Downbeat, Black Scorpio, Bodyguard, Silver Hawk and Mighty Crown Take Center Stage at Vintage Rumble (@IrishandChin)

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

Downbeat & Black Scorpio

New York is abuzz over Irish and Chin’s latest entertainment installment, Vintage Rumble. Slated to be held in Amazura in Queens, New York on Friday, April 15, the explosive event neatly brings vintage Reggae and Dancehall center stage, allowing fans to relive a Golden era of music! And the leading promoters felt it was only befitting for masters of sound culture Downbeat, Black Scorpio, Bodyguard, Silver Hawk and Mighty Crown to drop these classic tunes during an unprecedented sound clash!

Some of sound culture’s biggest names, with telling legacies, will dig deep in their boxes to clash with music from an unforgettable time, as any song played must be at least 20 years or older. According to Downbeat, “pure big tune a play” from the door. Anyone who follows sound clash will know that those billed for the event are musically armed and dangerous to say the least!

The high profile event’s unique concept is pegged to attract a cross-section of patrons! Bonafide sound clash fans and diehard Reggae and Dancehall music lovers will have an opportunity to convene under one roof for what promises to be a defining night for the culture. While the energy and intensity of sound clash erupts through top shelf 45s and dub plates, an invigorating musical journey will unfold, channeling the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

New Dancehall Release: Peppery – Tall Dark And Handsome (@pepperyworld)

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

00-peppery Reggae dancehall artist Peppery uses ancient cliché to reinforce self-love in forthcoming single “Tall Dark and Handsome.” The song tackles racial prejudice and discusses skin bleaching with an edutaining approach – for clarity, that’s entertaining while educating at the same time. Listen below: https://soundcloud.com/peppery/peppery-tall-dark-and-handsome

Lt. Stitchie Returns To Jamaica After A Successful Euro Tour

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

Lt. Stitchie performing live at Voxhall in Aarhus

Lt. Stitchie is back in Jamaica after completing an approximately six week tour in Europe. He made appearances in several cities, namely: Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Aarhus, Odense, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. Regretfully, a few shows were cancelled due to breaches made by promoters. None the less, all persons involved in the planning and execution of the tour, believes it was very victorious. The tour was hosted by Jam Link Intl. a cultural association based in Denmark.

Now that he is back on the island, Stitchie is hoping to shoot two music videos, one for “undisputed,” a newly released single on the Life 101 Riddim by Blakkwuman22 Music and “nuh tek nuh talk,” a track produced by Hit Matic Records. Following the production of both videos he will head to the United States for several shows with Lady Saw.

Listen to “undisputed” www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIWnSbUaCMo

Listen to “nuh tek nuh talk” www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkgVYijVdoI

R.R. Rhythm catapults Pereira and his TRON production house to instant stardom

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

Derek Pereira

World-renowned producer, performer and deejay Derek Pereira and his TRON imprint transform soca music globally with the hit compilation album – R.R. Rhythm (released January 22, 2016). Born in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago, Pereira cultivated his musical empire first as a deejay with his own sound system known as X-Caliber Sound, which was established in 1998. This was followed by his inevitable progression as a soca artist (scoring his breakout hit “Millennium Wine” on the Voodoo Riddim back in 2001), known to fans as Dawg E. Slaughter or Mr. Slaughter, and he has been entertaining universal audiences both as a deejay and artist, ever since.

Pereira’s contribution to Caribbean music on an international scale further evolved as he started producing music, first as an executive producer then co-producer with the ideas but not the full engineering knowledge, which he eventually learned by enrolling at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), where he graduated from an advanced certification course in Music Technology. This knowledge nurtured Pereira’s production skills and helped him compose the most popular soundtrack for the 2016 Trinidad Carnival season, the R.R. Rhythm. One could not walk the streets in Trinidad and Tobago without hearing the hit tracks spawned from the R.R. Rhythm, from boomboxes on bikes and vendor stalls, on personal playlists and radio in passing vehicles, and in the clubs or at fetes and festivals during Trinidad Carnival. A true music veteran as a deejay, artist and producer, and with his fingers on the pulse of soca music, the R.R. Rhythm catapults Pereira and his TRON production house to instant stardom.

