On July 1st, the day globally recognized as ‘Reggae Day,’ Roots Percussionist will be hosting a live chat with several reggae celebrities to discuss the genre.
Confirmed speakers include: Lila Iké, Jesse Royal, Kabaka Pyramid, Julian Marley, Chronixx and others. The conversation will begin at 10:00 AM Jamaica time and it will stream on IG (@Roots_Percussionist).
In the midst of the pandemic the Philadelphia based Nyah Bless Music remain vigilant in the production of positive music. Teaming with longtime business partner, Jam Roc Productions, the focus shifted to the Motherland resulting in another gem “Mama Afrika Riddim.” Produced by Hopeton Brown and Franz Richards, the album is scheduled for release on June 30th, 2020.
The album, with 16 tracks, is a great mixture of cultural reggae and solid lyrical content promoting positive awareness. The album features artists from several African countries. Black Dillinger from the rough ghettos of Cape Town, South Africa sings “Afrikan People,”Prince Osito from Nigeria follows with “Afrikan Child” and Rebellion the Recaller, the internationally known artiste from Gambia, continues to break down barrier of Race and Religion with the track “Woman.” Other Afrikan artists includes Obibini Blackdin – Ghana, Blessed San – Uganda, Charli Fletcher – South Africa and Marga Mbande of Equatorial Guinean descent.
Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae music, is well represented on the album. Leading the charge is Karamanti with a powerful and riveting track “Stand” pushing back against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Natty King, the Man from the East is all about “Powers” and the original teacher Teacha Dee has places to go and things to do with his rendition of “Train Delay.” Others include JR Blessington, Greg Roy, Milton Blake, Iam Malakhi, Avalanche and City Lock.
Mama Afrika Riddim was produced at BMR Recording Studios in Philadelphia. The album will be available on all digital platforms such as Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and Google Play.
Legendary Jamaican artist Frederick “Toots” Hibbert just released the lead single, “Got To Be Tough,” off his upcoming album of the same title. The highly-anticipated 10-song collection will stand as Toots‘ first studio album (of new material) in more than a decade.
“Got To Be Tough” is an energizing record that renews the near six-decade career of the man who launched a new sound and genre with his 1968 release “Do The Reggay.” The single comes with the welcome announcement of a full-length Toots and The Maytals album, set for global release via Trojan Jamaica / BMG on August 28.
Last week Richie Spice released the official video for the title track on his new album “Together We Stand.” With so much happening on social media some people may have missed it, so we are sharing it HERE.
On June 5th, Gramps Morgan, a member of the popular reggae group Morgan Heritage, released a powerful record dubbed “People Like You.” The song, which celebrates people who make major sacrifices for those in need, was shared by several pop artists online.
A few days ago Gramps followed up with the actual music video. Keeping it very simple, it only shows him singing the song with help from the supporting vocalists. Click here to watch the video and remember to like, comment and share.
Canadian hip-hop artist Uzman has re-mastered “Night Life,” a club track he did with reggae singer Jah Mason some time ago.
When the song and video were first released, the original mix of “Night Life” received heavy radio rotation on some of the biggest stations in the Caribbean, North America and parts of Europe. Additionally, it entered the top ten position on several charts and even sat at number one (1) on the NYC reggae chart (Funk Master Flex’s Franchise Record Pool).
While we were all on lock-down – due to the corona virus pandemic – Uzman thought that it would be prudent to have the song re-mastered and ready for when countries all over the world remove their curfews and restrictions and we can all go back to enjoying the night life.
ABOUT UZMAN
Uzman have spent the last couple of years managing and investing in other artists (mostly based in Jamaica); he has decided to now switch the attention back to his career. As he makes some adjustments, he is reaffirming his commitment to always fuse his party-style rap music with Jamaica’s roots reggae in an effort to show his love for both genres.
In addition to collaborating with Jah Mason, Uzman has also worked with Junior Reid and he’s acquired production from Frenz 4 Real, Walkway 31 and Decibell Music Studios, all based in Jamaica.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “NIGHT LIFE” MP3 and HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 