NYC Remembers The Tuff Gong with Annual Tribute Concert by Cannabis Cup Band
On Saturday, February 4, 2017, at B.B. Kings’ Blues Club & Girll, the Cannabis Cup All-Stars Band (CCB) of all-stars, paid tribute to Bob Marley, one of music’s greatest legends. The concert, in its 21st year, exceeded expectations in terms of live performances and high quality instrumentation. Photos & Video After The Jump…
Half The Story Has Never Been Told
The whole world knows the Bob Marley legend, but how many overstand the fact that his wife Rita is an accomplished singer in her own right? Alpharita Constantia “Rita” Anderson was born 70 years ago in Santiago, Cuba and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She first met Robert Nesta Marley in the mid 1960s, when both were teenage recording artists at Sir Coxsone Dodd’s legendary Studio One, the “Motown Records” of Jamaica. Rita was lead vocalist for The Soulettes while Bob’s group was called The Wailing Wailers. The two would eventually get married and later tour the world, with Rita backing Bob as a member of his harmony section the I Three. Earlier this week Rita Marley was hospitalized after reportedly suffering a stroke. Our prayers go out to her family and fans around the world. In the meantime, let the music play. Audio After The Jump…
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New Music from the Revelations Album
“I’m a messenger from Jah,” says Gary Nesta Pine. “My dad was a postman; I feel like I am the postman of music.” The long-time leader of NYC’s notorious City Heat band, Pine was blessed to serve as lead vocalist for the legendary reggae band The Wailers for many years, and he’s also collabed with French hitmaker Bob Sinclair. The singer is now preparing to release a new album titled Revelations on August 26th. Today Boomshots proudly premieres one of the album’s 13 tracks, a musical thing called “Thanks and Praise.” On maybe the most personal cut on the album, Gary says he’s “just giving thanks and praise to the almighty Rastafari, for the mountains, the birds, the world, the people who influenced my life, the love of my family, his guidance. It’s a prayer from me to God.” Audio After The Jump… (more…)
When They’re Not Collabing With Major Lazer, They’re Collecting Reggae 45s
The cover version is a time-honored art form in Jamaica. Pioneering sound system owner turned record producer Coxsone Dodd used to travel to the United States in search of fresh clothes and rare vinyl to play on the mighty Sir Coxsone’s Downbeat. As his focus changed from spinning records to producing his own, he would sometimes pick up albums with certain recording artists in mind. It’s no accident that The Wailers’ classic “One Love”—which was first recorded at Coxsone’s Studio One—interpolates large parts of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions’ “People Get Ready.” Throughout the evolution of dancehall culture there was a strong tradition of karaoke-style reinvention as great Caribbean vocalists refashioned foreign soul and pop songs over the latest riddims out of Kingston. Many of those versions were cut on 45, reverberating back through the minds, bodies, and souls of music lovers in the U.S., Great Britain and beyond. Case in point: Wild Belle. The brother and sister band who collaborated with Major Lazer on the touching tune “Be Together” also incorporate reggae and Afrobeat into their own music. (Their second album, the follow-up to Isles, drops next month on Columbia Records.) They’re also known for their reggae DJ sets. Today Boomshots premieres “Summer Tropical Show N°3: Island Soul,” an all-45 mix of reggae cover versions curated by Natalie and Elliott Bergman, an avid vinyl collector. Audio Afrer The Jump…
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“I think the devil is a goat,” and other thoughts of a living legend.
