Boomshots

Tag: Sister Nancy

  • What A Bam Bam! The Tune That Made Toots a Star

    What A Bam Bam! The Tune That Made Toots a Star

    “Fight For The Right and Not The Wrong”

    The best singers don’t need too many words to make their point. Otis Redding could let loose with a sad sad song like “Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa” and get you all in your feelings. Bob Marley got pulses pounding with his “Whoi-yoooo” rebel yell. Gregory Isaacs melted hearts with nothing more than a gentle sigh. Toots Hibbert, who died last Friday at the age of 77, could sing just about anything and make it sound good. One of the world’s greatest vocalists in any genre, Toots paired his powerful voice with the understated harmonies of Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Mathias to form The Maytals, a vocal trinity that never followed fashion and remained relevant throughout the evolution of Jamaican music—from the ska era to rock steady straight through to reggae, a genre named after The Maytals’ 1968 classic “Do The Reggay.” Whether they were singing a sufferer’s selection (“Time Tough”), a churchical chant (“Hallelujah”), or the tender tale of a country wedding (“Sweet and Dandy”), The Maytals blew like a tropical storm raining sweat and tears. The lyrics to Six and Seven Books,” one of The Maytals’ earliest hits, are pretty much just Toots listing the books of the Bible. “You have Genesis and Exodus,” he declares over a Studio One ska beat, “Leviticus and Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua, Judges and Ruth…” Having grown up singing in his parents’ Seventh Day Adventist Church in the rural Jamaican town of May Pen, Toots knew the Good Book well. Full Story After The Jump…
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  • OkayAfrica Raises The Bar With D’banj, Sister Nancy, Rayvon and The Compozers in New York City

    OkayAfrica Raises The Bar With D’banj, Sister Nancy, Rayvon and The Compozers in New York City

    Okayafrica’s “Riddim and Beats” Fused Several Musical Genres 

    On Thursday, August 10, 2017,  Okayafrica, a company which fuses music, fashion and culture, presented “Riddim and Beats” at Lincoln Center. The diverse crowd awaited the excited line up, which included D’banj, Sister Nancy,and The Compozer.  More After The Jump…

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  • Saba Jenga: Black Girl Magic

    Saba Jenga: Black Girl Magic

    New Artist With Soulful Hip Hop and Conscious Reverberations

    Saba Jenga is an ambitious woman who left her hometown in Richmond, Virginia to pursue a career in music. She was determined to hone her craft with an educational foundation in New York City. She won the 2012 “Walk This Way Award” for Best MC at St. John’s University and following this she matriculated into the New York University, Clive Davis Institute of Recording Music. During her time of study, she coined a music style of her own called “Dirty Dub,” fusing various genres of music including dub, dubstep, reggae, trap and gogo. Saba Jenga evokes the “black girl magic” ensconced  in a world with a European standard of beauty and oppression of minorities; through a culmination of cultures and sounds. We spoke to Saba, following a stellar performance at The Miss Lily’s 4/20 Celebration with International Selector, Yaadcore.  More After The Jump…

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  • Watch Boiler Room TV “Nice Up” NYC

    Watch Boiler Room TV “Nice Up” NYC

    Win Tickets To See Boiler Room’s NYC Dancehall Culture Showcase

    In case you never know, Boiler Room is the world’s leading online music broadcaster. The UK-born multinational network streams the best in underground music, from techno and hip hop to jazz and contemporary classical with award-winning content reaching 12 million dedicated monthly unique users, some of the most active music fans all over the world. Tomorrow night they will be hosting “The Nice Up” a dancehall and reggae showcase in downtown Manhattan featuring some our favorite artists and selectors Boomshots is proud to be the official media partner for the event. Details After The Jump… (more…)

  • Unsung Hero of the Year: Sister Nancy

    Unsung Hero of the Year: Sister Nancy

    What a Bam Bam!

    Boomshots sends a special year-end shout out to Dancehall’s Original Muma, Sister Nancy. Alongside featured artists Rihanna and Swizz Beatz, Nancy is the unsung hero of “Famous” by Kanye West, one of the year’s biggest tunes, nominated for two Grammy Awards. For well over a minute of the 3:16 track, Nancy’s voice plays on repeat, the melody slightly pitch-shifted to match RiRi’s, but otherwise unaltered from the 1982 album cut that made her name famous. Big up yourself Muma Nancy. Watch for an in-depth profile coming soon! Video After The Jump…
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  • WATCH THIS: Shanique Marie ft. Cali P “Coconut Jelly Man” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Shanique Marie ft. Cali P “Coconut Jelly Man” Official Music Video

    An Ode to the Coconut Jelly Man

    Shanique Marie is preparing for relaunch of her debut EP Uno in a deluxe edition this summer and is excited about the possibilities. Her incendiary single, “Coconut Jelly Man” featuring Cali P, first released in November 2015, is seeing another steep rise in popularity as the warm weather approaches and coconut cravings run amok. Video After The Jump…

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  • HEAR THIS: Kanye West ft. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz “Famous”

    HEAR THIS: Kanye West ft. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz “Famous”

    Don’t Watch The Swift Diss—Watch The Beat. What a Bam Bam!

