Young, Gifted & Yellow is a 2 CD / DVD Anthology of the legendary Yellowman the inimitable deejay whose style and originality broke Jamaican dancehall to international acclaim in the mid 1980s.
In stores now, the deluxe package includes:
– 40 re-mastered tracks including rare & classic favorites
– A full 25 minute concert performance DVD recorded at Reggae Sunsplash in 1988
– Sleeve notes written by Reggae historian Noel Hawkes
Etana is happy to announce her first headlining North American tour in support of her critically-acclaimed third studio album Better Tomorrow on VP Records.
The reggae songstress kicked off the tour Thursday night in Decatur, GA and will continue to headline shows in over 20 U.S. cities – spanning the South, Northeast, Midwest and Western region.
Jun 27 @ Vibes Nite Club in Decatur, GA
In addition to these more intimate club dates, she will be performing at major stage shows, including Portland’s Northwest World Reggae Festival, Austin Reggae Festival, Summer Jam 2013 in West Palm Beach, FL as well as the Irie Music Festival in Toronto, Canada. See most up-to-date tour schedule below.
Etana will be accompanied by her four-piece band and two back-up vocalists on the road to give fans the ultimate listening experience, which she captured on her latest effort Better Tomorrow.
The new album is a marked departure from her previous material, including The Strong One (2008) and Free Expressions (2011), and is a true testament to her evolved sound. Etana’s indomitable spirit and inspiring songwriting uplifts generations both old and new on a Better Tomorrow.
Check out her most recent video for the album’s contagious single “Reggae”:
Instead of incorporating Jamaica’s popular digital riddims, she chose to be backed by all live instrumentation. The album’s primary producer, Shane C. Brown of Kingston’s Juke Boxx Productions, and Stanley “Rellee” Hayden of A-Team Music executed her vision.
She recorded all fourteen tracks at Kingston’s legendary Tuff Gong Studios with Jamaica’s finest modern-day musicians – including saxophonist Dean Fraser, guitarist Lamont Savory, keyboarist Kevon Webster, drummer Kirk Bennett, bassist Aeion Hoilett and percussionist Uziah “Sticky” Thompson.
“I wanted this album to feel like a concert performance and have everything go together, like chapters in a book, with all of the tracks played live by musicians (not digitally generated),” Etana explained.
U.S. TOUR DATES: Jun 27 @ Vibes Nite Club in Decatur, GA Jun 28 @ Club Caribbean in New Orleans, LA Jun 29 @ Groove Station in Kansas City, MO Jun 30 @ Sky Lounge in Mishawaka, IN Jul 02 @ One Pelham East in Newport, RI Jul 04 @ Frankies in Pittsburgh, PA Jul 06 @ Key Club in Newark, NJ Jul 10 @ Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA Jul 11 @ The New Parish in Oakland, CA Jul 12 @ World Beat Cultural Center in San Diego, CA Jul 13 @ Irie Music Festival in Toronto, Canada Jul 14 @ Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz, CA Jul 16 @ Las Vegas Country Saloon in Las Vegas, NV Jul 18 @ Copper Club in Ogden, UT Jul 19 @ Cervantes’ Other Side in Denver, CO Jul 20 @ The Hailey Rodeo Park in Hailey, ID Jul 21 @ Rocky Point Cantina in Tempe, AZ Jul 24 @ Zebra Lounge in Bozeman, MT Jul 26 @ Nectar Lounge in Seattle, WA Jul 27 @ Northwest World Reggae Festival in Portland, OR Aug 24 @ Austin Reggae Festival in Austin, TX Sept 1 @ Summer Jam 2013 in West Palm Beach, FL
“Dub Rockers,” is a new compilation that pairs American based reggae bands with Jamaican reggae vocalists. Bridging the gap and highlighting the similarities between the two scenes. The bond is the music and sharing the universal message of One Love.
Check out the video for “Only Man In The World” by Anuhea and Tarrus Riley
Also check out this article from Billboard Magazine about “Dub Rockers.”
Embrace Life w/ Jazzy T from Renaissance, King AP & Elite Soundz, This Saturday June 29th @ THRIVE (101 Marietta Street Atlanta, GA 30303 Corner of Marietta & Spring )
LADIES FREE B4 MIDNIGHT ON THE LIST – GUYS $10 B4 12 ON THE LIST – RSVP at WeEmbraceSaturdays.com or text WeEmbrace to 313131
It is a pleasure to introduce myself as a new addition to the DancehallNowteam! The announcement was formally aired June 25th as the current co-host Miss Terri K delivered a brief speech proclaiming her hiatus from the show to commence a Masters Program in Computers and IT at Georgia State University.
My Caribbean sister along with Selecta Super Pec of Highlanda dubbed Lady Laleebella as the new host and I enthusiastically accepted.
I currently co-hostReggaeVaultClassicsevery Wednesday with Highlanda fom 6-9pm, so I was more than honored to comply with the request to fill in a another slot at my home radio station Daflavaradio.com. I will be taking over the baton as it was passed to me by Miss TKMS starting Tuesday, July 2nd, and will continue to forecast the hottest dancehall downloads everyTuesdayfrom6-9pm EST.
Dancehall Now focuses on highlighting up and coming artists…
International reggae superstar Alpha Blondy is back with a brand new album and a North American tour that will take him from coast to coast. The tour began on June 23rd at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.