Whether you prefer to call him a madman or a genius, there’s no doubt that Lee “Scratch” Perry is a living legend. The man who gave the Wailers their “Natural Mystic” and pushed the frontiers of dub music at his Black Ark studio has never lost his creative mojo, even at the age of 78. Next week he will host his first New York art installation, followed by a live performance at Brooklyn Bowl with Subatomic Sound System as part of the annual Dub Champions Festival. In the first installment of Reshma B‘s exclusive interview with The Upsetter aka the Super Ape aka Pipecock Jaxson, he talks about two of his most recent collaborations—the Vibes EP, a collaboration with the Swiss musician Iguana, and the Back on the Controls project for which the London-based Rolling Lion team recreated all the exact recording equipment and techniques used at the Black Ark. “The Ark of the Covenant is a spirtual vibration,” scratch explains. “Ancient spirits speak… Everything is spirit. Because God is a spirit and Satan the devil also is a spirit. But Satan need competition.” In part one of the interview, find out why Scratch sprinkles white rum inside the studio before beginning a recording session. And in the second installment, discover who Scratch was taking revenge on when he built his own studio, The Black Ark, and find out how it had so many awesome powers: “It produce rain, whirlwind, hurricane, tidal wave, thunder, hailstone, earthquake, and it preserve life and it kill. It cripple, it cramp, and paralyze.” Videos After The Jump… (more…)
The Raw UnCut Verson Of One Of Bob Marley & The Wailers Hardest Tunes
With tomorrow, April 13th making it 40 years since arguably one of the most important reggae albums ever released, we here at Boomshots dug in the crates and pulled out the original cut of “Concrete Jungle” off the 1973 ground breaking record “Catch A Fire.” What most would notice at first is that the original doesn’t feature Wayne Perkins’ iconic guitar intro and three cord octave. A little bit of history here, Chris Blackwell the then founder of Island Records pegged Perkins’ to do overdubs of “Catch A Fire” to make it sound more Rock in an attempt to appeal to more audiences. Like most of the tracks on “Catch A Fire,” “Concrete Jungle” was recorded well before Bob and The Wailers were signed to Island. Take A Listen To Reggae History After The Jump… (more…)
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Wins Best Reggae Album Grammy—But He’s Not Satisfied
When the Beatles imagined being over the hill and out of it, they sang a song called “When I’m Sixty-Four.” But reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has reached that ripe old age and he says he’s “just getting started.” Cliff won the best reggae album Grammmy for his 2012 release, Rebirth, outdoing stiff competition from The Original Wailers, Sean Paul, Sly & Robbie, and Toots and the Maytals. But he’s not satisfied with being nominated… or even with winning. Jimmy Cliff wants to win on TV. “It’s a nice thing to be nominated for a Grammy,” he told CBSNews.com. “However, I do think that people ought to see me on TV, accepting the Grammy. Not the way it is being done at the moment for a reggae Grammy where you just hear about it. It’s about time they show me on TV.” Read More After The Jump…
Old School Legends Dominate The Best Reggae Album Category
In a year when Jamaica celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, legends of roots rock reggae took four of five nomination for the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award—reaffirming the powerful legacy of Jamaica’s musical legacy even as it left its future clouded in relative obscurity. Despite outstanding releases by Busy Signal (Reggae Music Again), Mr. Vegas (Sweet Jamaica), Vybz Kartel (Kingston Story), Konshens (Mental Maintenance) and Romain Virgo (The System)—to name a few glaring oversights—the only reggae artist under the age of 50 to make the cut this year was Sean Paul, whose album Tomahawk Technique stands as the sole nominee representing the dancehall genre. Full List of Nominees After The Jump… (more…)
We Be Clubbin: DJ & DJ Link From Francais To JA The Duttily Muckily Way
Alert! Alert! French club DJ and Grammy-nominated record producer Bob Sinclar has linked with dancehall hitmaker Sean Paul to create a “sonic tornado.” (more…)
Original Wailer says Beenie, Bounty, and Sean Paul are “Lollipop Stuff.”
When it comes to living legends, nobody can test Neville Livingston a.k.a. Bunny Wailer. At age 62, Bunny’s the last man standing from the original Wailing Wailers trio that put reggae music on the map internationally. Jah B recently announced plans to offer his entire back catalog for online download in association with Zojak World Wide, and as part of the promotional push, he took time out to reason with Boomshots.com. Needless to say, it was a lively conversation (check VIBE’s August issue for more highlights). Meanwhile, here’s a little taste of his thoughts about the state of reggae music. Who the cap fit, let them wear it. (more…)