“Not Even Special Guests—Cause You Nuh Haffi Guess…”
MistaJam & Seani B do a thing over at BBC 1Xtra called #SixtyMinutesLive during which time special guest artists freestyle over various selections, and generally rough up the airwaves. Last night was a good one as Di Steam Ministah rolled through the studio accompanied by from Maverick Sabre, Randy Valentine, Little Simz, Luciano and Jah Bouks. The vibes did nice, as you will soon witness via YouTube. Video After The Jump… (more…)
Weh Dem Ah Go Do Now?
Usain Bolt has never hidden the fact that he’s a major dancehall fan. Back in Beijing, he celebrated his first Olympic win by busting a Gully Creeper dance. (His 2009 welcome home dance in Trelawney was legendary.) This year in Rio Bolt celebrated his first win by posting an Instagram video of himself singing along to Popcaan’s big tune “World Cup (We Still A Win).” The Unruly Boss wasted no time reposting the video and hit the studio sometime soon after. No sooner did Bolt cross the finish line in Rio, collecting his second gold medal, than Poppy’s Bolt dubplate start shell the worldwide web up. Audio & Video After The Jump… (more…)
Trouble in Terminal 8
Last night, while the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, was winning another medal in Rio, chaos broke out inside Terminal 8 at New York’s JFK Airport and one of the city’s busiest transit hubs had to be evacuated. Coincidence? We think not. Shortly before midnight last night, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey posted the “all clear” on their official Twitter account. “Preliminary inevstigation does not indicate shots were fired at JFK. There are no injuries. At this time, no gun shells or other evidence of shots fired has been found. The terminal was evacuated out of an abundance of caution… Investigation continues.” So what happened? Video After The Jump… (more…)
New Music from the Revelations Album
“I’m a messenger from Jah,” says Gary Nesta Pine. “My dad was a postman; I feel like I am the postman of music.” The long-time leader of NYC’s notorious City Heat band, Pine was blessed to serve as lead vocalist for the legendary reggae band The Wailers for many years, and he’s also collabed with French hitmaker Bob Sinclair. The singer is now preparing to release a new album titled Revelations on August 26th. Today Boomshots proudly premieres one of the album’s 13 tracks, a musical thing called “Thanks and Praise.” On maybe the most personal cut on the album, Gary says he’s “just giving thanks and praise to the almighty Rastafari, for the mountains, the birds, the world, the people who influenced my life, the love of my family, his guidance. It’s a prayer from me to God.” Audio After The Jump… (more…)
Kalonji Speaks on U.S. Tour and Black Lives Matter
It’s been 8 years since Sizzla Kalonji has touched down in NYC, so history was made yesterday he officially announced his big return to New York for Irie Jamboree this Labor Day weekend Sept 4, 2016. Passing through town on the way home from what he calls an “awesome” performance at Reggae on the River, Sizzla Kalonji stopped by Irie Jam Media HQ to connect with his Tristate fans and let them know that he really is back in U.S. once again after years of visa issues. Before going on the air with Jabba and Dubbmaster Chris, Sizzla sat down with Robert Cooper, doing his first interview for Boomshots TV. They spoke about Sizzla’s plans for touring and recording while in the U.S., and took time out to discuss Kalonji’s thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement. Video After The Jump… (more…)
Now A Straight Winnings
With Olympic fever in full swing, you already know “Bring The Beat,” the big tune by Machel Montano and Tessane Chin, is in heavy rotation. Now, just in time for the Rio Olympiad Chimney Records is bringing the beat with a “Jamaica Remix” of the winnings anthem with musical Gold Medalists Tarrus Riley, Ding Dong, Beenie Man, Tifa & Charly Black blazing the lyrical torch. So what if you deh pon one big lazy par and skip the torch ceremony? As long as you know when to press gas! Audio After the Jump… (more…)
From Toronto To Queens Pum Pum Reigns Supreme
