Search Results

Fresh off the release of his "Move On " Deluxe Edition album and a successful UK promotional tour Omari Banks is gearing up for a special performance at Moonsplash 2015. Moonsplash, the longest running independent music festival in the Eastern Caribbean, will be celebrating it's 25th anniversary with a star studded lineup which will take place March 27th until to 29th, 2015 at The Dune Preserve in Anguilla. The reggae star will share the familiar stage with such reggae legends as his father Bankie Banx, Third World, Freddie McGregor, Jah Cure a nd a host of notable artists. "It's always a pleasure performing on Moonsplash festival over the years. Moonsplash to me has been more than just a festival it has been a way of life and a family reunion at times. I've played many roles over the years from accompanying my dad on stage at age 9 or lining the beach with Candles with my best friend in primary school to ensure the mood is set for the nights headline act, it always a special time of year. This year is especially special as it is the 25 anniversary of Moonsplash and the vibes are running high. I'm super excited to put in a performance that I'm proud of and that will be remembered in the years to come" - Omari Banks Moonsplash was founded by Bankie Banx and Sheriff Bob Saidenberg in 1991 as a roving music festival. The original concerts were staged on Sandy Island, Pinel Cay off St. Martin and in St. Barths. Moonsplash found its permanent home in 1995 at The Dune Preserve at Rendezvous Bay on Anguilla. Since that time Moonsplash has become the longest running independent music festival in the Eastern Caribbean and has become a top showcase for vintage reggae acts and emerging talent. Over the past few years, headline performers have included Buju Banton, Gramps Morgan, Chronixx, Tarrus Riley, Duane Stephenson, Steel Pulse, Third World, Inner Circle, Buju Banton, Gregory Isaacs, Culture, Toots & The Maytals and many others. Other surprise guests have included Jimmy Buffett, John Mayer and the Bacon Brothers. ...................................................................................................................... Friday 27th - International Night • JAH CURE • OMARI BANKS • MIGHTY MYSTIC • And Much More .... ----------------------------------------------- Saturday 28th - A Night of LEGENDS! • THIRD WORLD • FREDDY MCGREGOR • BANKIE BANX AND THE ALL STAR BAND • And Much More .... ----------------------------------------------- Sunday 29th - Beach Party • ALL STAR BAND • VARIOUS LOCAL ARTISTS

