On Saturday, September 24th, all roads will lead to Mas Camp in Kingston, Jamaica, for the 90s edition of Good Times. There will be music by top selectors Jazzy T and Delano from Renaissance Sound, as well as zip fm’s ZJ Liquid. In addition to the deejays, reggae-dancehall artist Sizzla Kalonji will also perform live.
The gates will open at 8pm, and ladies will be allowed in free before 10pm. Otherwise, presold tickets which are available at different locations in and around Kingston, and online via Caribtix, are going for $1,500 JMD. It will be $2,500 at the gate.
The 2022 staging of Soca + Festival has two nights of live performances from some of the best acts within the Caribbean! On Friday, September 23, the three time Soca Monarch of Trinidad and Tobago, the one that is seen as the face of modern soca, Aaron “Voice” St. Louis will bring the vibes with his melodious vocals and smooth delivery.
On Saturday, September 24, St. Vincent’s Soca Star, Jamol “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle is “charged up” to ignite the stage with absolutely “no behaviour!” Saturday night continues with Jamaica’s Dancehall Legend Rodney “Bounty Killer” Pryce for a musical amalgamation for soca + dancehall lovers alike!
Soca + Festival will take place at the Water Front in Kingston, Jamaica on the aforementioned dates. Get tickets here.
After blessing us with his last studio album – Years A Pain – early last year, dancehall artist Teflon is now gearing up to release his new LP, Tears of Joy. Not too much has been shared about the upcoming record except that it will be out on all music platforms on September 16.
This month – on September 16 – Full Cup Fridays will welcome the one and only Sister Nancy to their stage. The event is held at The Longboard Margarita Bar at 180 Eureka Square in Pacifica, California.
Nancy, who is known most for the classic reggae anthem Bam Bam, will be joined by DJ Jah Yzer. Showtime is 8pm and tickets start at $30 USD.
On October 1st ZJ Chrome, DJ Alley, Bad Gyal Marie and ZJ Rush will be spinning the biggest party tunes from the nineties and 2000s. It will all down at the Police Officers Club, located at 34 Hope Road in Kingston, from 8pm to 2am the following morning.
The organizers would like patrons to come out and represent their era by wearing either mesh marinas or jerseys. They have also invited two dancehall artists who had breakout hits in the 90s to perform live: Terror Fabulous and Alozade.
Reggae-dancehall singer-songwriter Bugle has released the deluxe edition of his 2021 studio album Toxicity. This edition has an additional seven new tracks and features some very accomplished performers: Marcia Griffiths, Bounty Killer, Kabaka Pyramid, Tony Gold, Julian Marley and many more.
After a successful album listening party on Thursday evening, veteran singer-songwriter Tanya Stephens‘ new project – Some Kinda Madness – is now available on all streaming platforms. The record is a collaborative effort between Tanya Stephens and producer Tad A. Dawkins Jnr. And it was done exclusively for Tad’s Record Inc.
The LP launch was held at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, and was streamed live on Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Radio; broadcasting on SiriusXM’s channel 19. With the exception of a very noticeable late start – which we were told was due to some technical difficulties – the event was a success!
A handful of media personalities were invited to witness and document Tanya Stephens as she performed a couple of her breakout singles (It’s a Pity and Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet) as well as a few songs from the new record, Some Kinda Madness. With support from Donald Dennis (bass) Michum Chin (guitar) Kirk Bennett (drum) Andrew Marsh (keyboard) and backing vocalists Nikki Bolt, Adena Myrie and Carol Dexter, Stephens allowed us to experience Diamonds in the Sun, Fifty and Not Today – all featured on the new album – in an inexplicable way. Her intense performance, coupled with answers she gave to a number of questions, is testament to the fact that Tanya Stephens is a woman who’s been through a lot, and as a result, is immensely strong, confident and unconventional. This can also be heard and felt on Some Kinda Madness.
The twenty-track album starts with Be Who We Be, a tune that gives listeners forewarning that they’re about to enter Tanya Stephens‘ zone; a place where she will not be told how to think, feel or behave. From there she takes us on a joy-ride (no pun intended) with songs like Intervention, Too Much Party, Zig Ziggler, Fifty, Aloe Vera, and Jezebel; all centered around intimate relationships and having a good time. She gets serious on track #8 – Weight In Gold – a solid reggae tune done with Nadine Sutherland. Stephens then proceeds to give us a series of reggae songs – Not Today, Blame It On Rock & Roll, Feels Like Love, Reset, Some Kinda Madness and Don’t Hurt Me – with a few acoustic and world-beat rhythms added in: World Goes Round, Diamonds in the Sun, So Damaged, Serendipity and River. She closes off the project with a tuff reggae tune – a bonus track – called Silence.
Tanya Stephens‘ fans and supporters should know that Some Kinda Madness is not mad at all. It is – in part – the practical thoughts and expressions of someone who is very impassioned about social issues, particularly those that emerged during the pandemic. And although this LP has songs that will automatically induce good feelings, it also has tunes that will make you stop and think. Kudos to Tanya Stephens, Tad A. Dawkins Jnr. and the team at Tad’s Record for a job well done.
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 