SIZZLA HEADLINES PUNCH FEST 2016

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

00-Sizzla Punch Fest 2016 is a first time event on the Jamaican Easter calendar. It’s a reggae extravaganza which will feature an icon but will also be a live performance platform for a kaleidoscope of reggae’s rising stars. Punch Fest takes place on Saturday March 26 at the V Club in Independence City

This year’s featured icon is reggae’s hit machine Sizzla Kalonji who is currently holding down the number #3 slot on Billboard Magazine’s Top Reggae Albums chart with his critically acclaimed album 876. Sizzla brings to the table an impressive catalogue of hit singles and albums, and his output of nearly six dozen albums is considered prodigious by even the most seasoned industry insiders and producers. At Punch Fest, Sizzla will perform many of his classic hit songs alongside newer cuts from the 876 album.

Soultronic Music Prodigy Byron Major is blossoming with funky single release ‘May Flower’ (@byronmajor13)

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

Byron Major

South African musical mastermind Byron Major is impressing with a fresh take on soul and funk influences with his upcoming single ‘May Flower’.

Byron Major has achieved quite a lot for an artist in his early 20s -he’s performed his song ‘South Africa’ for Nelson Mandela’s Boston birthday celebration in 2013, shared a stage with Pavarotti for his farewell tour in South Africa as part of the Drakensberg Boys Choir and sang alongside Grammy Awards winning songwriter Paula Cole at a songwriting showcase at Berklee College of Music. His new single ‘May Flower’ is a funky and addictive soul track produced by multi-platinum selling producer Andy Whitmore in the Londoner Greystoke Studios. Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/byronmajor/may-flower

Putting Byron Major’s music into a box is not going to work. While his style is certainly influenced by his early classical music training, Byron takes on elements from traditional South African music to Motown and 21st century electronica. His musical influences derive from artists such as Stevie Wonder, Prince and Marvin Gaye but his philosophy of musical variety is one that rejects categorizations. “My dream is for all of music to live under one umbrella, in one home. To me, genres in music is like racism in society”, he explains. He likes to describe his own sound as ‘soultronic’.

When Byron Major first saw Michael Jackson on TV at the age of five, the King of Pop had left such an impression on him that he soon decided to follow his lead and start working on his own career as entertainer and songwriter. At the age of nine, Byron nearly died in a car crash weeks before watching a concert of the Drakensberg Boys Choir. He watched the performance with his dad and it was then that he decided he’d want to join the choir. After a successful audition, his musical career progressed steadily. Byron remembers: “I started writing songs at the age of 12 years, and used my pocket money to have my songs recorded at a studio near my home. So when other kids were out playing and going to the movies, I stayed at home and wrote and produced songs.”At the sweet age of 17, he was already performing his songs on South African national television. The songsmith has perfected his art during a degree at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, which has fostered the careers of alumni such as Steve Vai and John Mayer. In 2015, Byron Major’s music was playlisted on 21 radio stations across South Africa, including five digital stations in the UK.

His upcoming single ‘May Flower’ was part of a series of EPs he released during his time at Berklee. The song speaks about the push and pull that lovers experience in a passionate relationship. As someone who has never had a relationship, Byron Major draws his songwriting inspiration from reflecting other people’s relationships and reflects on life in general.

The single ‘May Flower’ is out on 15^th April 2016.

New Dancehall Video: Blak Ryno – Motive (@RynoDiStinger @RICKYBLAZE)

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Maria Jackson 27 Magazine

00-Blak Ryno - Motive Here is the latest video from Jamaican dancehall artist Blak Ryno. The video is for the track “Motive” which is featured on the “Conquer The Moment” Project by Billboard Producer Ricky Blaze. The video was shot in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York and it was directed by Clifford Harry & Ricky Blaze