Photo by Che Kothar Protoje — née Oje Ken Ollivierre — isn't supposed to be here, or at least that's what he says. The Jamaican native grew up in the western parish of Saint Elizabeth, a small country town far from the energy and liveliness of the Jamaican capital. Growing up, Saint Elizabeth was never a beacon for music for the young Proteje; there was no musician he could idolize who was also from the area. While his mother Lorna Bennett made a huge impact on reggae music with her 1972 version of "Breakfast in Bed" (she opted out of music for law school) and his father Michael Ollivierre, known as Lord Have Mercy, was a Calypso king in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, those weren't the paths Protoje wanted to take. One of Protoje's first interactions with music outside reggae was when he was in grade school. An older kid was rapping the lyrics to Slick Rick's 1989 classic "Children's Story." Protoje had never heard anything like it, and made the kid sing it again and again until Protoje knew the song from start to finish. Protoje didn't hear the original song in its entirety until he was 16-years-old as there was no access to hip-hop in Saint Elizabeth, but that didn't stop him from penning some of his own rhymes. He first started writing when he was twelve, and attended sound clashes (akin to rap battles) where his peers sang popular songs. He went to so many clashes that he was able to predict who would sing what, which allowed him to write counteractive lyrics in advance. While the other kids reused material, Protoje wrote original rhymes and knocked his competition out. He began honing his craft, essentially growing up on hip-hop, but on his own terms. Purchasing hip-hop music was difficult; songs like "Children's Story" were obscurities in Jamaica. The first hip-hop album that Protoje was able to purchase was Snoop Dogg's 1993 album Doggystyle, and that was long after it was released. Now, while his music is certainly reggae, elements of hip-hop are still present in his sound, especially through his lyrics and rhyme schemes. With this latest release Ancient Future, Protoje has been firmly placed at the forefront of the "reggae revival." He's indeed been able to pair the old with the new — for instance, Chronixx is featured on the hit single "Who Knows," while both Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare from Sly and Robbie and Earl "Chinna" Smith have also contributed bass and guitar lines to the album, respectively. For Protoje, it's all about "a youth that's working together," as he puts it. Protoje and his contemporaries, Chronixx and Kabaka Pyramid, are taking the first steps of reawakening. The three work together for the common good of their genre and country. They don't fight for the limelight, but lift up each other. In doing so, they have successfully pushed the boundaries of reggae to be inclusive and to move forward, to be self-sustaining and supportive. "I always say, the sky's big enough for every star to shine," says Protoje. His wish is that his music will move Jamaica forward, and overcome stereotypes to show that the country is going through many of the same situations that the people of America and elsewere experience. With the help of his cohorts, Protoje is launching a new reggae sound for a new generation. Ancient Future is a testament to that, a new age of reggae that infuses all genres, with hip-hop fusion and overt rock elements as well. Protoje and Winta James, a popular Jamaican producer, soaked up genre after genre to perfect their sound, listening to everything from the Black Keys to Lana Del Rey to Joey Bada$$ and Drake. And that's the thing about the musicians' newest project: it also is saturated in the old, in traditional Seventies and Eighties reggae bass lines and social consciousness. Ancient Future is a lament of times past, of the golden era of reggae music, before Bob Marley, Jacob Miller and Peter Tosh passed, and before Garnet Silk suddenly died. The album is also about memory: Protoje wrote Ancient Future in the same house where he grew up, in the same bedroom he slept in, using the same mirror he sang in front of as a teenager. While writing, he made it a habit of standing on the porch and recalling memories from his childhood and stories his father told him, such as the murder of Jamaican gang leader Claude Massop. He sings about what he saw and heard when he was younger. "[The album] was about paying homage to an era that I grew up with...for this album that was the design, that was the purpose," he says. "[Ancient Future] was just about going back to the past to move forward. Taking a step back to take two steps forward. Ancient is relative. But in our human life, twenty years ago is ancient. The future part of it comes from pushing the envelope, not just playing over beats and sampling stuff that was from twenty years ago, but what are we going to add to it, what elements are we going to infuse so that our generation can be a part of it? That's what I think I have and we have been able to do, [to] get people who are not in Jamaica into old school reggae, but into more modern music to kind of crossover." But ultimately, the album is about forward momentum. Ancient Future is a conversation between Protoje's younger and older selves. While Protoje felt a bit of hesitancy in showing his true self in his previous albums The Seven Year Itch (2011) and The 8 Year Affair (2013), he felt nothing but freedom and liberation with Ancient Future. The project became his diary of his joys, sadness, weaknesses and strengths. "I just felt like a bird out of a cage...I'm very comfortable now in what I do." His lyrics and concept are immersed in social responsibility, and at the root of it all is a call for everyone to be understanding and empathetic towards each other. "[Ancient Future is about] allowing people to be themselves — about letting people try to find themselves and not judge because you feel like you're at a further state of development than them. Because no matter how advanced you think you are, there's somebody out there that could look at you and be like, you're so not with it. To have that understanding." Like Protoje's song "Who Knows" goes, "Who knows, who knows, who knows, who knows / I just go where the trade winds blows." Be like the water that just keep flowing; try to give thanks for the good that you do get because some days will be great and others will be worse. Protoje will celebrate the release of Ancient Future at S.O.B.'s on March 15

