Boomshots

Tag: Sizzla

  • DOWNLOAD: Project X: The Mixtape

    Fattis Burrell’s Son Kareem Celebrates His Father’s Musical Legacy With This Xterminator Megamix

    The late great Phillip “Fattis” Burrell helped shape the sound of modern reggae music with the classic records released on his Xterminator label. Since Fattis’ death last December his son Kareem Burrell has kept the family’s musical legacy alive, producing a new wave of artists like Jesse Royal. He also put together this megamix of some of his father’s most powerful productions. Photographic portrait by the one David Corio. Audio after the jump. (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Sizzla “Mama Mek Me Deya So”

    For Sizzla Kalonji Every Day Is Mothers’s Day

    Who bigs up the mothers of creation more than Sizzla? From his mid ’90s breakthrough album Black Woman & Child straight straight through to his latest cut on Breadback Productions’ crucial “Long Life” Riddim, Sizzla represents for the divine empresses every time.  (more…)

  • Sizzla’s European Tour Continues Despite Protest By Gay Activists

    Kalonji Muzik Issues Statement After A Gay Rights Group Pressured Stockholm Venue to Cancel Gig

    After kicking off last Friday in Milan, Sizzla Kalonji’s tour of Europe is off to a bumpy start. Even before the first show, controversy flared up over Sizzla’s fiery lyrical content. Gay activists pressured the Hornstull concert venue in Stockholm to cancel Sizzla’s appearance because they say his music advocates violence against homosexuals. Sizzla’s concert was soon re-booked at another venue and it appears that the show will go on. A statement sent by the artist’s Jamaica-based record company Kalonji Muzik asserted that the whole controversy stems from a misunderstanding of patois and dancehall culture: “The messages in the songs are based on words that have been misconstrued and mistranslated,” read the statement, which estimates that “90%” of Sizzla’s catalog is “uplifting, positive.” (No mention is made of the other 10%.) “We don’t see you attack Eminem or other musicians who make clear stances against these same issues in the hip-hop, rock, and pop industry,” the statement went on to say. “It makes us wonder if there is a bigger picture being painted here? Or is it the fact that they just have better lawyers and bigger companies making money from them?” Check out the full text of Kalonji Muzik’s official statement after the jump and let us know what you think… (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Konshens “Rasta Imposter” Remix ft. Tarrus Riley, Sizzla Kalonji, Darrio & Wrath Riley

    Konshens And Friends Burn A Fire On All False Prophets

    One of the best songs off Konshens’ outstanding debut album Mental Maintenance is this remix of a tune he first dropped back in 2008. The tune bad from day one, but this time around Konshens brought some friends along to dash another fire on all fake dreads. The Riley bros & Kalonji deal with it wicked. Can’t stop rewinding this one. Certified Boomshot.
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  • A Politics Time Playlist

    Election Or Not, We Don’t Have To Fire Shot

    Today Jamaica will go to the polls for the first general election since the siege of Tivoli Gardens and the Dudus extradition raised troubling questions about who really runs things. But if you listen to reggae music, you already know… (more…)

  • The Xterminator Top 10

    10 Reasons Why The Late Great Fattis Burrell’s Music Can’t Stop Play

    This weekend brought word of another reggae legend’s passing. Phillip “Fattis” Burrell, the man behind the crucial dancehall and reggae label Xterminator Records—and before that, Vena Records—died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago. The prolific producer who helped launch the careers of Luciano, Sizzla, Sanchez and Pinchers will be keenly missed.

    Everybody has their Fattis favorites; he recorded decades’ worth of great music with just about every significant singer and DJ in Jamaica. And we’re not even going to try and touch on the classics he produced for Vena. But when the roll is called up yonder, these tunes have got to be there. Run that… (more…)

  • Giving Thanks & Praises Itinually

    It’s Not About Turkey & Gravy, Seen? Rasta Attitude Is Gratitude…

     

    As the one Rebel Tony put it: “Ungrateful worser than Obeah. Nuff ungratefulites bout yah… Pretend as if them no memba, gwan like them have amnesia.” Don’t let it happen to you. Here’s 21 ways to remember. Run tune! Audio After the Jump… (more…)

  • Jimmy Cliff Up For The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    15 Years After Bob Marley, A Second Reggae Artist Is In The Running

    “Very few single albums can be said to have changed music forever,” reads the official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot entry for Jimmy Cliff, who’s in the running to be inducted in 2009, the 25th year of the Hall’s existence. “Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come is one. The album—and the movie that spawned it—introduced reggae to a worldwide audience and changed the image of the genre from a cruise ship soundtrack to music of inspiration and rebellion.” (more…)

  • Spragga Speaks On His Son Carlyle & Life Fest

    Tomorrow, May 2, 2009, would have been Carlton “Carlyle” Grant Jr.’s 18th Birthday. The firstborn son of the veteran dancehall star Spragga Benz, Carlyle was a talented youth with a world of possibilities before him. (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Sizzla “Gwaan Bear”

    Sizzla’s new album Ghetto Youth-Ology drops today, and it’s one of his best efforts in a while. All tracks were laid by the Firehouse Crew and there are lots of gems—”Premeditate” on the “Arena” riddim and “Stop It Right Now” come to mind—but “Gwaan Bear” is hitting me real hard today. Kalonji’s in the zone on this one. Just check the lyrics:

    “From me navel string cut me nah lef’ the ghetto / Nuff ah them think in deh easy, but ah no really so / When we mind fi touch the gun me bredren holler no no no / Have we life inna we hand and we can’t too leggo / No touch the weapon we no ready fi dead yet / It won’t be too long for us to enjoy the best.”

    Run the track…

    [audio:https://www.boomshots.com/tunes/GwaanBear.mp3]

    Want more? Check my full album review on VIBE.com

  • Fiya Burn: Sizzla’s House “Destroyed”

    According to yesterday’s Jamaica Star, Sizzla’s house in Kingston has been “destroyed” by fire. The blaze reportedly broke out Sunday morning. The cause of the fire is not yet known. (more…)