    Before anybody knew anything about Kanye’s remarkable TLOP album they heard that he had dissed Taylor Swift. Then the news was all about how you couldn’t find the album anywhere except on Tidal. Well, now that “Famous” is finally available on Apple Music and Spotify we thought we’d take a moment to vibe the tune and reflect on how dope this song truly is. Rihanna’s feature is a strong as anything on Anti and Swizzy kills the ad-libs. Kanye’s raps are on point as ever—the Taylor Swift diss being the least interesting part of this intriguing meditation on the flipside of fame and fortune. But for the reggae massive, what Kanye does with the sample of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” is the highlight. This man gets down on the production like nobody else. Respect.   Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Assassin Talks “Theory of Reggaetivity”: “Roots Proponents See Me as a Baldhead Rasta”

    Assassin Talks “Theory of Reggaetivity”: “Roots Proponents See Me as a Baldhead Rasta”

    Agent Sasco Links Protoje & Chronixx, Returns To The Roots

    Yesterday Assassin aka Agent Sasco released Theory of Reggaetivity, his first album in over 10 years. The 14-song set shot straight toward the highest regions of the iTunes reggae chart, landing just below Bob Marley’s Legend, which is appropriate for the dancehall DJ’s first all-reggae project, which he describes as “my musical study of the principles of reggae music.” Conceived in Europe and recorded between Los Angeles, New York, and Kingston, JA, Theory of Reggaetivity features production by the likes of Sting International, Chimney Records, Silly Walks Discotek, Diggy British (aka Protoje), Niko Browne, The Drum Keyz, Theo Butler, MLMG, Sound Cheq, and W. Thompson. We first heard this gravelly-voiced lyricist ripping up the Diwali Riddim and trading bars with Spragga Benz and Vybz Kartel back in the early 2000s. More recently he’s become hip hop’s best kept secret weapon [LINK], making guest appearances on massive albums by Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West. Boomshots caught up with him the night after Kendrick featured his voice in a live performance on the Grammy Awards broadcast, and chatted about why he decided the time was right to make this decisive move forward to the roots of Jamaican music. Interview 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…)

  • HEAR THIS: Jully Black ft. Tanya Stephens “Bom Bom” Remix

    HEAR THIS: Jully Black ft. Tanya Stephens “Bom Bom” Remix

    Two Dancehall Divas Tackle The Track Sister Nancy Made “Famous”

    This weekend the Internet is buzzing about Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift on a track called “Famous.”  The song, which apparently features Rihanna and Swizz Beatz, is part of his new album, The Life of Pablo, and isn’t released yet. If you were one of the people who tuned in to last week’s big Yeezy Season 3 fashion show / album premiere, live-streamed around the world from Madison Square Garden, then you know the most-talked-about track on the most-talked-about album right now is built around Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam”—a dancehall classic on the immortal Stalag Riddim. Since it’s not much fun reading about songs you can’t hear, let’s turn our attention to another hot song that interpolates “Bam Bam.” This one was created by Toronto’s own Julky Black, who reached out to a real live Jamaican reggae star to spit some fire on the remix, riding a rough and rugged remake of the Stalag with drums that go extra hard. No more long talking. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Kat DeLuna ft. Trey Songz “Bum Bum” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Kat DeLuna ft. Trey Songz “Bum Bum” Official Music Video

    Bam Bam Inna Different Stylee

    Born in the Bronx to parents from the Dominican Republic, Kat DeLuna’s music has always shown a strong Jamaican influence. Her 2007 breakout single, “Whine Up,” featuring dancehall’s “Energy God” Elephant Man, has racked up 43 million views on Vevo. Eight years later she’s back on that sexy raggamuffin flex, sampling Sister Nancy’s Stalag riddim classic “Bam Bam” and flipping the lyrics from a female empowerment anthem—”MC is my ambition”—into a celebration of her (remarkable) “Bum Bum.” Trigger Trey joins in the fun, throwing in a little Shaggy “It Wasn’t Me” to seal the deal. The video is definitely NSFW because, really, what else could it be? True dem nuh know it’s from creation. Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Queen I-frica Sacrificial Lamb for Music Censorship

    Queen I-frica Sacrificial Lamb for Music Censorship

    On May 23, 2014, Queens Councilman, Daniel Dromm, lead a 200 person rally outside of Amazura Night Club, in an effort to cancel tonight’s stage show, “Invasion of the Queens.” The all-female line up, feauring live performances from dancehall reggae stars Queen I-frica, Lady Saw, Etana, Spice, Sister Carol, Junie Ranks, Sister Nancy and Lady Ann, faced opposition from the Councilman and LGBT groups concerned about Queen I-frica headlining the show: More After The Jump…

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