Boomshots

Tag: Billboard

  • Kartel Tops Billboard 10 Best Reggae Albums List

    Kartel Tops Billboard 10 Best Reggae Albums List

    The best of times and the worst of times for lovers of Reggae Music

    For the second year in a row Billboard asked Rob Kenner, founder of Boomshots Media, to pick the 10 Best Reggae Albums of the year. The assignment was particularly significant in this year where Jamaican sounds were all over the airwaves, the pop charts and the Grammy nominations, except that most of the records were not done by Jamaican artists. You could hardly turn on the radio without hearing a half-hour block of dancehall-style tracks, all too often classified under misbegotten names like “tropical house” and “Caribbean bass.” With both Justin Bieber and Rihanna briefly sporting dreadlocks and Drake publicly referring to himself as “the don,” it would be difficult for longtime fans of the music not to catch feelings this year….Consider this list a crib sheet to catch you up on everything you missed while tropical house flooded the airwaves.  Full List After The Jump…
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  • Rihanna Putting In “Work” As Her Dancehall Single Tops Billboard Chart For 8th Consecutive Week

    Rihanna Putting In “Work” As Her Dancehall Single Tops Billboard Chart For 8th Consecutive Week

    Bajan BadGyal Ties The Beatles With 57 Career Weeks At #1

    As the dancehall World Boss put it in his 2015 anthem, “Dancehall cyaa stall forever and ever.” Rihanna has once again proved Kartel’s maxim as her single “Work,” featuring Drake posts its eigth consecutive week at the top of the pop charts. The music industry bible Billboard reported today that the Bajan pop star has reached a new career milestone, tying The Beatles with her 57th career week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100,  which measures the most popular singles in the U.S.A.  Full Story After The Jump… (more…)

  • Reasoning with Sister Nancy

    Reasoning with Sister Nancy

    Dancehall’s Original Muma Talks “Bam Bam,” Rihanna, and Kanye West

    Quick: what’s the most sampled song in reggae history? If you guessed “Bam Bam” by Sister Nancy you know your stuff. Her 1982 album cut has provided raw material for dozens of records for artists ranging from Chris Brown to Too $hot to Diamond D. The latest may be the biggest tune of all:”Famous” by Kanye West featuring Rihanna and Swizz Beatz, off The Life of Pablo. Yep, that’s the song where Yeezy disses Taylor Swift–the one everybkdy’s chatting bout although few have actually heard it. When Boomshots caught up with Muma Nancy for a recent Billboard piece the legendary foundation DJ had not heard the tune yet. Not that she’s in much of a hurry to do so. She’s unimpressed with the whole sampling thing, much preferring a live session. But trust and believe she will be picking up that royalty check. Pree the full reasoning below. Interview After The Jump… (more…)

  • Billboard’s Best Reggae Albums of 2015

    Billboard’s Best Reggae Albums of 2015

    Boomshots Selects The Year’s Essential Reggae Discs

    As reggae lovers mark the 70th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth, the music that the Tuff Gong spread around the globe has come full circle. While dancehall permutations from Major Lazer to Justin Bieber reverberate throughout pop culture, and Brits from Joss Stone to Keith Richards try their hands at Jamaican sounds, the land of this music’s birth is rediscovering its roots. Billboard enlisted Boomshots to pick this year’s best reggae albums, and the results may surprise you: Almost all are Jamaican productions, and almost none have anything to do with dancehall. And just because Bob’s latest live album takes the top ranking spot doesn’t mean this music has any less bright of a future than it did when he walked the earth. As the dreads say: Nothing before the time. Audio After The Jump…
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  • Kartel Busts The Billboard Charts

    Kartel Busts The Billboard Charts

    The Unstoppable WorldBoss Just Keeps On Winning

    Controversial Deejay Vybz Kartel‘s latest album Viking (Vybz Is King) made a grand debut at #3 on the Billboard‘s Reggae Album Chart and currently sits comfortably at #6. At the moment, he is the only dancehall artist to have an album in this chart’s Top Ten. This milestone marks the highest debut of his career, adding to Kartel’s string of successful musical feats since he has been incarcerated for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Against all odds, he has remained at the forefront of the dancehall music scene—regularly releasing new songs, dominating radio airwaves and winning awards even as detractors denounce him. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Assassin’s Yeezus Verse Decoded

    Even Some of Kanye’s Collaborators Seem To Be A Little Confused…
    Assassin
    This is Assassin, aka Agent Sasco… the respected Jamaican dancehall artist who spits a verse on “I’m In It,” a track from Kanye West’s dancehall-peppered album Yeezus. For those who have been following his career over the past 12 years, the high-profile feature on the most anticipated rap release of 2013 thus far is an unexpected treat. But for the rest of the music industry it’s a source of confusion. Take, for instance, this article from MySpace.com, a reputable publication that served up a major fail in its entry on I’m In It. The site apparently had no idea who Jeffrey Campbell was despite extensive coverage of the fact that Assassin was featured on this particular track. OK, maybe it’s not fair to expect American journalists to know dancehall artist’s government names off the top of their head, but there is this thing called google that’s really helpful when it comes to telling reggae stars from shoe designers. Here’s what MySpace wrote about the writing credits to “I’m In It”: “Like some writing credits on Yeezus, the paper trail leading back to people can be misleading. While we’re unsure who exactly the Jeffrey Ethan Campbell is that’s credited alongside Jill Scott and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on ‘I’m In It,’ but all signs point to the shoe designer. Stranger things have happened in the world of the West, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Campbell was hanging in the studio with Yeezy and offered an idea on how to shape the song.” SMFH. If you think the name game is confusing, just imagine trying to interpret Assassin’s rapid fire patois flow. Lyrical Breakdown After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Erup “Click Mi Finger”

    Two years later TruckBack’s biggest tune is still clickin’.

    What is it about this song? (more…)