Boomshots

Tag: Toots

  • “Dreams To Remember” Happy Birthday Toots

    “Dreams To Remember” Happy Birthday Toots

    Memories of A Legend On His Earthstrong

     

    “Ready?” asked the drummer. “Yes sir!” Toots Hibbert replied.

    The year was 1968, and Toots and the Maytals were about to make history at Federal recording studio in Kingston, Jamaica.

    The drummer, Winston Grennan of Beverley’s All-Stars, counted off “1, 2…” and the band began to play a brand new sound. The fast-paced ska beat that took Jamaica by storm in the early ’60s had given way to a slower, sweeter sound known as rock steady around 1966. But on this day, the Maytals — a vocal trio comprising Toots and his friends Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias — were cutting a song called “Do the Reggay.”

    Where rock steady songs were more delicate and romantic, the reggae beat was raw and muscular.

    “I want to do the reggay with you,” Toots sang, his powerful voice cutting through the rhythm.

    “Yeah yeah!” Raleigh and Jerry harmonized.

    “Is this the new dance?” Toots went on. “Going around the town?” As soon as their song hit the streets, everybody in Kingston town wanted to do the new dance too.

    Toots said the name was inspired by Jamaican slang for girls you see on the street. “From streggae to reggae,” he explained.

    If you can sing a song that spawns an entire genre, that’s something. But if that genre goes on to impact global culture for the next half a century or so, you must truly be something special, someone astonishing. “Reggae has gone around the world now,” Toots told me in 2016. “And I never copyright it. If I had charged like a few cents, one cent, I would be a millionaire now.” Full Story After The Jump… (more…)

  • 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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  • WATCH THIS: Bob Marley “No Woman No Cry” 2020 Visuals

    WATCH THIS: Bob Marley “No Woman No Cry” 2020 Visuals

    A Fresh Look at a Classic Tune

    Amidst outbreaks of viral pandemic and police brutality, the best thing anyone can say about 2020 is that it’s the year of Bob Marley’s 75th Birthday Celebration. And while the year has been terrible and dreadful, Bob Marley’s music has offered much-needed inspiration. The Tuff Gong’s 1984 greatest hits collection Legend has topped the charts every week since mid January when it knocked Stick Figure out of the top spot. What more relevant soundtrack for these trying times than Bob Marley. Today is July 1, International Reggae Day, and what better way to celebrate than by rediscovering one of Marley’s classic songs, “No Woman No Cry”? Today Boomshots and VIBE proudly present a brand new official music video, directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa and shot in Jamaica and New York City. The poignant, verite visual tells the tale of a family divided by geography yet connected by love and a shared commitment to providing a better life for their youths. In Jamaica, a strong and loving Mother strives to look after her children while their Father works tirelessly as a cab driver in New York City, grooving to Bob Marley while he prepares a barrel to send home. Video After The Jump…
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  • Boomshots and Mix Master J Presents – The Baba Mix-A Father’s Day Playlist

    Boomshots and Mix Master J Presents – The Baba Mix-A Father’s Day Playlist

    The Official 2018 Father’s Day Playlist for Boomshots Magazine 

    In 2015, Boomshots Magazine premiered a multi-genre playlist of songs, entitled “Dada Playlist,” which included songs from reggae, hip hop, gospel, dub, rhythm & blues and jazz, dedicated to fathers.  This year, the magazine’s staff took on the challenge of creating a “strictly reggae” playlist dedicated to Fathers. We also took into consideration, the readers request to make the playlist accessible through a music application. We recruited one of the Top Tier dee-jays out of London, Mix Master J, the brother of reggae legend, Shinehead (Kingston 12), to add his expertise in sound mastery. The result is the “Baba Mix,” a unique reggae and Father- themed playlist.  Baba means father in Ki-Swahili and this mix considers various aspects of “The Father.” The mix begins and ends with reverence to the Almighty Father with songs like Buju Banton -“Our Father,” AJ Brown- “Father Friend, ” Luciano- “Father I Love Thee” and two Dennis Emmanuel Brown selections. The playlist then addresses the importance of the Father’s role in society, with songs like Konshens-“Original Daddy,” Jahmiel-“Real Father,” and Christopher Martin- “Just Like You.”  The juxtaposition of songs discussing a Father’s sex appeal such as Buju Banton-“Stamina Daddy” and the father-in-charge, with songs like Supercat – “Don Dadda” and Johnny Osbourne- “Dancehall Daddy,” adds playfulness to the mix. We sincerely hope that this will be a memorable Father’s Day Playlist for all who listen to it. Playlist After The Jump…

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  • HEAR THIS: Major Lazer x Bad Royale (ft. Toots & The Maytals) “My Number”

    HEAR THIS: Major Lazer x Bad Royale
    (ft. Toots & The Maytals) “My Number”

    “The Dons of Caribbean Bass” Shamelessly Jack “54-46”

    The latest Major Lazer heat rock comes courtesy of living legend Toots Hibbert, the man who popularized the term “reggae” on his 1968 song “Do The Reggay.” As such, you might think Toots would be afforded a certain amount of respect—perhaps even have his name mentioned in the song’s credits. Well, um, think again. The new release, attributed only to Major Lazer and Bad Royale (an L.A.–based crew signed to Diplo’s Mad Decent imprint whose PR reps call them “the dons of Caribbean bass”) is essentially a wicked dubplate of Toots singing his classic “54-46” over the original Leslie Kong–produced track from 1969. Then, in keeping with the time-tested Major Lazer blueprint, about 90 seconds in there’s a big, dramatic drop after which the whole song morphs into a tweaked-out EDM twerkgasm. Premiered by Ebro on Beats 1, “My Number” (whose title is borrowed from the chorus of “54-46”) went on to rack up over half a million YouTube streams in 24 hours and reportedly broke the Spotify view counter. There is no doubt that the song is a banger. Still, it’s hard not to feel some type of way that neither Bad Royale nor Major Lazer felt the need to credit Toots in some form or fashion. Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Toots Files $21 Million Lawsuit Against Bottle-Throwing Suspect

    Toots Is Not About To Let This Outrageous Incident Slide

    gty_toots_hibbert_and_the_maytals_jt_130519_msJamaican music legend Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals fame has  filed a $21 million lawsuit in the bottle-throwing incident that took place during Toots’ performance at the Dominion Riverrock Festival on May 18th. Toots was in the middle of his set when he was hit in the head with a vodka bottle thrown by 19-year-old William Connor Lewis. The drunken moron was seen near the stage drinking out of the vodka bottle before he threw it causing a laceration to Toots’ forehead and face. Toots immediately and walked off the stage and did not return. He was forced to cancel the rest of his tour and return to Jamaica to recuperate from his injuries.

    Toots is suing Lewis for $1 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages. The singer is stated to be in extreme emotional distress and the wound on his face has caused permanent scarring. On top of being sued, Lewis faces a felony charge of malicious wounding and has also been let go from Radford University. Though his lawyer states that Lewis is “very remorseful,” Toots has no plans to drop the lawsuit. Check out the video of the incident after the jump… (more…)

  • Reggae Grammy Nominees Announced

    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…)