Tag Archives: Reggae and Caribbean

I always look forward to a new release by the great grooving Jamaican keyboarist Monty Alexander, but Rocksteady, due out on March 23, is even more exciting than usual, for on it Alexander is paired with Jamaica’s greatest guitarist, Ernest Ranglin, on jazzy versions of some of the “rocksteady” era’s …

If Outkast hadn’t come along and blown up the entire landscape with Speakerboxx/The Love Below – the pieces from which are yet to land, by the way – then the funkalicious potpourri of positivity that is the Black Eyed Peas’ Elephunk would have easily been the hip hop-oriented album of …

My absolute favorite AND the most important reissue of 2003? The Harder They Come soundtrack, deluxe edition, which includes a second disc, the complete Crucial Reggae 1968-72 collection, in addition to the glorious soundtrack. Together they ably cover the most beguiling and artistically important period in reggae history, the very …

I have been a huge fan of Jack Dangers throughout his career, especially his ongoing work as Meat Beat Manifesto, and his more recent dub-and-beats partnership with Ben Stokes as Tino Corp. Jack has a welter of interesting projects coming to fruition. The new Meat Beat Manifesto album, In Dub, …

The pre-Island catalog of early Bob Marley (’67-’72) has been purchased by Universal. Royalties will now be paid on the material to Marley’s heirs, apparently for the first time. Marley, the Jimi Hendrix of reggae when it comes to musical exhumation, is an industry unto himself: The rights to 211 …

Guided by the ace production team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Madness’s cartoonish “nutty boy” image, cockney enunciation, and mutating neo-ska sound struck a deep chord in Britain, where they had 19 consecutive Top 20 hits between ’79 and ’85. Highlights include the manic ska propulsion of “One Step …

Classic reggae group Culture honored by NYC: A proclamation from the great city of New York was presented to reggae legend Joseph Hill and his band Culture recently by New York City Council member Yvette Clarke. During a touching ceremony before an SRO audience at SOB’s nightclub, Councilwoman Clarke honored …

What a great year for American reggae, and in particular dub, with the triumph of Easy Star All Stars’ Dub Side of the Moon, and now 10 Ft. Ganja Plant’s Midnight Landing, a rootsy, dubby wonder. A mysterious studio collective of upstate New Yorkers affiliated with the roots reggae band …

Mexico has always been a refuge for Americans at odds with the American Dream. The American Dream makes demands: demands of time, effort and value conformity. The only way to escape the demands of the American Dream, within America, is to become homeless. This is a most distressing alternative – …

The legendary Peter Tosh talks about his hopes and plans - and the problems coming from the shitstem