This and every other Thursday there will be live music at The Cove – 3 Winchester Road – in Kingston, Jamaica. This is an acoustic show, dubbed Thursday Night Live, that will feature performances from various artists.
This week – Thursday, May 26th – patrons will see Ken Boothe, Dean Fraser and Iwaata. Additional music will be provided by Energy Jugglaz Sound System. Starting time is 5pm, and there is a $2,000 JMD entrance fee.
This past Friday Maverick City shared the visuals for Kingdom, the first single from their upcoming album with Kirk Franklin. The full project, titled Kingdom Book One, is scheduled for release on June 17th, 2022.
The lead single, which was written by Chandler Moore, Kirk Franklin, Jonathan Jay and Jacob Poole was performed by Chandler Moore, Kirk Franklin & Naomi Raine. If you have not yet seen the video, check it out and remember to like, comment and share.
Every Tuesday, The Meca – an entertainment complex located at 67 Constant Spring Road in Kingston – and the original Dancehall Queen Carlene, jointly present an event called Dancehall Tuesdays.
Most week they feature a guest artist who performs alongside Stone Love Sound, the resident selector. The confirmed performer for this coming Tuesday, May 24th, is legendary deejay Admiral Bailey.
Bailey enjoyed his greatest success between the mid-1980s and the early 90s, and has been described as the hottest dancehall star of the late eighties.
Dancehall Tuesdays generally start at approximately 9pm. Ladies are allowed in for free while men are asked to pay $1,000 JMD.
Agro Fest, Kingston & St. Andrew’s agricultural, industrial and food show, has been honoring, supporting and saluting farmers and customers in the parish for years. The event also focuses on encouraging more young people to choose agriculture as a career path.
This year Agro Fest will be presented on Saturday, May 28th at Hope Gardens in Kingston 6. From 7am to 7pm it promises something for the entire family. They will have a farmer’s market, domino tournament, food display and a talented farmer’s concert, which will all be topped off by a performance from guest artist Jermaine Edwards.
In 2013 after she released her very first full length studio album, Dancehall Retaliates, Karamanti was nominated as the best female solo artist by the Dancehall Industry Awards (held in the UK). The album also went up against Vybz Kartel and Mr. Vegas‘ records in the WINS Reggae Awards (powered by Reggae France) for Dancehall Album of the year.
Subsequently, Karamanti kept on creating and sharing new music which were always met with adulation. However, despite the consistent extolment she always stayed measured in her promotion; taking deliberate steps to avoid too much attention.
In a new freestyle song and video, she explains why she is cautious of becoming famous irrespective of her growing fan base. The tune is titled Why Rush and it was done spontaneously on the popular Riddim Rush beat produced by ZIP radio personality ZJ Rush. Karamanti‘s lyrics are as follows:
A one bag a talk anytime I and I and I and I links link up
Wholla dem know say mi bad so dem always a ask yo how yu no buss
Big woman ting me a tek my time I a write my rhymes and such
Music fi fun me a fulljoy di ride but mi affi ask why rush?
Is a question me ask
Again and again
Dem waa mi fi spark
And start set di trend
But what’s in mi heart
Dem don’t comprehend
I don’t waa get lost
And den loose myself
Mi ting well different
Mi naa pree money or fame dat a fi dem
Mi naa bow down fi di strength from no pigeon
Mi naa violate or split from mi fren
Jah Jah a mi start and mi middle and mi end
So anybody waa see me soar betta listen
A queen ting dis no hore or chicken
I shall walk true dat door but with him
But anyways listen
On May 20th Norris Man released his new twelve-track album titled Deep Conversations. Published on the Train Line Records label, the project has musical contributions from Real Mckoy, Sam Gilly, Dean Fraser and Dave Richards.
As the name in implies, Norris goes beneath the surface while addressing various topics, namely: man/woman relationships, social and spiritual issues. Click here to stream and download Deep Conversations from your preferred music platform.
As anticipation continues to build for Two Colors – the instrumental album by Dean Fraser and Ernie Ranglin – the lead single, De Ranglin, is rapidly becoming a constant on reggae networks worldwide.
The reggae tune, laced with dub undertones, was officially released on April 22nd by Tad’s International Record. It features Big Youth, whose presence on the track transports listeners back to an era when ‘dance did nice’; a time when toasting dominated dancehalls.
Confirmation of De Ranglin‘s early success came a few days ago when it entered Clinton Lindsay’s Foundation Radio New York Chart after having entered the South Florida Chart approximately three weeks prior. That said, for the week ending May 13, De Ranglin was #20 on the South Florida Chart and #26 on the New York Chart.
The relevance of this cannot be overstated, because in addition to being the longest running reggae chart in the United States, the placement of a song on Lindsay’s top 30 is usually an indication of that record’s ascendancy within the current music – specifically reggae – climate.
