In mid September Gramps Morgan, a member of the Grammy winning reggae group Morgan Heritage, released a single titled “Runaway Bay.” On the ska record he laments on how much he misses and loves the town, which is located in the Parish of St. Ann on the charming island of Jamaica.
On Wednesday, February 24th, Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Beenie Man and Machel Montano, will all receive a 2021 Young, Gifted and Black Entrepreneurial Award; and will also be inducted into the Caribbean Music Entertainment ICON Hall of Fame.
They were all voted for by members of the public who felt they were deserving of these honors. The Young, Gifted & Black Entrepreneurial Awards, which is held annually in Black History Month, is designed for peer-to-peer acknowledgement of talent, ambition and achievements toward the “Continued Pursuit of Success.”
About a week ago reggae-dancehall singjay Teflon released the official video for “Rude Boy,” a groovy reggae song produced by Tad’s Records. Click here or on the image above to watch it, and remember to like, comment and share.
In the middle of the dreaded covide19 pandemic of 2020, reggae singer/songwriter, Audrey Hall – who initially shared her Reggae Zones CD in 2001 – remastered and rereleased the entire project. The then seventeen-track album, published on Super Power Records is a collection of conscious reggae tunes that can be classified as motivational and/or inspiring. The updated version of Reggae Zones now has eighteen songs. The new addition is track number eighteen (18), ‘Oh No Not My Baby’ with Lorna G joining Hall on the track. It goes without saying that the overall production that’s now distributed by VPal Music, has been pleasantly enhanced. It’s now available on most streaming platforms.
Hall confesses that she loves all the songs and has many favorites! She states, “From the ‘Conscious Lyrics’ zone I love ‘Life’s Too Short’ and the ska tune ‘You’re Right’ because both songs have powerful messages and they have beautiful melodies and beats! From the ‘Love Messages’ zone I like to point out ‘Fade Away’, ‘It’s Him Again’ and ‘Mastermind’ also ‘Filled With Confusion’. They have great catchy lyrics that so many can relate to. The beat, melody and musical arrangements are timeless (I credit Courtney Panton in large part and others including myself for these traits running right through the album.) In the ‘Retro Music’ zone I love ‘Broken Hearted Melody’ and the new addition, ‘Oh No Not My Baby’ a combo with Lorna G and I. They are favorites of mine as are the other songs in all zones.”
Musicians that were instrumental (no pun intended) in the creation of this album are: Courtney Panton, Derrick Barnett, Steely & Clevie, Noel Alphonso, Horace James, Les Sargeant, Winston Grenan, Robbie Hewitt, Cedric Brooks, Sidney Mills, Donovan Steele, and Computer Paul. Background vocals were done by: Maritza Franck, Pam Hall, Melanie Lynch, Derrick Barnett, Worl-a-Girl and Audrey Hall.
Reggae Zones was produced, mastered and remastered by: Chris Scott of Castek Systems Solutions. Other producers are Anthony Barrett (Barry U/Super Power Records), Audrey Hall of One Dance Won’t Do fame and Courtney Panton of Kingston Studios.
When Audrey first shared this album many years ago, she did so simply because of her love for writing and performing music. She chose to remaster and rerelease it because she strongly feels that it never received adequate promotion back then. Now when asked what she would like people to take away from the songs, she said the following: “I would like them to listen carefully to all the messages on this album and I hope they will add wisdom and understanding to what they already have, but most of all I want them to enjoy the music so much that it becomes a part of their musical list to be listened to again and again and shared with friends and family!”
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.
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.
