The Jamaica Railway Corporation will be having a roundtrip train excursion on Emancipation Day, August 1, 2023, from the Spanish Town Train Station to the Linstead Train Station departing at 10:00 am.

Tickets are now available at the following locations:

– Jamaica Railway Corporation’s Head Office at 142 Barry Street, Downtown Kingston
– Spanish Town Train Station
– Genus Pharmacy in Portmore

A tour guide will walk guests through the history of different sites on the journey. There will be live entertainment at the stop in Linstead, where dancehall recording artist General Degree will put on a show.

Attendees will also get the opportunity to support the Linstead community as they will have Jamaican treats on sale. There will be secured parking at the Spanish Town Train Station.

Source: Jamaica Government

After what seems like years of teasing, Jamaica’s dancehall king Beenie Man has finally given us an official release date for his highly anticipated album, Simma. The date is Thursday, August 31st, 2023.

Simma will feature nineteen tracks produced by Roel Powell, Seanizzle, Frankie Music, Richie D, Walshie Fire, Teddy Riley, Rohan Smith, Tony Kelly and several other noteworthy names in reggae-dancehall production.

Though we can all agree that the COVID-19 pandemic was a dark time, we should also acknowledge that it has given us with some great talents. One such gift is former medical practitioner turn singer, Auraiya. The Jamaica-based vocalist penned and published her first song, This Must Be Love, during the epidemic and hasn’t left the studio since. 

One of her most recent records is Pendulum, a Caribbean-pop track – fused with dancehall – that will serve as the lead single for her forthcoming debut album. Pendulum, which literally means being swung between two extremes, was inspired by lessons learnt in life, love and relationships. It’s being described by some selectors as both different and refreshing.

When asked what she would like listeners to take away from the song Auraiya said the following: “I am not a feminist, however I wanted our women to feel empowered and to know their worth and to know when to walk away if they don’t feel valued. It also for real men out there, to know their value, and never be a ‘Pendulum’.”

Pendulum is available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms, and it comes to us courtesy of Rocky Valley Records.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN & DOWNLOAD “PENDULUM”

The 2002 Jamaica Independence Talent Competition finalist, Yahdeen Essence, is back with a new record called Teach Me. The song is one of four featured on the Passion Fruit Riddim, which is produced and published by Pandemic Records & Entertainment LLC. 

Having been active in the music industry since the tender age of 15, the St. Ann’s artist has committed to what is essentially the road less traveled. As opposed to doing the kind of songs that attracts a lot of attention in a short period of time, Yahdeen has instead chosen to create substantive music. Her songs are generally considered to be inspirational, motivational and/or spiritual.

Teach Me is penned and performed as an open prayer to God, and is sung effortlessly by the highly experienced vocalist. Not only does it add balance to the Passion Fruit compilation, but it also gives it a bit of diversity, as Capleton, Ras Kronik and Sizzla all took a more aggressive approach with their tracks. 

And although Yahdeen Essence has recorded and released quite a few songs over the years, it is believed by everyone who’s heard it that Teach Me is one of her stronger tunes.

‘Bad like 90s dancehall’ is a phrase often used by current dancehall acts when attempting to explain either their street status or their lyrical prowess. The term is utilized frequently because of its unquestionable accuracy. Dancehall songs from the 90s, all the way up to the early 2000s, were truly intoxicating, or as we say in Jamaica, ‘bad’! (which means really good).

Try as they do, today’s dancehall artists and producers have yet to create the kind of music we were getting in that era. However, all is not lost because some of the creators from that decade is still at it. 

Dave Kelly, co-founder of Madhouse Records – the imprint that gave us some of the biggest  dancehall rhythms to date: Pepperseed, Joyride, Showtime, Fiesta, and 85 – is back with a new juggling. Released on Friday, July 7th, Slow Motion Riddim, a steady sweet-sounding four-track compilation, which is being distributed by DubShot Records, has all the ingredients of the preceding EPs. That also includes the dancehall stars featured on the project: Baby Cham, Bounty Killer, Dexta Daps, Busy Signal, TOK, and Blakkman.

Songs on the Slow Motion Riddim were shared to all streaming platforms as individual singles, while also being available, collectively, on the compilation.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “SLOW MOTION RIDDIM”

Things & Time Riddim is an eight-track dancehall compilation, produced and released by emerging music imprint Pandemic Records. Artists featured on it are: Chronic Law, Ikaya, Takeova, Jah Lama, Little Hero, Frass Khalifa, Xip Boss, and Pandemic‘s co-founder Sheldon Edwards.

To date they have shared three visuals from the project: Chronic Law‘s Things Inside, Ikaya‘s Self Defense, and Jah Lama‘s Fighter. All three clips have racked up thousands of views on the artists’ respective YouTube channels.

Furthermore, Chronic Law‘s tune made it all the way to the #1 spot on Jamaica’s Preedis Top Ten Chart and sat there for a while before being displaced. Equally newsworthy is the ongoing strong response to Ikaya‘s track, Self Defense. It has become a talking point on platforms focused on domestic abuse; while all the other songs continue to enjoy consistent rotation. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “THINGS & TIME RIDDIM”