System Set” is not a cover. The melody and lyrics are completely new, although the fearless rebel spirit remains the same. This song is more like a continuation of an ongoing search for wisdom, knowledge, and overstanding—making use of word, sound, and power to ask a burning question, one that remains unanswered from that time till this time: “Do you know what  you’re fighting for?” Video After The Jump…
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  • HEAR THIS: Jah 9 “Humble Mi”

    HEAR THIS: Jah 9 “Humble Mi”

    Tune in to Jah9’s Frequency

    A few months ago, Jah9 performed a new song for one of BBC 1Xtra’s Jamaica live sessions, voicing out at Anchor Studios in Kingston. The official version of the song is here and it’s evey bit as powerful as that version. “Try to be humble cause blessed are the meek,” Garnet Silk once sang. But there’s nothing meek about Jah9 when she’s plugged in to the source of the sacred. If this song is any indication her forthcoming album 9 is sure to be a scorcher. Audio After The Jump…
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  • NO LONG TALK: Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor on the Red Bull & Guinness Decade

    NO LONG TALK: Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor on the Red Bull & Guinness Decade

    Dancehall’s First Podcast Hits #10 In Fine Style

    To commemorate the series tenth episode, Man Like Marvin Sparks drew for the decade’s defining producer, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor. 2016 marks ten years on from his classic breakthrough riddim, Red Bull & Guinness. The riddim boasted voicings from Vybz Kartel, Wayne Marshall and Sizzla to a then-emerging singjay called Mavado. “Weh Dem A Do” went on to become an immovable anthem which still draws gun fingers and pull-ups as it did all those years ago. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Sojah “Pon Di Corner” In Memory of Delus

    WATCH THIS: Sojah “Pon Di Corner” In Memory of Delus

    Delmark Spence Is Gone But Not Forgotten

    When people say, as they often do, that music lives on forever, they don’t mean that songs stay the same, like fossils or footprints set in cement. Music literally lives—it’s an organic, ever-changing force that unfolds within its own time and affects each listener a different way. Sometimes a song we’ve heard hundreds of times before will hit us from a whole new angle depending on the time and place and our own meds at the moment. This effect is particularly powerful after an artist passes away. Inevitably his fans will revisit that artist’s catalog, gaining new appreciation for what is often referred to as their “body of work,” a kind of audio autopsy if you will. We’ve seen it this past year with David Bowie and Prince, but the same process takes place for artists who didn’t get quite as much attention as they may have deserved. Consider, for example, “What Tomorrow May Bring” a lesser-known 2012 release by Delus, the dancehall artist born Delmark Spence who tragically and unexpectedly took his own life earlier this month. In light of recent events this severely under-rated song now rings out like an anthem. Delus’s brother—the dancehall star Konshens—recently appeared on the popular Jamaican TV program OnStage to say how much his older brother inspired him. The Spence brothers first entered the music business together as a duo called Sojah (Sons of Jah). Following the worldwide success of their debut release “Pon Di Corner” (on Cashflow Records’  “Guilty Riddim”), Konshens emerged as a major breakout star while Delus continued to do his own thing at his own pace. Still they never stopped repping Sojah, something Garfield Spence must now do on his own. Although Delus is no longer here in physical form, his music lives on forever. Videos After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Morgan Heritage “Modern Man” (Umberto Echo Dub Mix)

    HEAR THIS: Morgan Heritage “Modern Man” (Umberto Echo Dub Mix)

    The Mad! Sick! Riddim Is Pretty Much Exactly That

    Our peoples over at Reggaeville linked up with Munich-based production team Oneness Records to drop an energetic roots rock juggling called the Maad! Sick! Riddim that mixes well with the Rootsman and other top-shelf culture cuts. The lineup is stocked with the likes of Exco Levi, Perfect Giddimani, Gappy Ranks, and Kelissa. Herewith we present an exclusive mix of Morgan Heritage’s “Modern Man” dubbed within an inch of its life by the man called Umberto Echo. Not to be confused with Mr. Eco—the linguist, philosopher, semiotician and author of Foucault’s Pendulum and many more—nor with the Bunnymen—the audio phenomenologist Mr. Echo adds his H for hextra echo.   Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Rakim Bigs Up Stephen “Ragga” Marley: “He’s Keeping It Lit For The Next Generation”

    WATCH THIS: Rakim Bigs Up Stephen “Ragga” Marley: “He’s Keeping It Lit For The Next Generation”

    The Making Of Revelation Part 2

    “Doing a song with Rakim, I couldn’t do it lukewarm,” says Stephen “Ragga” Marley. “It still did haffi rock heavy.” The song in question is “So Unjust” the third track on Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life. The long-awaited sequel to Ragga’s Grammy-winning 2011 album Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life picks up where part one left off, highlighting Ragga’s versatility and expanding his sonic terrain with a wide range of styles and collaborations, from roots reggae to dancehall, hip hop, soul, R&B and dance music. Complex Media enlisted acclaimed director Stephanie Black to document the process of making the album. “Something to wake up the masses,” is how Rakim describes this parrticular track. “That’s right up my alley.” The hip hop icon goes on to praise Stephen’s role as a producer and a cultural force “It’s like the Bible of music, when the Marleys speak,” says Rakim, who estimates hip hop’s current consciouness level “at zero.” Although Rakim says he means no offense to the artists who are out today, in his words “Something ain’t right…. We definitely need conscious music and it has to come from the superiors, you know what I mean? Stephen Marley is definitely one of them cats who can stand anywhere with a bullhorn, and say Hey!” says Rakim. “It’s a blessing to be part of the march.” Video After The Jump…
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