Addressing a sizeable and visibly eager gathering at the Caribbean Business Club in Kingston, Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, delivered the keynote address at the official launch of the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (RIAJam) Reggae Academy and the Reggae Academy Awards on Monday evening. Preceding as they did a special consultation called by the prime minister with members of the industry the following evening, her presence signals a much keener interest on the part of the political directorate in the Jamaican music industry. Lloyd Stanbury, Chairman of the Reggae Academy, described the Reggae Academy and Awards as a Jamaica based project with global reach. “It is an international Reggae recording industry project that will recognise and celebrate the artistic achievements of talented musicians and singers. It will also recognise important, behind-the-scenes contributors such as producers, songwriters, engineers and music video directors.”
A long awaited organisation, RIAJam was established in 2003 with a view to providing a vehicle to promote and facilitate music business practitioners to upgrade recorded music and music video products. The mission of RIAJam is to raise the level of professionalism in the recording industry and return financial and other benefits to the Jamaican economy from music products released by locally based artistes and music professionals in the global market. Several leading music production companies, music studios, record manufacturers and music distributors in Jamaica have already become members of the Association. One such member is Jeremy Harding, Producer, Artiste Manager and member of the Reggae Academy Steering Committee.
Harding welcomed the RIAJam and noted that, “Other organisations have come and gone, and we continue the search for a model that works for us. The RIAJam is a step in the right direction. Since no one entity can effectively steer the entire music business, it is, therefore, important to have several bodies that can express the views of industry professionals. And, while RIAJam may not meet the needs of every single member, it is a great start.”
Previous Coverage on Reggaelifestyle.com
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The associated Press says that Walk Outs’s “slight earnestness adds a humane touch to her catalog of hardcore tracks, proving that Lady Saw endures not only because of her sharp tongue but her big heart.”
Lady Saw Gallery
Lady Saw Myspace
Lady Saw Official Website
Read more for the full track listing.
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Israel’s love affair with the big sound from the little island continues as the mighty Capleton, one of dancehall reggae’s biggest names, makes a special appearance this week for an Independence Day concert on Monday night in Tel Aviv. Capleton first came to prominence in the late 80s in the then-burgeoning Jamaican dancehall scene. This new style featured chanted vocals and electronic beats and brought a harder edge to reggae music, and Capleton’s early singles reflected what is called “slackness” - explicit lyrics about sexual escapades, guns, partying and ghetto youth culture.
Just a few years later, however, he would embrace the Rastafari religion and along with fellow toasters Buju Banton and Sizzla, spearhead the “conscious dancehall” movement which brought spiritual and positive messages back into popular reggae music. Around this time, Capleton signed a major record deal and began collaborating with hip-hop and R&B artists in the US, which led to him becoming well-known throughout North America and internationally. By the late 90s, Capleton had become one of reggae’s most popular and influential artists, as his instantly recognizable fire-and-brimstone delivery and acrobatic, high-energy performances brought him wide acclaim. His arrival here continues the recent stream of high-profile reggae performances, a testament to the Israel’s thriving reggae scene; due to perform in May are the legendary Congos, a roots-harmony trio who began charting hits back in the 70s.
Capleton’s show on Yom Ha’atzma’ut is planned as a mini-reggae festival: Popular rock/reggae/ethnic artist Mosh Ben Ari and local Hebrew-language dancehall ensemble Hatikva 6 are scheduled to open, as well as reggae DJ’s spinning music before, after and in-between the live performances.
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2007 is shaping up quite well for Nadine Sutherland. Her live performances at key high-profile events like Cricket World Cup opening weekend and Jamaica Carnival have won her rave reviews. Her 1993 hit with Terror Fabulous, “Action”, was named No 19 of the Top 50 Duets of All Time by VIBE Magazine. And today the reggae icon’s highly anticipated new album is finally in stores. Call My Name, Nadine’s first album in a decade, gives listeners an opportunity to experience the many talents of one of Jamaica’s great entertainers. Sutherland co-produced the album with Eight76 Records’ ‘YahBreeze’ Archibald and also co-wrote nine of the albums fifteen tracks.
Fans have been looking for a full-length project from Nadine for quite some time. Her appearance on various riddim compilations and collaborations served as teasers. When she began working on Call My Name just under a year ago, Nadine knew that this would be something special. “Call My Name” is about some of the things I was going through at the time, evaluating some old relationships and really loving myself and just appreciating the amazing experiences I have had in my career.” Eight76 Records resident whiz kid Kenroy ‘YahBreeze’ Archibald executive-produced the album with Nadine as a welcome contributor. “I have been in situations with producers where they don’t respect you or want you express yourself. This was one of the best producers I ever worked with. YahBreeze is my cosmic musical twin, and his wife and partner, Myshjua, is an old friend. I felt so good working the whole time. We had a blast, man.”
