A Heatwave mash-up of General Levy and Lily Allen titled “Mad LDN”:

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DJ Don Letts compiled a wicked collection of tunes for Dread Meets Punk Rockers Uptown from his vast collection of reggae and dub 7-inches. The album is a veritable soundtrack to London’s legendary Roxy Club circa December ‘76 - April ‘77, where the Pistols, Clash and Banshees were known to kick it while Letts spun irie tunes. Dread Meets Punk Rockers Uptown features 16 tracks by King Tubby, Culture, Jah Stitch, Horace Andy, Lee “Scratch” Perry, U-Roy, Junior Murvin and many more.

The album even includes the apocalyptic Culture song “Two Sevens Clash”:

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The lyrics are en francais but the story told is universal. Here is the mini-movie for Admiral T’s “Ti Moun Ghetto” on the Guardian Angel Riddim:

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I live in the kind of haus where random zines and propaganda often appear and disappear like time-traveling nomadic visitors. This week, an issue of Cyclic Defrost from January 2005 appeared on the kitchen table. Cyclic Defrost, one of the most exciting and well produced zines on experimental music culture, is based in Australia; and the fact that I picked up an issue from January 2005 and thought it was something fresh will attest to how ahead of the game their content is. This particular issue featured an interview with DJ/Rupture about his travels, his music, his influences, etc. A Boston-native who was living in Barcelona at the time of the interview, Rupture is an extremely active experimentalist who mashes everything from world music to breakcore and makes it sound good. Rupture recently teamed up with one of NYC’s hottest producers, Matt Shadetek, to form the multi-media platform that we often Big Up on this site: Dutty Artz. ([More →])

David Katz, a music journalist and Lee Perry’s biographer, wrote a good review of the reggae book that I contributed to: “The Reggae Scrapbook”. The review was published in Riddim Magazine in Germany. Riddim was briefly published in english, distributed in the US and immediately became my favorite publication about reggae music. Many of the dub and dancehall artists I wish I had space for in the Reggae Scrapbook are regularly featured in Riddim. Unfortunately, the publishers halted the american edition and haven’t returned to it yet, so you can only get the magazine in german. Roger Steffens was kind enuff to email a copy of this review to me, so I thought I should publish it here for those who would otherwise never get a chance to read it. If you do speak german and you love reggae music, I highly recommend Riddim Magazine. In the meantime, here is David Katz’ book review of the Reggae Scrapbook by Roger Steffens, Peter Simon, Roy Sweetland and me, Molli Fire! ([More →])

Kat DeLuna and Busta Rhymes - “Run The Show” from 9 Lives:

It’s been a long time dream of mine to see Pato Banton in concert. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Pato’s collaborations with Mad Professor (Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton and Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton), but it’s a Big Big Love and Respect. So, when I discovered he would be playing in SF in September, I immediately bought tickets. That’s right, I supported the hard-working bands instead of using my press connections to gain free entry. Jammin to Pato Banton backed by Mystic Roots was worth more than the depreciated american dollars that I spent on tix! It’s been over 20 years since he released his first album with Mad Professor at the controls, yet it’s still one of my favorite albums. I had no idea what to expect from the show, I just wanted to see this reggae idol up close and personal. My giddy excitement tripled within 5 minutes of Pato Banton grabbing the mic! ([More →])

Revolutionary radio dj, musician and champion of reggae music Mikey Dread was diagnosed with a brain tumour and is undergoing chemotherapy. Dread is legendary for his late-night radio show on now defunct JBC Radio in Jamaica and he has been a huge force in reggae music history and Jamaican music culture. Last year he celebrated his 30th year as The Dread At The Control, dubbed so for his radio show that championed local ska, rock-steady and dub music at a time when the airwaves were dominated by american motown, RnB and pop music. His broadcast showcased new music by local artists, which led to growing respect and recognition for the music and the studios creating it. ([More →])

There are two genres where tweens can get famous despite not being old enough to drive or drink: grime and reggae. So many of today’s hottest grime producers are between the ages of 14-19 (is it any wonder Wiley felt like it was time to retire after a decade in the scene?) and plenty of reggae artists grow up in a household with studio access and are producing hits by the time they are hittin double digits. Many reggae fans remember a toddler Stephen Marley dancing on the side of the stage during Bob Marley concerts, Stephen McGregor has been producing tunes since the age of 5 and being featured in magazines across the globe when he was 15-17 years old. So, it’s clear that genius is recognized and appreciated at any age in these musical cultures. Therefore it should not be much of a surprise when people hear about the up and coming Jamaican sensation known as Javaughn. The 14-year old is also called Javaughn Genius because of his child prodigy talents in reggae music. ([More →])

Internationally acclaimed and beloved reggae singer Lucky Dube was gunned down in Johannesburg South Africa on Thursday night. Police say the shooting resulted from a “botched carjacking” as he was dropping his teenage son and daughter off at a relative’s home. Fortunately, his youth were not physically hurt, but will surely be traumatized from watching their father get killed. Lucky Dube was one of Africa’s most successful artists, producing several platinum records among the 22 albums he released in 25 years. Dube is known and respected for his social-political lyrics about apartheid-era South African culture. He was a voice of the people whose music and life were uplifting and hopeful during times of struggle while teaching the rest of the world about life in South Africa. His death, too, is an international statement on the quality of life in this dangerous place. ([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 →])

Michael Franti and Spearhead continue to tour in support of last year’s release, Yell Fire! The ever-busy Franti is also about to publish the first book from his own publishing company. The book is a “visual and musical journey about self acceptance” for children titled, “What I Be” and the new publishing company is called Stay Human Books. ([More →])

The Jamaica Observer reported today that Jah Cure will be performing in the UK after Curefest in October. Jah Cure fans are going crazy for any news about the singer since his release from the Tower Correctional Facility in July. He made his first public appearance at the Sundance Reggae Music Fest in Holland and the crowd response was unprecedented. So much love and joy and appreciation came from the audience during the concert and in the weeks following. Cure’s second concert is the 3-day festival that was organized in his honor - Curefest in Jamaica October 12-14th. This will be a huge weekend for Jah Cure, not only because it is his big show on home soil, but also he will be celebrating his 30th birthday on October 11th. As he gears up for this big event, his promoters are setting the stage over in the UK. Taurrus Riley is already scheduled for numerous UK concerts opening for Buju Banton and will also open the shows for Jah Cure in UK. Taurrus Riley, son of the legendary Jimmy Riley has been blazing his own path up the music charts this year. ([More →])

Ode to sensi flowers, sweet and sour… On the reggae tip, Chip Fu (of the Fu-Schnickens) recorded his own version of “Love Mi Sensi” over Collie Buddz’ Come Around riddim. Tis a nice, chillin reggae choon. While Dame Grease gives us a sneak peak into the video shoot for “Sour Diesel” with NORE and Styles lighting the way. ([More →])

Music producer “Computer Paul” Henton is widely appreciated by digital reggae and jungle fans, but not as widely recognized by mainstream channels. He’s had four of his tracks go Gold: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff, “As Raw As Ever” by Shabba Ranks, and two songs by Inner Circle, all (I think) from the 90’s. The spotlight shines on Computer Paul again this week as he receives his first platinum award and it’s a double! ([More →])