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  • WATCH THIS: Tarrus Riley ft. Zagga “Free Up” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Tarrus Riley ft. Zagga “Free Up” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    Singy Singy and Zagga Got No Time For Bad Vibes

    Chimney Records’ Happy Hour riddim had a strong start out the box with Mavado setting the pace on “Nah Use Them” (aka “Mama son lock down”.) Now here comes another hit off the juggling—this time it’s Tarrus Riley and Zagga joining forces to banish all badmindedless as they remind youth and youth to “Free up!” All the action in the video, produced by Zojak Distribution, unfolds at a video-game arade rather than some old “up in the club” cliche, with random oversized cartoon characters lending a playful vibe to the proceedings. Like the DJ says, “We don’t give trouble we give thanks.” Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Flashback Friday: Terror Kid “Loose She Man”

    Flashback Friday: Terror Kid “Loose She Man”

    For Flashback Friday, Boomshots Features A Grenadian Soca Song (2011)

    A balanced relationship is analogous to a pendulum in a resting, equilibrium position. Any disruption (disagreement, separation etc.), displaces the pendulum sideways, causing vulnerability to a restoring force, due to gravity. In former Grenada Soca Monarch, Shem Bernard aka Terror Kids’ song, “Loose She Man,” sultry vocals over a symphonic production (Don Omar Riddim) by Lyndon Pope of YoungStarz Production, provides a refreshing soca sound. More After The Jump…

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  • WATCH THIS: Specialist Moss ft. Mr. Williamz “Dubby Dubby” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Specialist Moss ft. Mr. Williamz “Dubby Dubby” Official Music Video

    Dubplate You Know That Is The Artillery—And Gwan Go Mek Dem Know It’s In Abundancy

    First they gave you that “Herb Man Skank” and now Specialist Moss and Mr. Williamz are back with a criss new video off the big bad Dub Style EP. With live footage direct from London’s Notting Hill Carnival, the visuals delve into the roots of UK sound system culture. This is what happens when two UK lyrical badman buck up pon one ill drum and bass riddim. Field Marshall no partial.  Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Post-Thanksgiving Tune: Ishawna “Domesticated”

    Post-Thanksgiving Tune: Ishawna “Domesticated”

    And Don’t Forget to Do The Dishes!

    After having some dirty laundry aired over the past few weeks, it looks like Ishawna’s ready for some housecleaning. The latest track by the Princess of the Dancehall and first lady of Downsound Records shows that she’s a domestic goddess at heart.  Coming off the big holiday weekend Ishawna’s here to remind all them boys they better be thankful for having a girl who doesn’t just rave all day long but keeps her dishes done just right. And don’t get it twisted—just cause she keeps the crib clean don’t mean she can’t get dirty between the sheets. “Me can wash, cook and clean AN’ quint, yeah” Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Reggae King Cyber Monday Sale Will Swag You Out

    Reggae King Cyber Monday Sale Will Swag You Out

    40 Percent Off Until Midnight Monday Night

    Our people at Reggae King have the reggae swag game on lock. From caps to T-shirts to jewelry to heaphones to lava lamps and more… If you’ve got a reggae lover on your holiday list Reggae King has got them covered. They are having a Cyber Monday sale with 40 percent off, so now would be a good time to head on over to Reggae King and get your e-commerce on. Details After The Jump. .. (more…)

  • Troubling Questions Raised by the Riff Raff, Snoop & Collie Buddz Collab

    Troubling Questions Raised by the Riff Raff, Snoop & Collie Buddz Collab

    So… Another Rapper’s Dabbling in Dancehall?

    This past Friday, you may have noticed all those hipster blogs breathlessly reporting that Riff Raff aka Jody Highroller had “gone reggae.” OK, fair enough—these “Yankee rappers dabbling in dancehall” posts are surefire crowd pleasers. Why should we even be surprised when a kid from Houston born Horst Christian Simco signs with Mad Decent and decides to switch up his bugged-out raw flow and try singing over a reggae beat? But can we honestly claim that the guy has “gone reggae.” I mean, what ever happened to Snoop Lion? When Big Homie first aappeared on the Strictly Boomshots show, he was all about that Rasta life. Now he turns up on a reggae track produced by The Cataracs (the duo who made “Like A G6”) rappin’ like Snoop Dogg? Riff Raff’s in Jody Highroller mode, Snoop’s in Dogg mode… Hold up—we’re getting confused. Wasn’t Snoop suposed to be Bob Marley reincarnated or something? Thank God Collie Buddz sounds like himself on this one.  Audio After the Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Ding Dong & I-Octane “Hold Yuh Own” PREMIERE

