I Rise starts off gently with just keyboards and Etana’s super-soulful voice reverently singing the Rastafarian lyrics sung by Bob Marley with The Wailers on ‘Selassie Is The Chapel’. Bring on track two of I Rise and Etana’s calm, emotive reverence shifts to emotional outcry about how very long the people’s suffering at the hands of their leaders… Continue reading Reggae Still Got Soul With Etana
Tag: Jamaican Music
A Better Today And Tomorrow With Etana
If the soulful voice of Jamaican diva Etana over the reggae skank in her music don’t make you feel good, or at least better, I don’t know what possibly will. Soul Diva of Reggae Etana is an Angie Stone, Jill Scott, India Arie or Leela James of reggae music. Like those divas of stature in the… Continue reading A Better Today And Tomorrow With Etana
Jah9 – Woman of ‘Good Music History’
There’s not enough female dub/reggae singers or songwriters in the spotlights of our musical history. I only just realised that while listening to the debut album of Jamaica’s Jah9 – and in each and every track appreciating the jazzy, soulful and refreshingly feminine vocals of She Who Is Jah9: Janine Cunningham. There’s so much more… Continue reading Jah9 – Woman of ‘Good Music History’
Jamaican Music and Dance – Culture Snapshots
Three weeks in 3 of Jamaica’s major musical hubs – Kingston, Montego Bay & Negril – checking outand soaking up as much Jamaican music and dance culture as possible. Not much time to truly know anything much about any place. No time to know anything about the rest of Jamaica (including Ochos Rios – another hub).But enough… Continue reading Jamaican Music and Dance – Culture Snapshots
Reggae Sumfest Wrap Up – Is It Really ‘The Greatest Reggae Show on Earth’?
Reggae Sumfest dubs itself as ‘the greatest reggae show on earth’. That’s a big claim. They could be right. Some Jamaicans, and even some foreigners with a love for Jamaican music, say they think there are better reggae festivals in Jamaica than Reggae Sumfest. Roots reggae festival Rebel Salute in St Ann every January is given as an example.… Continue reading Reggae Sumfest Wrap Up – Is It Really ‘The Greatest Reggae Show on Earth’?
Redbones Blues Cafe – Supporting Jamaican Music & Arts
Jamaica’s musical history and culture is rich yes. Like all (most?) places in the world though, support for the arts becomes harder and harder to find. In that environment, Kingston’s Redbones Blues Cafe is a cultural treasure to be savoured. Kingston’s Cultural Institution Redbones Blues Cafe is a cultural institution in Kingston. Its 15 year anniversary book… Continue reading Redbones Blues Cafe – Supporting Jamaican Music & Arts
“Reggae Has a Fight”
“Reggae has a fight”. “We’re losing our culture.” These are the sorts of things people in Kingston have been saying to me all week – most of them venue and music store owners. Gone are the days when Jamaicans bought music from music stores. Now Jamaicans get music on-line for free or buy it from bootleggers on the streets. Economic… Continue reading “Reggae Has a Fight”
What You’ll Find @ Tuff Gong International Kingston
Tuff Gong International – Kingston, Jamaica. Founded in 1965 by Mr Bob Marley himself. Tuff Gong’s Kingston headquarters is a place Jamaican and international music artists can and do use as a complete one-stop shop for the recording and distribution of their music – CD’s and Vinyl. The Tuff Gong compound has a recording studio, mastering room,… Continue reading What You’ll Find @ Tuff Gong International Kingston
Reggaeton in Jamaica? ReggaeWHO?
A Reggaeton conversation in Kingston that made Beaver happy: Beaver: Any Reggaeton here in Jamaica? Trevor Taxi Driver: ReggaeWHO? Beaver: ReggaeTON. Trevor Taxi Driver: Who, or What, is THAT? Beaver: It doesn’t matter. You never need, or want to know. No Reggaeton in Jamaica – Hallelujah!
Beenie Man – The King of Dancehall?
The taxi driver home from the Beenie Man gig at Tracks & Records in Kingston last night, thinks Beenie Man is THE King of Dancehall. Another Kingston taxi driver told me that the “Jamaican music industry” crowned Beenie Man as the King, and I have read that he crowned himself as such. So then, is Beenie Man… Continue reading Beenie Man – The King of Dancehall?