Yesterday, December 1st, Tarrus Riley released the official video for arguably the most captivating song on his latest album, “Remember Me.” In the visuals, he gave a nod to frontline workers: firefighters, medical professionals (nurses, doctors etc.) and police officers – acknowledging the impact that covid19 is having on all of us.
Click here or on the image above to watch the video and remember to like, comment and share.
The official video for “Four Seasons,” track number seven on Dre Island‘s latest album (Now I Rise), is out now. The visuals, which is basically an upbeat lovers vibe, was posted to his YouTube channel at the end of November.
Click here or on the image above to check it out, and remember to like, comment and share.
On Friday, November 27th and Saturday, November 28th, one of Jamaica’s biggest music festival, Reggae Sunsplash, returned, albeit in a virtual format. The show featured a mixture of veteran artists (Capleton, Tanya Stephens and Richie Spice), as well as some of the current trending talents (Agent Sasco, Romain Virgo, Dexta Daps, Masicka and Jesse Royal).
On night one it was refreshing to see Tanya Stephens, one of the most lyrical female artist in the reggae-dancehall industry, performing on such a major platform here on the island because in recent years she has been more dominant in the European scene. It goes without saying that the fire man, King Shango aka Capleton, burned the place down! The rastaman Richie Spice gave us a solid performance as he sang his hits back to back and brought some spiritual vibes to the event.
As for night two, it was all about Romain Virgo, Dexta Daps and Jesse Royal. They all gave great performances but truth be told Dexta Daps took the show. Because Maria Jackson Magazine focuses on positive music only we haven’t highlighted Dexta Daps too much but he is truly an amazing performer. Agent Sasco did so much talking through his set that it was difficult to really enjoy his show, and Masicka cursed so much that we had to tune out for most of his performance.
Welcome back Reggae Sunsplash, looking forward to 2021.
One of reggae’s most enchanting vocalist, Hezron, has just released the reggae remix for the 1970s hit song, “The Air That I Breathe,” originally performed by The Hollies.
The St. James singer gave a stellar performance on the record, so much so that persons who are familiar with other versions of the song seems more captivated by his reggae remake. Credit must also be given to the powerhouse production team who all played key roles to ensure that the overall record was done remarkably well. Lindel Thompson and Willie Lindo are the main producers, but they also enlisted Sly and Robbie to play drum and bass, and Robbie Lyn to play keyboard.
Hezron‘s “The Air That I Breathe” was officially released in mid November via the LTK 20 Records label; it is already getting heavy rotation on reggae platforms all over the world. Several music critics are predicting that this will be a major hit in 2021!
Reggae lovers are appreciating Leroy Sibbles‘ new single, “Pretty Brown Eyed Girl.” The song has not yet been officially released – it’s scheduled to be out on December 4th – however, persons in the media and some reggae enthusiasts from the general public were given a link to listen a snippet of the record and the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
Sibbles is really invested in this project, playing multiple roles. In addition to singing he also played the bass and was instrumental in contacting other established musicians who also contributed to the production. Kingsley Boyd played drums, Donovan Palmer is on keyboards and the late Dalton Browne did the guitar. “Pretty Brown Eyed Girl” was recorded at Bright Beam Studio, while the mixing and mastering were done at Anchor Studio.
In mid November, Australian producer Monkey Marc released his thirteen-track album, titled “Vital Sound.” The record features collaborations with some of Jamaica’s biggest reggae stars, namely: Sizzla, Fantan Mojah, Capleton, Turbulence, Dre Island and Iba Mahr.
One of the stand out songs on the project is “Rebel Code,” track number two, performed by Turbulence, Blvk H3ro and Yeza. The official video premiered on Monkey Marc‘s YouTube channel a few days ago. Click here or on the image above to check it out and remember to like, comment and share.
The 63rd GRAMMY Awards are right around the corner. It will air on Sunday, January 31st, on the CBS network; however, the nominations are here now! Below is a list of the nominees in the category of ‘Best Reggae Album.’
UPSIDE DOWN 2020
Buju Banton
HIGHER PLACE
Skip Marley
IT ALL COMES BACK TO LOVE
Maxi Priest
GOT TO BE TOUGH
Toots & The Maytals
ONE WORLD
The Wailers
