Tonight – January 28th – at exactly 8:00 PM EST, Stephen Marley will do a special livestream in honor of Bob Marley’s 75th celebration. The performance will air on the official Bob Marley YouTube Channel.
Click here or on the image above to go directly to the video.
The newly formed reggae-dancehall record label, Innovation Muzik – which is owned and operated by both Garfield Lewin aka DJ Kool G and DJ Matches – is sharing the first song from their camp. The record is a reggae track performed by international recording artist Tarrus Riley titled “Be Great.”
This is the lead single from an upcoming compilation dubbed “21 Greatness Riddim.” The full project, which is scheduled for release at some point in February, will feature the likes of Luciano, Queen Ifrica, Tarrus Riley, Nature Ellis, Gott Yo and others.
The men have chosen the Tarrus Riley “Be Great” song as the ideal tune to introduce both their new label, Innvovation Muzik, as well as the soon to be released rhythm-driven album, “21 Greatness Riddim,” because of the powerful messages in Riley‘s lyrics.
Singy Singy, as he is affectionately called by his fans and supporters, starts his song with the following words: “stepping in with so much self esteem – confident regime.” He then laments on the importance of being great. DJ Kool G and DJ Matches, who are both very accomplished in their respective fields felt that this is the message they want their record label to start out with.
On January 22nd UK based reggae-dancehall chanter Macka B released a new song and video titled “Jamaica Vybz.” Though the artist was born in Britain he has always held on to his West Indian heritage, as both his parents are Jamaican.
The song, “Jamaica Vybz,” which is on the Top Secret Music label, highlights what is good about the small Caribbean nation and encourages its citizens at home and abroad to cherish their Jamaican culture, music and lifestyle.
Click here or on the image above to watch the official video for “Jamaica Vybz” and remember to like, comment and share.
On January 15th, Junior Kelly dropped a hefty new single titled “Everything“! I first heard a snippet of the song on the day it was released but wanted sufficient time to properly listen to it before I wrote a post.
Now that I have had a chance to really pay attention to the words – which is what is most important to me – I have to say kudos to Junior Kelly. The singer is keeping it real by encouraging his listeners to put away the vanity and material things, while acknowledging that he owes God “Everything.”
This record comes to us courtesy of Josh Harris (producer) from Big Feet Record. He too should be applauded for the excellent production that was later mixed and mastered by BommiTommi. Click here to stream and download “Everything” via Apple Music.
The release of the medley video for the “World Rebirth Riddim” is undoubtedly the culmination of this project. It all started in early 2020 when Reggae Vibes Music invited Anthony B, Jah Cure, Lutan Fyah, Turbulence, Yami Bolo, Rufftop Rock I, Tony Curtis, Powerman and Ginjah to be a part of the riddim.
All the men wrote and performed exceptional songs that were collectively released as compilation on July 10th. Shortly after the album went public, the songs began to get heavy rotation on reggae platforms all over the world. Turbulence‘s “Tribute to Mama” and Lutan Fyah‘s “Twitter Friend” quickly became anthems for particular groups.
As the riddim continued to spread, Reggae Vibes Music went back to the studio and added another song: “Mama Struggle” by Jah Mason. The release of this record gave all the other songs on the compilation new life as they all returned to the top of local and international reggae playlists.
Reggae Vibes Music is once again re-introducing the “World Rebirth Riddim” with a new twenty-six minutes medley video. The visuals were shared only a few days ago, but already music critics are praising the team’s commitment to the production and promotion of authentic reggae music and culture.
Reggae Month 2021 activities, to be observed in February, have been moved to the virtual space.
The month-long celebration, being held under the theme ‘Come Ketch Di Riddim Virtually’, is expected to draws thousands of patrons globally to Jamaica, from locations as far as Europe and Asia.
Speaking during a virtual launch on Sunday (January 10), Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, said that the virtual celebration will enable people to “get together and feel alright, even from a distance”, as Jamaica “builds back stronger to a brighter and dynamic future”.
“After all, we are a people of a glorious ancestry, a people who have used the experiences of our past to create reggae music, whose rhythms the world recognises and loves,” she added.
Miss Grange said the Month presents an opportunity to further increase the capacity of Jamaica’s technical creatives through virtual workshops in areas such as sound engineering, writing and stage management.
She said that training opportunities and master classes in publishing and copyright for songwriters, musicians and artistes will be a feature of this year’s Reggae Month celebrations.
“We will promote strategic interactions among the world creatives through our online university. In this way, we will expand the dialogue on the needs of the creative sector as we continue to position Reggae among the world’s most vibrant brands,” Minister Grange said.
February was officially declared as Reggae Month on January 9, 2008. This annual observance highlights and celebrates the impact of the musical genre on Jamaica’s social, cultural and economic development
Source: Jamaica Information Service
The return of the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, which was previously scheduled for the end of January, 2021, has been pushed back to March 4th through 6th.
It will still be a free virtual event, although the organizers have included a charity element enabling persons to donate to workers in the entertainment industry whose jobs have been wiped out due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The reason for the change in date is due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the United States. Apparently they are hoping to add more American-based artists and the current state of the virus is making it difficult.
