The family friendly, problem free, West Friendship Jamaica Day Reggae Festival returns on Saturday, June 24th at the Howard County Fairgrounds (2210 Fairgrounds Road) from 1pm to 9pm.
It will feature a variety of Jamaican wines, rums, food, and of course music. This year’s headliners are Glen Washington, Abijah and Johnny Osbourne, with backing band Platinum One. There will be an entrance fee of $35 USD.
The urban gospel community in Memphis is buzzing in anticipation of the forthcoming Memphis Gospel Fest, scheduled for Friday, July 7th. It will take place at the Brown Missionary Baptist Church (South Campus), located at 7200 Swinnea Road in Southaven, Mississippi.
Persons in attendance will experience the ministration of Ricky Dillard, Lisa Knowles-Smith, John P. Kee, Josh Bracy and Power Anointed. There will also be a special tribute to Vanessa Bell Armstrong. Tickets are available at childrensing-dot-net.
The 2023 staging of the annual Reggae Love Fest goes down on Friday, June 16th at the Barclay Center – 620 Atlantic Avenue – in Brooklyn, New York. This year’s impressive lineup includes some of the most sought after names in reggae-dancehall.
Confirmed performers are: Barrington Levy, Elephant Man, Capleton, Shabba Ranks, Yellowman, Mad Cobra, Patra, Mad Lion, and Little Vicious. That said, attendees should know that the lineup is subject to change. Tickets are available on ticketmaster.
Jamaican-Canadian rapper UZMAN has produced and released a track centered around the current Zodiac sign: Gemini.
From an early age, the veteran MC – who has done collaborations with the likes of Junior Reid, Jah Mason and others – has had an affinity to astrology, constellation star and zodiac signs. He has always read his horoscope and paid careful attention to his “Twin” Gemini mark. Furthermore, he is aware that there is a general belief that persons born between May 21st and June 21st have had somewhat of a stigma against them. On this new record – which is aptly titled Gemini – UZMAN attempts to address this unfortunate stain by pointing out some of their better qualities.
In spite of the fact that the tune’s main objective is to inspire Geminis, and possibly educate persons ruling under other signs about them, he is still hopeful that it will also be played at birthday celebrations annually. Hence, while creating the track he deliberately added trumpet and piano chords, which according to him, “set the feel good vibes.”
While Jah Shaka was still alive Macka B had began working on a project with beat-maker Jazzwad. Among the songs they were creating was a track honoring Shaka and his tremendous contribution to reggae music and dub culture- sort of like a living tribute.
Alas, Jah Shaka died before the song was completed, putting the men in a challenging position. Eventually, they decided to complete and publish the record; hence the newly released single, Jah Shaka Trod On. Click here to stream and/or download it from your preferred music platform.
The team at Pandemic Records, headed by CEO Sheldon Edwards, has been in a celebratory mood of late. This is after learning that two of their recently released songs are sitting in the #1 position on a couple of significant charts in Jamaica. Things Inside, performed by Chronic Law is #1 on the Preedis Chart. And Little Hero‘s Badman Round Here has the top spot on The Jamaica Music Countdown Reggae Singles Chart.
Chronic Law‘s tune is featured on the Things & Time Riddim, an eight-track compilation shared in late January by Pandemic Records. Accompanied by a lyric video that was published on Law‘s YouTube channel, the song became an instant favorite among his attentive fanbase, guaranteeing it steady, ongoing rotation to date.
As for Hero‘s track, Badman Round Here; it was first released in the 4th quarter of 2022, and was, from the very beginning, touted as a follow up to his other #1 song: World Right Now. Based on the massive success of World Right Now (which was also produced by Pandemic) the expectation has always been that Badman Round Here would take the same path. Fortunately, it has, and now the hope is that its listenership will surpass that of World Right Now.
Both Little Hero‘s Badman Round Here and Chronic Law‘s Things Inside are available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and all other streaming platforms.
Erykah Badu‘s Unfollow Me Tour, which features hip-hop giant Yasiin Bey, will be at the Oakland Arena in California, on Wednesday, June 21st. Despite the fact that only Badu and Bey are advertised, they will have some extraordinary opening acts. Tickets are available via ticketmaster.
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 