This track isn’t brand new, but I wanted to post it up anyway because I’m grooving on it again since last week’s “I’m So Hood” remix. This is two of dancehall’s most controversial deejays, Busta Rhymes and Shabba Ranks, with Akon keeping things smooth on “Clear The Air”:

This video is hilarious! It’s obvious that the Vice chick is clueless about dancehall or Jamaican culture. In fact, she sounds like she just moved to the city last week! But, if it weren’t for her, we might not have gotten Ele’s explanation about why he wears so much bling. Scope the video of Elephant Man in the Bad Boy studio, recording his album Let’s Get Physical and chatting with Vice TV… ([More →])

Gwen Stefani is a smart gyal. She balances being a superstar musician, a super mom, a stylish fashion line and makes it all look easy. The Love. Angel. Music. Baby mama played a concert this week in San Diego, recently ravaged by wildfires, that will raise funds for the victims of the devastation. The proceeds from the concert will go back into the community via The San Diego Foundation’s After-the-Fires Fund 2007. ([More →])

Need a jolt of energy? Want to shape up for this weekend’s festivities? The “Energy God” himself wants to Pump You Up! Elephant Man created a series of dancehall exercise videos that will heat up your day – so jump out of that chair and press play! ([More →])

Mavado is turning out to be the Jamaican artist of the year! His debut album on VP Records Gangsta For Life The Symphony of David Brooks blazed up the charts this summer and continues to win new fans with its dance-friendly rhythms and heartfelt lyrics. But despite his tuff exterior, the Real McCoy has a heart of gold. Now he’s sharing some of that gold with the Jamaican community, especially the youth. I’ve been receiving reports this week of a new charity organization that Mavado created in order to connect the island’s public schools to the information super highway. Mavado recognizes the importance of internet access in public schools to enhance education. ([More →])

South Rakkas Crew has joined forces with Mad Decent (Diplo’s record label) and is set to release a full-length LP of bumpin choons! Their sound is a unique mixture of dancehall, hip hop, electro and Miami bass and they are set to release their debut album, The Mix Up on Mad Decent on October 29th. ([More →])

Reggae riddim producer Andre “Sukku” Grey (a member of Ward 21) recently composed and recorded Dem Gal Sittin riddim. Grey says the riddim “just had this all female vibe. You rarely have a dancehall rhythm which is dominated by females.” But that’s exactly what Grey got – a riddim with only female artists on board! So far, Lady Saw, Lady G, D’Angel, Tifa, Natalie Storm, Timberlee and Stacious have all recorded vocals on Dem Gal Sittin, but not a single male has. This may even be a first for dancehall music!
Big Up The Dancehall Queen Massive!!! ([More →])

So far, Mavado has filmed videos for three songs off his new album Gangsta For Life, The Symphony of David Brooks. There’s “Dying,” “Dreaming,” “Squeeze Her Breast,” a short documentary and more and we’ve rounded them up for a mini Mavado marathon: ([More →])

Shaggy recently sat down with Silence promotions in London to film a great interview where he discusses a broad range of topics: the absurdity of homophobic lyrics in music during times of much bigger problems, breakin in the early 90′s, Supercat and Ninjaman, the success of “Church Heathen” and a lot more. Check out the whole series right here: ([More →])

The rest of this year is going to be very kind on the ears with new and “new” reggae releases from Dennis Brown, Ras Shiloh, Israel Vibration, and I-Wayne whose upcoming album features a duet with the legendary LADY G!!! BooYah! ([More →])

Maybe it’s coincidence that “Brooklyn Anthem” hasn’t left my turntable for the last week (except of course to occasionally flip it over and play “BK Assassin”) but this week we’ve been getting a swarm of news from the Team Shadetek front. I’ve seen pieces of the story on FADER, Reggae Country and other music blogs, and even I have been covering new developments at my “day job.” But it wasn’t until Matt Shadetek emailed me recently that I saw the full picture. Now that I see what the buzz is about, I am excited to share it with you! Shadetek has been at the forefront and in the middle of the best new music coming out of the Brooklyn dancehall scene. It’s urban and electrified. It gets bass bins pumpin and booties jumpin from Jamaica to NYC to SF to London. Matt Shadetek has been building a name for himself for many years now, but in 2007 he’s come like a storm with a killer single 12″ release, smokin dublate specials, and collaborations with other fantastic producers that just ooze talent and originality. There have been various reports of this storm and its effects on different communities. I’ve gathered some of the stories and present them for you here. The first major impact came when “Brooklyn Anthem” hit the streets… ([More →])

A few of ragga and dancehall’s most prolific powerhouses have teamed up with the urban dub/hip hop/electronic music label Metatronix to create a bumpin album of hybrid remixes. Dominated by the vocal talents of Anthony B, Sizzla and Capleton over furious music production by The Bug, High Priest, DMX Krew, Eliot Lip and more, this album is going to be bumpin trunks in urban neighborhoods worldwide. ([More →])

I love music events. I love attending them, I love hosting them, I love hearing other peep’s experiences of them. That’s a huge reason why I write about music for a living. I’ve attended concerts since I was 5 or 6, I’ve been a crew member for various production companies, warehouse events and soundsystems for 14 years, and I’ve experienced countless types of music environments. Therefore, I can say from experience that the Treasure Island Music Festival was unique. ([More →])

If you have never been to a proper dancehall concert, where artists display their prowess via audience interaction, shout outs, dance moves and all kinds of antics that strengthen the bond between the artists and the dancehall community, here’s what you’ve been missing! Elephant Man – notorious as being the most brash and eclectic of all dancehall artists – brought pure FIRE to NYC’s On Da Reggae Tip concert this year! With an audience well versed in dancehall culture, from its dance moves and its “slackness” (sexual inuendo) to the importance of family and society, Elephant Man performed a coming-of-age ritual for RnB singer Chris Brown. ([More →])

I love the way M.I.A. seamlessly combines everything that is hot and bumpin from Jamaican dancehall, UK grime, and her own quirky, femininity. I’m also a big fan of her tunes getting remixed with a UK/Jamaican flavour that spices up an already sizzlin sound! This new remix of M.I.A.’s “Boyz” featuring Akon and Rock City is a prime example – it takes her song which is already PURE FIYAH and adds a luscious male patois to show the Boyz how to be Men. ([More →])