Romain Virgo’s album launch on Thursday at the AC Hotel Kingston was a vibe. Despite the short notice – Wednesday for Thursday – media, colleagues, family, friends and fans showed up to celebrate the unveiling of Virgo’s fourth studio album, The...
When Bob Marley and the Wailers played at their largest ever UK concert at the Crystal Palace Bowl on June 7, 1980, numbered among the record-breaking 30,000 people which turned out to watch him perform was his son, Julian. The youngster, who had...
On February 11, pioneering ska, mento and rocksteady singer, Count Owen joined the elite club of nonagenarians and he couldn’t be happier or more full of gratitude. The Count celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by family, and, to top it off, he...
It was a few minutes to 11 a.m. last Wednesday when Denyque was sent a WhatsApp message checking on her state of readiness for an 11 o’clock interview. Her sassy response came back fast and unpretentious: “Born ready.” As Gen Z-ers would say in...
With 10 days left to go, the countdown for the hottest movie ticket for 2024 (so far) can well and truly begin. Bob Marley: One Love, opens on February 14, “at a theatre near you”, as the folks in commercials would say, and it would seem that...
Prior to receiving an email from Paramount Pictures that the producers of the Bob Marley: One Love biopic were inviting him to audition for a role, musician and singer, Hector Lewis didn’t know anything about the documentary which is based on the...
Come December 26, the Pantomime Company will present Skoolaz 3.0, the first full length, face-to-face, Boxing Day production since the pandemic. A reboot that is straight out of the panto guide book, it also sends a signal that pantomime is here...
Sting co-founder Isaiah Laing is quietly adamant that his announcement of retirement after 40 years is no gimmick nor some kind of twisted PR ploy. Laing, who ruefully acknowledged that those of his generation may be seen as “dinosaurs”, genuinely...
When the 30th staging of roots concert Rebel Salute – which has “the preservation of reggae” as its mandate – unfolds in St Ann, among the 30 acts to perform over two nights in January 2024 will be Grammy –nominated musician, composer, arranger,...
Generation of Kings, Masicka’s sophomore album, but the first under Def Jam Recordings – the international label to which he signed earlier this year – is available now on all major streaming platforms and has been showing lots of muscle. Fans...
Legendary dancehall artiste Bounty Killer is enjoying the London weather, rain and all, and he is wearing lots of smiles. It’s been 15 years since he last trod those streets – not by his own choice – and he has major plans in place. Top of his...
Last Thursday’s passing of outspoken legendary musician and educator Ibo Cooper has been described by many as a huge loss to the reggae world. Cooper’s former Third World Band members have hailed him as “Jamaica’s finest” and Minister of Culture,...
“A little man from rural St Ann fighting the biggest recording label in the world in the Supreme Court of the United States of America.” That is how 78-year-old Chase the Devil singer, Max Romeo, described his £12.3 million/US$15m lawsuit against...
The name Sharon Schroeter is synonymous with ‘Digicel Rising Stars’ (DRS), and that’s not surprising. Shroeter – or ‘Auntie Sharon’ as the contestants call her – has been with the talent competition since its inception 19 years ago, and she’s not...
Undeniably, the Billboard Latin Music Awards are huge, and when a dancehall artiste is nominated in the Crossover Artiste of the Year category, that is a top shelf, history-making achievement. The Billboard Latin Music Awards celebrate and...
In February, Joseph Benaiah, a reggae singer and musician with more than 40 years in the business, released his solo project, the 15-track Vision With Faith. The album which has long been in the making and Benaiah, who is high on quality, teamed up...
Christopher Martin is not a gospel artiste, even though a certain online portal describes him as “renowned and anointed Christian/gospel singer and recording music artiste Chris Martin whose mission is to be a blessing many people through kingdom...
On Saturday night, Reggae Sumfest paid tribute to the legendary Lloyd Woodrowe James – better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy – with a stellar line-up of artistes that included Admiral Bailey, Stitchie, Johnny Osbourne, Pinchers, Bunny General...
“It’s a blessing be alive and standing beside I man daughter,” proud dad Albert ‘Ilawi’ Johnson told the gathering last Wednesday at Kingston Dub Club, just as he took “a talkaphone” as directed by his daughter, Hempress Sativa. The people had...
During the late ’70s and ’80s, somewhere in Above Rocks, St Andrew, a little girl with eyes round like two saucers and shining bright like the sun would sit and watch, and be dazzled by the amazing Tina Turner, who in a sense became her muse. With...
Closely intertwined in the story of the song Steppin’ Razor, is the 6-foot-four-inch-tall Wailer named Peter Tosh, who was known as the ‘Steppin’ Razor’. But, just as critical to the story of the song is the songwriter Joe Higgs, who entered...
To the world, Marcia Lynneth Griffiths is no ordinary mortal. She is the highly respected Queen of Reggae and wherever she goes, it is natural to see her holding court, as she is swarmed by fans like bees to honey. However, to King (yes, King is...
Even as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week named legendary DJ Kool Herc among their inductees for 2023, the call for Toots and the Maytals to be similarly acknowledged has been energised. Double Grammy-winning DJ and producer Wayne ‘Native...
Chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA), Ewan Simpson, is emphasising that his organisation “is not prepared to get involved” in an altercation between the widow of Sugar Minott, Maxine Stowe, and some of his children over a...
Standing atop an SUV, dressed only in a pair of pants, with duct tape preserving her modesty, Racquel Jones kinda defiantly announced to the world that she is elated. In fact, the word, “elated”, is written down the length of her pants, and Elated...
