A Caribbean Collaboration For Haiti w Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Etana…
One good thing about music; when it hits you feel no pain. And from the first night the earthquake struck Haiti, the sound of hymns has reverberated through the rubble of Port au Prince. (more…)
Online Premiere Of New Video From The Real Sheba & The Warlord
When Sheba Sahlemariam calls herself The Real Sheba, you best believe it. Descended from Ethiopian Royalty (King Solomon + Queen Sheba = Line of King David) Sheba carries herself with a certain majesty, and she thinks about time and space a bit differently than most. (“Yes my love for you can break the bonds of space-time,” she sings…Whoa.) Sheba’s journey this lifetime has brought her all the way from Africa to Kingston by way of Brooklyn, Port of Spain, and parts unknown. In short, Sheba’s uniquely qualified to rock your world. Did I mention she can sing? This sultry lover’s tune with a supernatural twist has been bubbling all year in Jamaica. Sheba says her love is “perfect and divine” plus the Warlord came through to give her the big co-sign. Boom-boom-bam.
Next Up From The Gully Squad: Flexxx In The Complex—Ternt Singa
You’ve probably heard Mavado shouting out Flexxx on records since day one, but half the story has never been told. (more…)
Mad Gal Spice Keeps It Mad Real: “We Know What It’s Like To Struggle”
Though she’s best known for racy tunes like “Rampin’ Shop” there’s another side to the dancehall diva known as Spice.
Nigerian Afrobeat Pioneer Declared “Music Is The Weapon Of The Future”
All these so-called pop music rebels need to sit their ass down and soak up some Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who reached planet earth 71 years ago today.
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Big Bad Tune Gets Minimalist Makeover Courtesy Of Ghislain Poirier
Erup’s “Click Mi Finger” is easily one of the catchiest dancehall cuts in recent memory. Apparently the international response to the tune was strong enough that the good folks at Truckback Records decided to roll out a remix EP, inviting a handful of Outernational DJs to have their way with the track—a risky move, to be sure. But I’m not mad at this one…
15 Years After Bob Marley, A Second Reggae Artist Is In The Running
“Very few single albums can be said to have changed music forever,” reads the official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot entry for Jimmy Cliff, who’s in the running to be inducted in 2009, the 25th year of the Hall’s existence. “Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come is one. The album—and the movie that spawned it—introduced reggae to a worldwide audience and changed the image of the genre from a cruise ship soundtrack to music of inspiration and rebellion.” (more…)
You Wonder Who’s Next From The Gully? Wonder No More…
Live and direct from Cassava Piece, Chase to the Cross runs through some big selections from his growing catalog, displaying the stylistic versatility that has people talking about this Gully representer who’s quick to flip from bluesy singing to a straight-up rap flow. (more…)
Winston Rodney Dashes Another Fire Under The Genovese Explorer
It might not be his favorite holiday, but this Monday may be Burning Spear’s best Columbus Day ever. The roots reggae legend has been calling Christopher Columbus “a damn blasted liar” since 1980, when he dropped Hail H.I.M. (more…)
The Overweight Lover Inna Rub a Dub Style—Big, Bad, and Broad
Yes big man—run things fe years without tears and fears. (more…)
Federation Sound, Business Class, & Equinoxx Longside J.O.P. So Sick!
Pree the preview, then click through for the brand new mix from the DJ who spits strictly rapidfire lyrics. (more…)
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…)