Boomshots

Category: Sound System

When two sounds goes to war. One is all that you can score.

  • HEAR THIS: Busy Signal “Come Shock Out”

    Nuff Respect to the Turf Hi Power… Music Every Minute Every Hour

    Considering all that he’s been through lately, Busy sounds happy just to be back in the studio. This particular tune is all about the sheer joy of spitting lyrics. Flinging down classic foundation styles “to make you dance pon yuh toe,” Busy touches on key topics like Selassie’s 1966 visit to Jamaica, burning out badmind and obeah, and dashing another fire on the one Lucifer. After underscoring the importance of fresh armpits and a clean heart, Busy goes on to big up the godfather Rodney Price,  and shouts out a diverse range of artists ranging from Tiger to Bongo Herman, Dean Fraser, Tippa Lee & Rappa Robert, and Sugar Minott “the sprinter-stayer long-distance runner.” Sounds like another #CertifiedBoomshot from Jukeboxx Jamaica.  Audio After The Jump…

    (more…)

  • REVIEW: Major Lazer Live At Terminal 5 NYC

    You Have Never Seen A Lazer Show Like This

    The veteran of the secret Zombie War of 1984 hopped on his rocket powered skateboard and descended upon the unsuspecting inhabitants of New York City and made the spacious Terminal 5 his headquarters before the Frankenstorm’s arrival. (more…)

  • INTERVIEW: Rayvon Still Going Strong, Getting That Cheddar

    The Ladies Love Sugar RayRay

    Just last night in New York City Shaggy and Rayvon performed at the RockHouse Foundation benefit to raise funds for the education of Jamaica’s youth. They’ve been doing their thing since the late Eighties in good ol’ Brooklyn, where Rayvon and Shaggy  first linked as the ultimate dancehall duo, dropping hit after hit after hit along with the rest of the ‘Ruff Entry Crew.’ For decades since, Shaggy & Rayvon have been instrumental in showcasing dancehall across the globe. From their early hits, including the classic “Big Up“—which as far as we can tell was the first tune to popularize that universally recognized slang term—to the smooted-out jam  ‘In The Summertime‘ to the history-making international chart topper ‘Angel,’ these two have a natural chemistry. But Rayvon is also a solo star in his own right who shows no signs of slowing down.  Why should he?  We caught up with Rayvon recently and spoke about how he’s been stepping out on his own. From managing his very own production company, to touring and recording, Rayvon is focused and poised for even more success. After all, to whom much is given, much is required—don’t it? Interview after the jump. (more…)

  • The Heatwave Picks Their Top Boomshots

    Reshma B Reasons With Gabriel To Find Out How The Heatwave Keeps It Hot

    After mashing up this year’s Notting Hill Carnival and taking a crazy road trip to Croatia, UK bashment sound The Heatwave will be releasing a brand new remix today. (RDX & Friends ”Jump”.) We reckoned this would be a great time to catch up with Gabriel—one of the DJ collective’s top selectors—to find out which songs and artists are ramming their Hot Wuk and Madd Raff sessions right about now. He chats with ReggaeGirlAboutTown about the influence of Jamaican music on the UK underground, and explains why he doesn’t do the Dutty Wine.  Interview After The Jump

    (more…)

  • Interview: Reasoning With Rodigan Part 3

    Sir RamJam’s Royal Recognition, His Radio Clash With Barry G, And His Fears For Reggae’s Future

    David Rodigan‘s trophy case must be getting mighty crowded. This year alone the veteran UK selector and radio personality has won the World Clash, received Member of the British Empire honors at Buckingham Palace,  and earlier this month he bagged the Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Best Specialist Music Programme in recognition of his recent BBC Radio 2 reggae series. But even as his accolades accumulate, Rodigan wastes no time resting on his laurels. He is fully booked through next year with gigs all around the world. And he seems genuinely concerned about the future of the music he loves—as he explains in the third and final installment of our “Reasoning With Rodigan” series… In the first of our exclusive interviews, Rodigan spoke about how he has been able to reach the dubstep generation, and paid respects to the late, great King Stitt. In part 2, the rude boy gentleman recounted his “baptism by fire” at King Tubbys, revealed how his background in theater helped him become a reggae DJ, and explained why he never talks patois on the air. [In case you somehow missed REASONING WITH RODIGAN PART 1 or PART 2, fret not thyself.] In our third and final installment, Rodigan details the roots of his legendary radio clash with Barry G, talks about receiving MBE honors from Prince Charles earlier this year, and voices his concerns that reggae music may have lost its way. OK, let’s get to it. (more…)

  • R.I.P. King Stitt

    No Matter What The People Say, King Stitt Led The Way

    Order of merit to the foundation of the music. Yesterday the pioneering DJ King Stitt passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer. (more…)

  • What Is A Dubplate?

    Check Out Killamanjaro Sound’s Original Dub Cutting Machine

    Some sound have no bottom some sound have no top, but Kill-a-Man-Jaro… (more…)

  • Notting Hill Carnival, Post Riots Edition

    Bobby Babylon Flexes Muscle, But Europe’s Biggest Street Jam Raves On

    Naysayers be damned, London showed its true colors at the 2011 Notting Hill Carnival. Scheduled for August 28 and 29th, the date came just three weeks after a firestorm of rioting that spread across Britain following the death of Mark Duggan, an Anglo-Jamaican youth who was shot by police in North London. The wounds from that traumatic spasm of “Anarchy in the UK“—which resulted in 5 deaths, 16 injuries, and over 3000 arrests—will not heal overnight. Nor will we soon forget the ugly divisive rhetoric unleashed by the flareup of violence. But nothing brings people together like a good rave. (more…)

  • Unforgettable: Reasoning With Sanchez, Part 1

    From The Church To The Dancehall, Sanchez D Hits All The Right Notes.

    Sanchez is one of those year-to-year singers who’s too often forgotten. So consistently stellar are his crystalline vocals, so unwavering is his standard of excellence, that we sometimes take him for granted. In such cases the best thing to do is walk away for a few years and make them miss you. After all, the man has been singing his heart out since the late ’80s, investing improbable pop songs with so much drama and passion that you forget all about the originals. Then he drops an album like the all-original 1995 masterpiece Praise Him, and the reggae world goes into a frenzy. But apart from being sampled all over the “Dipset Anthem,” mainstream success has eluded this supremely gifted vocalist. Not that he’s hurting in the least. 

    (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Early B “DJ Origination”

    Special Request To The Original Doctor, Going Down In Dancehall History

    One more reason to remember September 11: Seven years after Peter Tosh’s 1987 murder in Kingston, the foundation dancehall artist Early B The Doc was killed by a stray shot in a Boston dancehall session 15 years ago today. To call Early B a dancehall legend doesn’t nearly do the man justice. He was a DJ’s DJ, a styistic innovator, a mentor and sparring partner of Super Cat the Don Dada, and a vast repository of information who crammed as much raw data into his lyrics as possible. He was also an ardent student of the culture he chronicles in this 1983 cut on the Sonic Sounds label. “Now I dedicate this style to all the DJs over the years who have been champions, from Daddy Roy straight down to King Yellowman, from Josey Wales and Chaplin and even I Early B the Doctor. Laaaaaawd.” Let it go… (more…)