Boomshots

Category: Reggae

  • Tune In To Radio Lily

    Webcasting Live From NYC 2 The World

    Tune In To Radio Lily, broadcasting live for the first time today. (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Live From The Turntable Club

    Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson & Big Youth With The Soul Syndicate In 1974

    What we’re about to do right now is go back. Waaay back. The year is 1974. The place, Kingston Jamaica’s fabulous Turntable Club. Chinna Smith and the Soul Syndicate band are rocking live on the bandstand with King Tubby’s and Errol T on the mix and Niney the Observer in the building. Man like D.Brown, Delroy Wilson, and Big Youth round the microphone stand—alongside the big bad hornsman Mr. Alexander Portious doing the best Gregory Isaacs cover version ever. Are you ready for some real live reggae music? (more…)

  • The Techniques Top 21

    21 Reasons Why The Late Great Winston Riley’s Music Can’t Stop Play

    (Photo By Luca D’Agostino – Rototom Sunsplash)

    Late last night came the grim news that Winston Riley—one of the last true living legends in the reggae industry—has died. Riley made musical history both as a singer and a producer over a half-century span. Starting as a founding member of the vocal group The Techniques, he went on to establish the prolific and pioneering Techniques label, which released the instrumental hit “Double Barrel” that went on to top the UK charts. He created the immortal Stalag riddim, a strong contender for the greatest reggae instrumental of all time. He produced breakthrough hits by artists as diverse as General Echo, Tenor Saw, Super Cat, Sanchez, Red Dragon, Buju Banton, and Spragga Benz, just to name a few. He had been attacked at home last November, suffering gunshot wounds in the head and arm from which he never fully recovered. “Turning into a producer is a very good ting,” he told the Jamaica Gleaner in 2008. “Yuh achieve a great goal, but is not an easy road.”
    In recent years he’d been working on refurbishing the Techniques headquarters on Kingston’s Orange Street into a museum commemorating the music to which he devoted his life. His efforts were rewarded with senseless violence. Upon hearing the news, the only thing that came to mind was one of the less famous cuts from Mr. Riley’s classic Stalag 17 album:

    Brigadier Jerry “What Kind Of World” (1985)

    “What type of world are we living in?” Briggy asks, his voice filled with righteous indignation. “Jah know it is a sin…”
    (more…)

  • David Rodigan Receives Royal Honor

    Reggae Radio Legend To Join “Most Excellent Order Of British Empire”

    Congratulations to David Rodigan, the legendary UK radio personality who will receive a royal order of chivalry, becoming a member of the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” for his contributions to broadcasting. Rodigan has represented all forms of reggae music on British airwaves and beyond for over 30 years—from programs on BBC Radio and on KISS FM to countless sound clashes all over the world. No word yet whether Mr. Ram Jam will receive his honor personally from the Queen, but he’s sure to think of her next time he dips in the box and draws for this one. Dub it with your majesty… Ya know? (more…)

  • A Politics Time Playlist

    Election Or Not, We Don’t Have To Fire Shot

    Today Jamaica will go to the polls for the first general election since the siege of Tivoli Gardens and the Dudus extradition raised troubling questions about who really runs things. But if you listen to reggae music, you already know… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Toni Braxton & Shaggy “Xmas In Jamaica” + “Jamaican Drummer Boy” & 3 More Rappa-Pam-Pams

    What Is The Meaning Of Rappa Pam Pam???

    Mr. Boombastic must really love Christmas. Ten years ago he gave us “Christmas In Jamaica“ with Toni Braxton. Was that Toni whispering something about “Sex on the beach?” (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Tanya Stephens “Fire Burning”

    She’s Blazing Out Of Control. Send For The Strawberries And Cream!

    You can’t say Tanya Stephens never warned you. Way back in the “Joyride” days, she was the one who said “You Nuh Ready Fi Dis yet.” And Tanya’s still talking the truth about women’s wants and needs while putting these tough-talking dudes to the test. Like the song said, “Hot fire deh ya but the wood nah blaze” etc. etc. Well some things never change, and Tanya’s fire is still hot. If you thought her latest song was some sort of remake of the Marcia Griffiths classic of the same name—think again. This fire is a whole ‘nother matter (and the beat is crazy). We’re talking foot pon shoulder, pedal-and-wheel, roast duck, lizard lap, bedrom mazuka. You get the picture. (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Jimmy Cliff “Many Rivers To Cross” LIVE

    40 Years After Starring In The Harder They Come, He’s Still Coming Hard

    As Vivien Goldman observed in her excellent review of Jimmy Cliff’s recent unplugged set at Miss Lily’s Variety, for Mr. Cliff “every night is like a first night.” Standing three feet away from the 63-year-old living legend—watching him strum his guitar and feeling him nail every high note while perched on a bar stool with his cap to the back—was enough to make me forget half the live shows I’ve ever seen. Thankfully, LargeUpTV captured the moment for posterity, so you don’t need to be mad if you were unable to squeeze in there with the Miss Lily’s posse that night, or you somehow missed the live broadcast (including Pat McKay’s irie interview) on Sirius Satellite Radio. (more…)

  • The Xterminator Top 10

    10 Reasons Why The Late Great Fattis Burrell’s Music Can’t Stop Play

    This weekend brought word of another reggae legend’s passing. Phillip “Fattis” Burrell, the man behind the crucial dancehall and reggae label Xterminator Records—and before that, Vena Records—died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago. The prolific producer who helped launch the careers of Luciano, Sizzla, Sanchez and Pinchers will be keenly missed.

    Everybody has their Fattis favorites; he recorded decades’ worth of great music with just about every significant singer and DJ in Jamaica. And we’re not even going to try and touch on the classics he produced for Vena. But when the roll is called up yonder, these tunes have got to be there. Run that… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Jimmy Cliff “The Guns of Brixton”

    With Your Hands On Your Head—Or On The Trigger Of Your Gun?

    If there were a proper Reggae Hall of Fame, Jimmy Cliff would be amongst the first inductees. As it is, he’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who’s inspired everybody from Bob Dylan to the Neville Brothers. Now in his 60s, the man who auditioned Bob Marley for Leslie Kong and went on to portray Ivan, the original StarBwoy, in Perry Henzel’s film The Harder They Come still has a few tricks left up his sleeve. On Cliff’s new EP, Sacred Fire, he linked up with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong to remake a classic by The Clash in a stripped-down acoustic stylee. In an eerily appropriate twist of fate, the late Joe Strummer sings lyrics that are replete with references to Jimmy Cliff’s cinematic debut. (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Amy Winehouse “Our Day Will Come”

    The Lioness Roars So Sweetly On This Romantic Cover Version

    “Amy always said, ‘Hey we need a reggae song for this album,’” the singer’s longtime friend and producer Salaam Remi said earlier this week at a listening session for the forthcoming album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which kicks off with a bright & bouncy reggae version of the dreamy Ruby & The Romantics chart-topper from 1962. “This is a vocal that she did early in her career, but in true Amy form. And when I was playing different songs for her family, everybody was like ‘That’s it, the reggae one.’” The same song was covered in 1971 by The Heptones in a dreamy Rock Steady stylee, but Remi’s 2011 remix is steppin’ it hotter this year. (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Singing Melody “Collide”

    World Premiere: Official Music Video From The New Album

    “Even the best fall down sometimes.” Welcome back Mr. Melody. We’ve been missing you. (more…)