The city of Belém in Brazil is buzzing in anticipation of the Scarlet Dreams Festival, scheduled for Saturday, September 16th at Reggae no Parque (Tv. WE12, 1000, Belém, PA).
The excitement is being fueled in part by the announcement of the event’s headlining acts: legendary Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter Eric Donaldson, and British-Jamaican reggae vocalist JC Lodge.
The international artists will be joined by DJs Dhodhu Roots, Alex Roots, Vitor Pedra and singer Adrianinho Yemanjah.
Lauryn Hill will give a special 25th anniversary performance of her first solo album – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, released in 1998 – at the Mystic Amphitheater in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on Friday, September 8th.
Lauryn Hill’s soulful voice propelled her to the top of the hip-hop and R&B charts at the end of the 20th century. Her sound, often categorized as neo-soul, bridges hip-hop and mainstream popular music. Fueled by the success of the single Doo Wop (That Thing), the aforementioned album went multi-Platinum in several countries. Hill was nominated for 10 Grammy Awards and won five, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year.
One of the most influential and long-standing roots reggae artists out of Jamaica – Burning Spear – will be back in Santa Cruz next month for the first time in approximately twenty years.
He will perform at the Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival, which is to take place on September 15th, 16th and 17th at the Roaring Camp Meadows in Felton, California. Additional information about this event is available on their website: santacruzmountainsol-dot-com.
“I think we’ve got a bona fide hit record. I’ve never seen results like that before this early.” That’s a statment from Josh Harris, the executive and creative producer of Lutan Fyah‘s newest single, Give It All. The song went live on streaming platforms earlier today – Friday, August 18th – and has already racked up thousands of streams in just a few hours.
Give It All is an intense record, a lovers-rock-reggae tune, on which Lutan expresses his unwavering commitment to his love interest. He performs on a rhythmic reggae beat that’s composed by Harris, who played both bass and keyboard, with Santa Davis on drums, and backing vocals by Nikki Burt. The mixing engineer is Tommi Tikkenen, and the mastering was done by Rose Quartz Mastering.
Give It All can now be streamed and/or downloaded from iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, and all other digital music stores. It is on the Big Feet Records label, and is being distributed by VPAL Music.
In 1968, Jamaican vocal group The Maytals – more popularly known as Toots and the Maytals – released Monkey Man, a record that eventually became their first international hit song. It is said that it was created affectionately, as a dig aimed at their producer at the time, Leslie Kong.
Approximately half a century later, in 2023, Richie Spice – who is a member of the Rastafari movement – has put his spin on the tune. Opting to maintain much of the original lyrics and flow, Spice has titled his version Rasta Man. Another noticable difference is the more pronounced ska sounds heard on Richie‘s track versus that of the original done by The Maytals.
Richie Spice‘s Rasta Man is among twenty-one songs featured on the Celebrating Jamaica 61 album published by Tad’s Record Inc. Both the single and the LP are available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, and all other music platforms.
Planet 9, the American independent record label founded by R&B singer Mýa, has just released a new Caribbean-pop single called Whine. The song went live on streaming platforms this past Friday, August 18th. It’s performed by Mýa and it features veteran dancehall deejay Bounty Killer.
The pair have also shared the record’s official video, which can be viewed on Mýa‘s YouTube channel. Click here or on the image above to check it out, and remember to like, comment and share.
Tune into Scotiabank JA’s YouTube channel and Instagram profile on Sunday, August 27th at 6pm for Scotia Unplugged. This is a live performance series that will feature sets by Mortimer, Jesse Royal and Sevana.
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 