The Royal Family of Reggae, Morgan Heritage , recently partnered with Billboard to exclusively premiere the new video for “ Perform And Done ,” the first single off the Strictly Roots, the band’s 10th studio album. The album will be released digitally on April 20th, 2015 and physically April 21st, 2015. Regarding the video, Morgan Heritage states, “Perform And Done is the music video that pushes the envelope for Morgan Heritage lyrically and visually. The goal is to captivate a whole new audience that would not typically watch a Morgan Heritage video. Our hope is that our existing and new fans appreciate our artistic expression.” Strictly Roots features a wide variety of guest performers including platinum selling pop/dancehall phenomenon, Shaggy ; American reggae and R&B vocalist, J Boog ; third generation ambassadors from the Morgan and Marley families, Jemere Morgan and Jo Mersa Marley ; reggae sensation, Chronixx; rock, world and reggae band, Rebelution ; and Bumble Bee from the American Grammy-nominated pop reggae band, SOJA . Morgan Heritage , which has established themselves as the premiere live group on the reggae circuit, will be kicking off the Strictly Roots tour in support of the band’s newest album on April 8th in Washington D.C. and wrapping up in Las Vegas, NV on April 27th. The tour also features third generation ambassador from the Morgan family, Jemere Morgan , as a special guest. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased here: http://morganheritagemusic.com/tourdates . Undoubtedly one of contemporary reggae’s most powerful forces on the global stage, the sensational roots reggae quintet, which comprises siblings Peetah Morgan (vocals), Una Morgan (keyboard/vocals), Gramps Morgan (keyboard/vocals), Lukes Morgan (rhythm guitar) and Mr. Mojo Morgan (percussion/vocals) has embraced the challenges that come with empowerment of this nature. Guided by sheer acumen and a passionate desire to make their already rich musical legacy even more impactful, Morgan Heritage , after much deliberation and contemplation, triumphantly delivers their latest album exclusively on their very own label CTBC (Cool To Be Conscious) Music Group. For more information, please visit: www.MorganHeritageMusic.com

Bermudian " Ravoshia Mone’ ,” has released an official music video for her song “ Drop It” . On her rise to fame, last year she released her first song, a dance track titled “ Don’t Stop Pop Rocks ,” followed by her second single, called “Dutty Wine”. Born Ravoshia Whaley , she is now residing in Austin, Texas attending college in her fourth year, even while recording new music as she works to push herself into the music business

Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman will be the new “ Bond Girl” , Estrella , when she appears in 007’s upcoming movie Spectre. She will star opposite Daniel Craig in the franchise’s 24th movie. The film also stars double Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz as likely villain Franz Oberhauser and Dave Bautista as henchman Mr Hinx. Ralph Fiennes plays the new M, with Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw returning as Moneypenny and Q. Sigman, 27, has starred in the award-winning 2011 Mexican film Miss Bala , about a beauty pageant contestant involved with drug traffickers. Also, this summer she’ll star as drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s mistress in the Netflix series Narcos. Sigman is the second Mexican born female to star as James Bond’s love interest; Linda Christian was the first in the 1954 television adaptation of the Casino Royale . Spectre' is due to open in US cinemas on November 6.

The “ Vibes on the Island” concert which is sponsored by The Sandals Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company and Caribbean Bottling Company Bahamas has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2015. The concert was originally scheduled for October of 2014 but was cancelled due to inclement weather. “Due to unforeseen weather conditions, we were unfortunately unable to host “Vibes on the Island” last October,” noted Heidi Clarke, Director of Programs for the Sandals Foundation. “We are so pleased, however, to have rescheduled what promises to be an energetic and sensational event with top-notch performers. We are looking forward to a successful evening thanks to the support of our local and international sponsors, and encourage Bahamians near and far to come out as we together raise funds for a very worthy cause.” The charity fundraiser will feature live performances from internationally acclaimed reggae artist, Tarrus Riley and Chronixx , with special guests Dean Fraser & the Blak Soil Band and ZincFence Redemption. “Vibes on the Island 2015” will once again take place on Sandals’ Private Island at Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island in Nassau, Bahamas The concert in support of the Providing Access to Continued Education programme (P.A.C.E.) will also be sponsored, in part, by: Flight Centre Travel Group, JetBlue Airways, Columbian Emeralds, and The Nassau Guardian Limited. All proceeds from this year’s benefit concert will go to P.A.C.E. and to the completion of their building fund. P.A.C.E. provides much needed support and education to teenage mothers while promoting awareness to help reduce teen pregnancy among young adults in Nassau, Bahamas. As a proud partner, the Sandals Foundation – the non-profit arm of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and Grand Pineapple Resorts – remains committed to raising funds that will see to the completion of building a brand new, multi-purpose facility ensuring that young mothers have access to a support center that will accommodate administrative, health care, nursery and academic services.