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Magalie Billod of Switzerland was given one wish and she chose to visit the home of her idol, Bob Marley. Eighteen-year-old Billod has muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease which causes the muscles to weaken and eventually become useless over time. She was granted the wish by the Make A Wish Foundation, an international organisation that grants the wishes of children with life threatening diseases. She has made stops at other famous Marley sights, but onFriday she took a tour of Tuff Gong studio where Marley did much of his recordings. Seated in her wheelchair with her parents by her side, Magalie began the tour. Firstly, she took the passage along the same path where Marley must have walked to visit where the magic happened, the studio itself.
Enjoyed the experience
She was in awe at the fact that she was among some of Marley’s artefacts. It was surreal. It got better when they placed earphones over head and perch a microphone in front of her. She even got to sit at the grand piano. From there she ventured to the Gong Mastering where the more technical part of making the record is carried out and then to the factory. All eyes were on Billod and the employees all took the opportunity to greet her.
Mitzy Evan, the general manager at Tuff Gong, presented Billod with a gift bag that contained CDs, posters and other Marley memorabilia. But the biggest surprise was when she stumbled upon Yasus Afari in the merchandise shop. She recognised him.
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Stephen Marley’s first solo album has been in record stores for less than two weeks, but it’s already making history. The genre-defying, mind-bending Mind Control, released to glowing reviews March 20, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard reggae album charts, marking yet another Marley family musical milestone. Stephen had gained acclaim within reggae circles by producing and playing on many Grammy-winning chart-toppers over the years, including his brother Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley’s 2005 smash, Welcome To Jamrock, which hit No. 1 on the reggae album charts in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
For his own solo album, the noted multi-instrumentalist mixed hip-hop beats with classic reggae and added A-list guest stars, including Mos Def, Ben Harper and Jr. Gong. The approach is paying off, and the first single, “The Traffic Jam,” has already soared to the top of the charts in Jamaica and England while making a dent in the playlists of key U.S. rhythmic/crossover stations such as New York’s WQHT, WLLD in Tampa, Fla., and WZMX in Hartford, Conn.
The critics have spoken, too. People magazine wrote that Mind Control is a “masterful fusion of reggae and hip hop,” Entertainment Weekly called it “the best Marley album in a generation” and Spin declared Stephen “heir to reggae’s royal family honors dad’s legacy” in a four-star write-up. Seizing the momentum, Stephen is currently on a North American tour that also features Jr. Gong and the Somalia-born, Toronto-bred hip-hop star K’Naan. He’s also slated to hit the late-night TV circuit, including an appearance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on May 10. The tour winds up on May 20 in Orlando, Fla. Until then, Stephen will enjoy his time in the top spot on the reggae charts.
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If Jamaica is to make a serious advance in its war against disabling values and attitudes, then the popular culture, more particularly music, has to be used as a vital part of the artillery.
Rather than merely cursing the darkness of negative dancehall music, with its promotion of violence, crude materialism and vulgarity, it is time we actively support those dancehall artistes who are doing positive work and who are consciously challenging the negative ethos in the dancehall. The crime hot spot of Spanish Town has been relatively quiet over the past few months. Among the positive trends in that area has been an initiative called Just for Peace, which involves the promotion of artistes who have been using music to foster peace and reconciliation. Youth from the inner-city communities of Tawes Pen, Rivoli, Windsor Pen, St. John’s Road, Central Village among others have been recruited to be part of this programme. The youth are then featured on the community cable station JACS and Link TV and given the ‘big up’ for their work. Rather than using the gun to gain recognition, which all human beings crave, they use positive lyrics to gain the “forwards”.
A major figure in the Just for Peace programme is Owen Rowe, a.k.a. Alpha Rowen. No longer a youth, but a positive role model among ghetto youth, Alpha Rowen is passionate about using music to advance the interests of the majority, particularly the downtrodden and oppressed. He speaks feelingly about those deejays who have abandoned any sense of social responsibility and who believe that it is okay to just mechanistically and mindlessly “reflect reality”. Alpha Rowen has experienced all the harshness of ghetto life. He told me that he has had to literally run away from violence on several occasions, something that would earn him some uncharitable and unprintable names among the dancehall massive. Unless a way is found to promote artistes like Rowe, we will continually bemoan the ‘gun hawk’ lyricists who are the role models of the shottas and terrorists in the inner-cities.
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