Boomshots

Tag: Marcus Garvey

  • Vybz Kartel Is Back on Twitter

    Vybz Kartel Is Back on Twitter

    The Werlboss May Be Incarcerated But He Cannot Be Silenced #FB

    After 486 days of inactivity, Vybz Kartel’s official Twitter account, @IAmTheKartel, came roaring back to life this week—the same week that Kartel’s trial date was pushed back another five months for no apparent reason. No, the “dancehall hero and entrepreneur” does not have a computer in jail—not that we know of anyway—but he has given the green light to Michael Dawson, the co-author of his book, The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto  to take control of his Twitter account and use it to relay messages from Adidja Palmer and “to reveal to the public things that he had previously chosen to keep private.” Kartel spells out his reasons for this decision in a short manifesto called “I am not who Babylon says I am” that was tweeted from his account. “After being locked up without bail for nearly a year and a half, politicians still blame him for everything from scamming to teenage truancy to the increase in crime as he is constantly being portrayed as the root of all evil in Jamaica.” Kartel’s timeline is on and popping once again with remarks that are too hilarious NOT to have come directly from the Werlboss. He’s even promised to tweet his true feelings about Popcaan and Blak Ryno. Kartel’s immediate goal is to get 50,000 new followers as quickly as possible to prove that he may be incarcerated but he cannot be silenced. Read Kartel’s Latest Bold Statement After The Jump…
    (more…)

  • Tribute To The Late Great Sonia Pottinger 1931-2010

    8 Certified Boomshots From Reggae’s Foremost Female Producer

    To say the reggae industry is male dominated might be the understatement of all time. Jamaica’s first, foremost, and arguably only serious female producer was Sonia E. Pottinger, who died last Wednesday November 3rd at the age of 79. Introduced to the music biz by her husband Lyndon Pottinger, she opened the Tip Top record shop in 1965 and started producing the following year. Serious selectors covet all the rock steady and roots classics released on her Tip Top, Highnote, and Gayfeet labels. In 1974 Pottinger bought Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label shortly before his passing (and she won a big court case just last year retaining her rights to the legendary imprint, which she soon made available online). She was eventually recognised with the Order of Distinction for her contribution to the development of Jamaican music

    “Ms. Pottinger, I rate her highly,” legendary soundman Winston “Merritone” Blake told this Sunday’s Jamaica Observer. “For her to enter the music scene at the time she did, going up against the giant record producers in Coxsone and Duke Reid, required tremendous courage. And the kind of music that she produced was unquestioned. They have stood the test of time.” On that note, let’s rewind back some of Ms. P’s Certified Boomshots… (more…)

  • Steel Pulse: Tribute To The Martyrs, 1979

    From Handsworth to Haiti—The Song Remains The Same

    On this MLK Day, let us pause to reflect on the words of the man who sacrificed his life to the struggle for equal rights and justice:

    “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.“

    (more…)