On Saturday, July 4th, Fyre4Lyfe Entertainment will be hosting a digital stage show dubbed Youths & Legends Reggae Show. This event will be streamed live on ZOOM starting at 6:00 PM EST.
Among the confirmed performers are veteran dancehall artist Lady G, Ricky Stereo, Jemere Morgan, KB Digreat and UU Maddo. The organizers are charging a $5 USD entrance fee. Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite.
The second weekend of the Essence Festival Of Culture kicks off tomorrow, Thursday, July 2nd, with the ‘Wellness House’ segment. It will stream in real time via Essence Studios, Twitter and Facebook Live from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EST.
The focus will be on meditation, conversations, workouts and tutorials designed to boost your mental, physical, spiritual, emotional and financial well-being. Some of the confirmed guests are: Taraji P. Henson, India.Arie, Egypt Sherrod, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, Koya Webb and many more.
Iconic soul artist Nina Simone once said that every musicians’ art should reflect the times they’re living in; John Legend‘s song and video, “Never Break,” does just that.
The track is featured on Legend‘s just released album titled “Bigger Love.” The significance of “Never Break” is that it speaks to the current situation in the United States of America, specifically to the fight for racial equality. The very powerful video shows us that though we as Africans have come along way in this struggle, we still have a very long way to go.
Germany has been ahead of the game as it relates to partying while maintaining physical distance. A couple months ago there were reports of drive-in raves in Germany, where patrons pulled up in a huge parking lot and remained in their cars (singing and dancing) as the DJ played the music.
Now they’re taking it up a notch! On July 10th, the Junkyard – located in Dortmund, Germany – will host a live outdoors event, with a special performance by Jamaican artist Anthony B.
As you can imagine they’re being very careful about the number of people they allow in. As such, all tickets are pre-sold online and there is a limited amount. In order to honor the social distancing guidelines Anthony B will perform on tracks as opposed to with a band.
Now that Jamaica’s controlled reopening is under way, the government has decided to give persons on the island an extra hour to conduct their daily affairs.
That being said, starting tonight, June 30th, the new curfew will begin at 11:00 PM and will be in effect until 5:00 AM the following day. This will be the new daily curfew until further notice.
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.