Jamaican dancehall stars, Romain Virgo and Busy Signal, have been added to an already star-studded cast for the 2015 Tobago Jazz Experience (TJE). The two will join the legendary David Rudder who has also been added to the TJE cast along with local acts Kess the Band and this year’s groovy soca monarch, Olatunji. They will be part of the Experience that includes mega stars J ennifer Hudson, Miguel, Kool and the Gang, and Jill Scott , in what promises to be another huge Tobago Jazz Experience. The Experience , which is much more than music, takes place from A pril 19 to April 26, 2015 and will begin in Speyside, with shows all over the island, culminating in a weekend of music, fun, food, and dance at the picturesque Pigeon Point Heritage Park . -ITCM

Dancehall artist Karamanti and Danish Reggae singer and producer Lise Ranks collaborated on a two Reggae track which will be released later this year. The duo met in Aalborg (Denmark) while Karamanti there for her European tour. Initially they agreed to do a one track, but once Karamanti returned to Jamaica however, they agreed on a collaborating on two songs. The songs will be produced by Lise Ranks.

Tourism in the Bahamas will never be the same again, as the largest single-phase luxury resort set to open in March along Nassau's famous Cable Beach. The hotel's 100,000 square foot casino - it's the largest in the country The integrated gaming resort will include a 100,000 square foot casino - the largest in the country - alongside 40 restaurants and bars, plenty of shops in its Waterside Palace promenade, the first-ever Tournament PlayersClub 18-hole golf course in the Bahamas, and The Racquet Club, a world-class tennis facility. The entire hotel will be decorated in traditional Bahamian style, including many bright colours The Baha Mar Casino & Hotel will be the mega-resort's most impressive stand-alone property, offering 1,000 rooms and 105 suites and villas. Of particular note is the VIP Villa Roxie, with interiors designed by singer Lenny Kravitz's design firm, boasting a private fitness room, massage room, media room and gaming room. Also design by Kravitz a nightclub. At the SLS LUX at Baha Mar Not to be outdone, there will also be a 700-room Grand Hyatt outfitted in traditional Bahamian colors and designs, an all-inclusive Melia resort, a Rosewood property and an SLS Lux hotel, known for its Las Vegas and Beverly Hills outposts. The refined elegance of the Rosewood's spa The Rosewood, with just 200 rooms and five beachfront villas, however, will be the smallest. In total there will be over 3,000 rooms available to book, along with countless other timeshare and private rental home options. But what really sets this mega-resort apart from its Las Vegas counterparts is the stunning beachfront. There's over half a mile of sandy oceanfront, as well as 'The Sanctuary,' which offers 20 acres worth of beach and pool experiences, including lagoon pools and streams. The Five luxury hotels, comes with a staggering $3.5BILLION price tag.