A half-Bajan R&B/hip hop artist from Toronto who’s been doing his thing for a few years now, Tory Lanez has recently begun exploring Caribbean sounds. When Tory’s “LUV,” a reworking of Tanto Metro & Devonte’s worldwide dancehall hit “Everyone Falls In Love,” was described as “Terrible” by OVO stalwart Boi 1da, Tory proceeded to remix Drake’s “Controlla” in a fairly murderous fashion and tweeted that he was “bout to have Jamaica on fire.” Today he drops “We Can,” a sexed-up combination with Kranium which sounds more like Kranium jumping on a Tory Lanez #Swavey R&B track than vice versa. Still their icy machismo nicely complements this gauzy beat from Sak Pase and DJ Marley Waters as two young players pledge allegiance to the pum pum. Audio After The Jump… (more…)
This Is Not A Mixtape; It’s A Numerological Revolution
Listen closely and try to keep up: 9 is the sum of the digits 2 + 0 + 1 + 6. Ergo, 2016 is the year of 9. 9 also represents the ninth letter, I, which is not so much a letter as it is a fully-fledged concept bearing profound significance within Rastafarian philosophy, philology, and epistemology. There must be something about the number 9. Not to get all Deep Space Nine, but there are exactly 9 planets. 9 members of Wu Tang. 9 millimeters go bang. According to Jamaican custom, 9 days after someone passes away, his or her friends and family should kill the fatted calf—so to speak, more likely a curried goat—and celebrate the life of the dear departed in order to send him or her off good and proper. It’s called a “nine night.” Well today, Friday August 5, marks the 9th day since Janine Cunningham, better known to enlightened reggae lovers as Jah9, released 9MM Vol. 2, an 18-track project (definitely not a mixtape) which she describes as “Groundings in preparation for the arrival” of her forthcoming album 9, which is due to be released on… 9/9 of course! Audio After The Jump…
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Powerful Images and Powerful Music from Junior Gong’s Stony Hill Album
“Be careful who you nail pon cross,” sings Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley on the new single premiered today from Stony Hill, the long-awaited follow-up to Welcome to Jamrock, which is now scheduled for an October 28 release. The thought-provoking new song is built upon the the musical foundation of Black Uhuru’s “Solidarity.” Sly & Robbie’s thunderous rhythm track provides a backdrop for Damian to speak of respect and tolerance rather than vengefulness and vindictiveness. In the video for the song, set to debut Aug 9th on Tidal, Damian actually gets nailed to a cross alongside a young African-American male, a Mexican immigrant, a Muslim man—and a Los Angeles cop. “The imagery in Nas’s ‘Hate Me Now’ video was made to look like a modern depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. That’s where I got the idea for the ‘Nail Pon Cross’ video,” Damian told Billboard when asked about his inspiration. “I haven’t seen Kanye’s Rolling Stone cover and Madonna’s energy and message is a whole lot different than mine. They thrive on controversy and I am not doing this to be controversial. This is to represent the judgments that people make. So if someone has a problem with the video, that is exactly what the song is talking about.” Audio After The Jump… (more…)
Vine Star Taps Into His Jamaican Roots
Chris Stylez set Vine on fire last year as his X-rated Kryptogram remix of “Who Is” racked up over 50 million plays. A relative of Jimmy Cliff on his father’s side, Chris’s musical journey includes being mentored by Wailers guitarist Ronnie ‘Bop’ Williams while living in Toronto. Today Boomshots proudly premieres “Relapse,” a dancehall-infused soul cut produced by ANY|RIOT—consider it a musical tip of the cap to Stylez’ Jamaican roots and heritage. “This song is about letting a good thing go,” says the NYC-based singer, “yet being constantly reminded of why you both fall so hard in the first place.” Audio After The Jump… (more…)
Drizzy Invites The Unruly Boss & Few More Friends To Toronto
Future was there as expected. Ditto for Drizzy and Roy Wood$. But this year’s OVO Fest was all about the unexpected guests. People like Rihanna, who was technically still a “surprise” during her second consecutive guest set at OVO Fest, performing “Work” and “Too Good” and “BBHMM” (aka “Brap Brap Brap”). And let’s not forget people like Kanye West, who teased the possibility of a Drake/Yeezy album. But nobody savored his guest spot more than Popcaan. The Unruly Boss came onstage performing “Only Man She Wants” and then followed it up with “Everything Nice” and Jamie xx’s “I Know There’s Gonna Be.” And judging by the caption on Poppy’s IG, there were, in fact, good times. Wickedness increase. Video After The Jump… (more…)