    HEAR THIS: Ding Dong & I-Octane “Hold Yuh Own” PREMIERE

    Brand New Dance Inna The Place

    Ah wah gwan? Brand new dance inna the place—Ding Dong and Octane connect with DJ Frass for a musical thing called “Hold Yuh Own.” Hot Ras and Ravers Clavers link up… When you see them in the dance just give them space. Audio After the Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Popcaan “Love Yuh Bad” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Popcaan “Love Yuh Bad” Official Music Video

    The Hotskull Finds An Empress To Cool Him Down

    The latest visual offa Poppi’s Where We Come From album is all about the love between one man and one woman. “Love Yuh Bad” (produced by Dre Skull) was the first track leaked off Popcaan’s debut album on Mixpak Records, and the accompanying video finds Hotskull and his queen in the rain forests of St. Thomas where the natural vibes flow (inna back-to-nature Adam and Eve style). This video should really be picked up by the Jamaica Tourist Board because after you watch it you will want to book two tickets to paradise like Eddie Money. Watching Popcaan and his lady boiling bananas, burning spliffs, and playing in the river serves as a timely reminder that you don’t have to have a big fat roasted turkey in the oven to give thanks. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Money Flow” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Money Flow” Official Music Video

    All The Turf President Wants for Christmas Is a Bag of Money

    You already know about Busy Signal’s versatility. He can sing you a country & western classic, chat pon a Major Laxer production, blaze up a cutting-edge dancehall riddim, or ease into roots rock reggae music. In his latest release “Money Flow” Busy takes it back to classic rub-a-dub dancehall style, riding the “Wah Do Dem” riddim made famous by Eek a Mouse and brandishes the “Ribbi Dibbi” flow made famous by Super Cat over Half Pint’s “Greetings” riddim. What better way to make preparations for the Yuletide season than by stacking paper? Run that… Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Chris Blackwell Speaks on “Countryman”

    Chris Blackwell Speaks on “Countryman”

    Island Records Founder Reflects on a Friend Who Had Nothing And Still Had Everything

    Most reggae fans know the Reggae Cult Classic film Countryman, but it’s less well known that the star of the film is real person. The 1982 film, which will be streamed online next Friday night, December 5th—following an exclusive BoomshotsTV chat with one of the original cast members, veteran Jamaican actor Carl Bradshaw—was directed by Dickie Jobson, and stars a Rastafarian Indian Tamil fisherman who lived in the seaside community of Hellshire outside Kingston, Jamaica. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who backed the film project, reflects on the man he knew, a real Rastaman who truly undersood the meaning of the term Thanksgiving, and embodied it in his simple life and his every word and deed. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Strictly the Best Vol. 50 The Mixtape

    HEAR THIS: Strictly the Best Vol. 50 The Mixtape

    Rico Vibes of Natural Vibes and Da Flava Radio Pon The Megamix

    Over the past 35 years, VP Records has established themslves as the dominant distributor of Jamaican music, and the 50th and 51st installments of their Strictly the Best compilation series drops today. As per usual, the first volume focuses more on roots and lovers rock singers while the second dives direct into the dancehall. And because this year marks a landmark anniversary for VP—or simply to tickle the fancy of the “Don’t make em like they used to” posse—each volume of the anthology includes a second disc jam-packed with classic selections culled from earlier STB editions. Today we present a megamix of Volume 50 cuts curated by selector Rico Vibes. From Half Pint‘s Greetings and Luciano‘s “Sweep Over My Soul” straight back to Etana‘s “Trigger” and Jah Cure‘s “Life We Live,” this one is total niceness. No matter how cold it is where you are right now, press play and prepare yourself for a virtual vacation to Jamaica’s sunny shores. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Lee “Scratch” Perry Wants You To Stop Smoking Ganja

    Lee “Scratch” Perry Wants You To Stop Smoking Ganja

    The Reggae Pioneer Tells The Fader About New Music, Old Studios, and Negative Influence

    Lee “Scratch” Perry, who crafted sounds for Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and countless others while releasing genre-formative albums of his own, is relaxing in a grand old English guest house in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. He has just gotten through performing at the Lakefest Music Festival and is wearing a full red suit covered with dollar, pound, and Euro signs written in Magic Marker; his baseball cap is adorned with metallic badges, a large circular mirror, and a pinecone-shaped chunk of crystal perched on the brim. When he speaks, his words, like his clothes and his tunes, are freewheeling, arcane, and ceaseless. From a small settee, he holds forth on a wide range of subjects, including his new signee, Iguana, his return-to-form new album Back on the Controls, which he recorded in a replica of his legendary Black Ark recording studio, and why he feels guilty about the marijuana culture his art helped to spread to the masses. Video After The Jump…

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