Major Lazer have no problem packing parties all over the world, but in the very beginning, audiences weren't sure what to make of the group, now comprised of Diplo, Walshy Fire and Jillionaire . Promoter Kamal Banky remembers Diplo's first shows in Jamaica actually baffled the locals. "The dancehall crowd was like, 'What's he playing?'" says Banky. "People stood up and they were like, 'We hate this, we don't like this.' And the room cleared out." Today, the scene when Major Lazer visits Jamaica is wildly different — and we've got the footage to prove it. For Major Lazer Take Kingston — the second documentary in the "Mastering the Craft" series by Rolling Stone Films presented by Patrón — we followed the group back to the island to revisit their roots and headline their own festival. "For us to have a spark starting here for all our new music is the most important," Diplo tells us. "We can go out to the rest of the world, as long as we prove ourselves here." Thinking back to his earliest days, Diplo recalls being "fascinated by dancehall" as a child growing up in the town of Plantation, Florida: "It was always something on the radio in the parks," he says. The music catching his ear was developed legendary producer King Jammy's studio, and in the film Diplo and Walshy Fire, who was born in Jamaica, visit the historic spot. "I used to go there all the time, man, and, as we say in Jamaica, 'bleach,' which is basically just hang out for way too many hours," Walshy Fire recalls. Jammy, whose "Sleng Teng" riddim ushered in a new era of electronic reggae, explains the story behind his 1980s breakthrough. "I started engineering at King Tubby's studio," he says. "Most of the big producers in Jamaica used to pass through Tubby's – like Bunny Lee, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Yabby You. After I left King Tubby's and had my own studio, it was strictly digital." "We're definitely playing on that old fun attitude that Jammy's studio brought to dancehall and reggae," says Diplo as he geeks out over a closet full of old tapes. "That's what our essence is. And the artwork from his studio was the foundation for our project. Like, we totally ripped that off – like 100 percent said, 'Yo, I love this artwork so much.' And we made the whole concept around this kind of Eighties cartoon action-hero version of Jamaica that his studio started." The film ends with Major Lazer onstage in Kingston, triumphantly kicking off the headlining set at their own festival with a custom dub of Kiesza's "Hideaway." Far from clearing the room, the music sends the audience into a frenzy, and the DJs match the fans' energy by jumping on top of the equipment and into the crowd. "We just wanna keep pushing it forward here in Jamaica," Diplo says of Major Lazer's dancehall-inflected sound (their new track " Lean On" arrived this week). "We have such a respect and a love for this place." - Rolling Stone

The Caribbean nation of Jamaica is synonymous with the sound of reggae. Now, Jamaica leaders want to certify “authentic reggae” to bolster indigenous artists on the world scene. The Associated Press reports today on the influential island’s efforts to better protect its cultural heritage. Jamaica hopes to add reggae to the United Nation’s global list of “intangible cultural heritage” sites that includes Argentina’s tango and China’s Peking opera. An “authentic reggae” certification mark would function as “sort of a ‘Good Housekeeping Seal’” to encourage using Jamaican musicians, producers and merchandise. Outside of the Bob Marley family, few top-selling reggae albums come from Jamaica anymore. The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association does not discourage outsiders from making reggae, it just wants more credit. Island artists suffer from rampant record piracy on the island and off, and frequently cannot offset those losses with touring, due to issues securing travel visas, among others. Reggae was born of the confluence of Afro-Caribbean folk and American R&B, and first hit the shores of England in the ‘60s, then exploded in the ‘70s. Modern non-native reggae stars have grafted the genre’s tropes onto their own accents and locales. Jamaica also recently moved todecriminalize small amounts of cannabis as well as medical cannabis

For decades, the sound of Jamaica has been reggae, the infectious, uniquely syncopated music that transformed the small Caribbean island into a cultural powerhouse. But the genre's success has taken it far beyond its roots, and now many in Jamaica worry that reggae-lovers abroad are forgetting the motherland where it was born. "Reggae was given to the world by Jamaica so nobody can or ever should discourage anyone overseas from making this music. But we think there should be acknowledgment that reggae was created in Jamaica," said Michael "Ibo" Cooper, a musician who is chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association. Around the world, music festivals celebrating the sounds made famous by reggae patron saint Bob Marley and followers who developed the faster, brasher derivative of dancehall are more likely to be headlined by bands from places like California or France than by native-born Jamaicans. Aside from albums by the late Marley or his progeny, few of the top-selling reggae CDs or downloads come from Jamaican artists. To get a stronger foothold in the information age, Jamaican officials and reggae industry insiders are brainstorming ways to better capitalise on Jamaica's exuberant music culture and help protect what some claim is local intellectual property. After years of only piecemeal support, the government increasingly is viewing reggae and other cultural enterprises as a hoped-for economic engine on the island. Officials are hashing over the creation of a certification mark to designate "authentic reggae" - a sort of "Good Housekeeping Seal" - to encourage the use of Jamaican musicians, producers and merchandise. They also hope to defend Jamaican reggae by having the UN's culture organisation add it to a global list of " intangible cultural heritage " such as Argentina's tango and China's Peking opera. The Paris-based agency says the island's government has yet to apply for inclusion on the list of more than 280 cultural traditions. Rob Bowman, a music professor from Canada's York University who has researched intellectual property and Jamaican music, said that while population numbers mean reggae's biggest markets always will be overseas there's no reason why more revenue streams from foreign commerce shouldn't flow back to Jamaica. "With few exceptions, these styles of music cannot be authentically replicated by non-Jamaicans. As such, these styles of music represent intellectual property that is, for all intents and purposes, already a part of Jamaica's branding," Bowman asserts in a World Intellectual Property Organisation consultancy report for Jamaica. A country of fewer than 3 million people, Jamaica has had remarkable success originating influential musical forms such as ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall. Musicologists say production innovations and the discovery of "toasting," reggae deejays chanting over a beat, directly inspired hip-hop. A cross-pollination of Afro-Caribbean folk music and American R&B, reggae first was introduced to Europe by Jamaican migrants settling in Britain in the late 1960s. Its popularity exploded in the 1970s with the rise of Marley and other Jamaican Rastafarian stars, whose music influenced British groups like The Clash, UB40 and The English Beat. Jamaican music later shaped US bands like No Doubt and Sublime. Eric Smith, CEO of the New York-based reggae label Easy Star Records, said American bands are succeeding now due to their strong "do-it-yourself" ethos and online marketing, a key to making it in independent music. Unlike some earlier non-Jamaican reggae artists who adopted island patois and themes, they use the genres to highlight their own US culture, not Jamaica's. "While we certainly need to respect, understand and celebrate the unique and rich history of Jamaican music and do whatever we can to support it, there is no practical way to stop anyone else from tapping in and drawing something from the culture," he said. Few Jamaicans argue there is any troubling cultural appropriation going on with foreign artists who embrace their music. Still, local musicians want better opportunities to make money and reach audiences abroad playing the island's top cultural export. Just like everywhere else, Jamaican performers have scrambled to offset losses from plunging CD sales when consumers simply download music for free. And while dancehall reggae stars like Sean Paul and Beenie Man have notched international hits over the years, other current Jamaican acts have had difficulty building fan bases overseas due to difficulty securing visas, among other issues. Jamaican artists say sustained support from the government could give the local music industry a much-needed boost and help prepare musicians to get a greater slice of the international market. There's high hope for emerging artists like Chronnix, the most prominent member of a burgeoning scene dubbed "reggae revival" whose young artists are building their careers with a savvy understanding of social media. Jamaica celebrates "reggae month" each February. This year, events included workshops on intellectual property for up-and-coming musicians. The island's biggest university also recently hosted an international reggae conference, where the global business of reggae was a featured topic. While non-Jamaican reggae artists are having the most success with the niche genre, Smith and others believe it's only a matter of time before Jamaicans dominate reggae again. "Over the years, the popularity of Jamaican music has fallen at times only to give way to a new explosion of creativity and popularity as Jamaica reinvents itself and shows the world once again what a musical powerhouse it is," Smith said from New York. - AP