“Alpha the melodist, activist and philosopher. Quite simply the most important African reggae artist today.” – Olivier Cachin
Protoje & The Indiggnation will head to the United States this week for multiple west coast events including California where they will perform at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. The eight-member band will travel to Europe thereafter.
Music From My Heart combines tracks from The 8 Year Affair album with additional tracks featuring Sizzla Kalonji, Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx and Jah9.
It is mixed by DJ Yaadcore, who is also responsible for Protoje’s two previous mixtapes. Yaadcore is the selector for the I&I Worldwide sound system and also airs his radio program, Reggae Aroma, on HOT 102FM.
1.Intro 2.Music From My Heart 3.Burning Fire #MFMH 4.Hail Ras Tafari 5.Legitimate – Jah 9 ft. Protoje 6.8 Year Affair 7.Young General #MFMH 8. I&I 9. New Generation #MFMH 10. Reggae Revival ft. Romain Virgo 11. Shot By Love ft. Toi 12. Black Cinderella 13. Hold You Down 14. Someone Like You ft. Tessanne Chin 15. Come My Way 16. Around The World ft. Chris Watts 17. Who Dem A Program 18. Purple Like Ribena #MFMH 19. This is NOT a Marijuana Song 20. Evil Display 21. Warrior – Kabaka Pyramid ft. Protoje 22. Selassie Souljah – Chronixx ft. Kabaka Pyramid, Protoje & Sizzla 23. Where Is The Good News??? #MFMH 24. Kingston Be Wise 25. Militancy Riddim 26. I&I WorldWide #MFMH 27. Outro
As promised ĀGARD returns with his second snippet from an exclusive live set in Brooklyn, New York. The last set was a “warm up” set. This set starts out with a power packed Electronic Dance Music (EDM) set and moves into some Nu Disco. Feel free to play, download, leave comments, and/or share. Enjoy!
The legendary productions of Joe Gibbs have generated many of the reggae genre’s biggest hits. The producer/label operated predominately between 1972 and 1984.
The Ladies at Joe Gibbs brings together the classic hits from the female artists Gibbs recorded. The songs and riddims are most familiar and underscore why Joe Gibbs productions were at the top of the genre during these prime years.
Judy Mowatt and June ‘JC’ Lodge went on to have major careers in reggae while other names have faded. Some of the re-mastered tracks include previously unreleased extended mixes.
International reggae star Maxi Priest is back with the first single from his forthcoming album “Title TBD”.
“Easy To Love” (on the “In My Arms” riddim) produced by Colin ‘Bulby’ Yorke will be released commercially on July 16th, but is already appearing on international reggae charts.
Listen to the Dancehall Now Show tonight (6pm -9pm ET, countdown @ 8pm) and every Tuesday for all pre-release lovers rock and dancehall bangers. View the new music video here.
Tad’s Record brings the heat with this year’s hottest dancehall songs, all on one album, with their latest release The Ultimate 2013 – Various Artists, available worldwide on June 25, 2013, with pre-order available now.
Featuring the biggest names in dancehall music currently, The Ultimate 2013 sets the soundtrack for the year and is the only album where you will find all of your favorite new dancehall tunes.
The physical album boasts 26 sizzling singles, and the digital album contains 36 tracks, 10 of them being raw or explicit versions of singles from the physical album.
“The Ultimate 2013 is the latest release of our flagship ‘Various Artists’ compilation albums,” states Tad Dawkins, President of Tad’s Record. “It is the sixth production and we truly believe that it is the best yet.”
It spotlights recent dancehall hits such as “Live My Life” by Mavado, “Gal A Gimmi Bun” by I-Octane, “Judgment” by Chronixx and “Lighter” by Vybz Kartel, along with an extend playlist of other dancehall staples to keep the party going all year long.
“The Ultimate 2012 received rave reviews, especially since it featured major acts such as Baby Cham, but The Ultimate 2013 has topped that by featuring new singing sensation Chronixx,” discloses Dawkins. “Each year we endeavor to live up to our tag line of providing ‘the ultimate reggae experience’ and we are confidently satisfied in the job that we have been doing thus far.”
The Ultimate 2013 will be available worldwide on June 25, 2013 from all major digital retailers, including iTunes and Amazon, from Tad’s Record. Pre-order of the album is available now. For more information, please visit tadsrecord.com.
Global marketing/promotions group Irish and Chin, who specializes in Reggae/Dancehall entertainment, recently hosted two reggae songs versus one dancehall track on their weekly 45 clash competition. The competition allows the public to listen and vote for the song that they think is the best and should be the next big thing.
The clash which ran from June 3rd to June 10th featured “One Bag A Reggae” by Ishabel (reggae), “Have You Lost Somebody” by Tydal (reggae) and “Pack Up & Run” by Karamanti (dancehall).
The public overwhelmingly voted for Karamanti’s “Pack Up & Run” which is to be the next single off her new album entitled Dancehall Retaliates. Karamanti is very pleased with the victory and says that this is confirmation that dancehall music can be just as positive as reggae.
Listen to “Pack Up & Run” here. Watch the Dancehall Retaliates Documentary here;
Ms Paige, in collaboration with Adrian Bailey of SKY STUDIOS/SKY JAMZ
PRODUCTIONS introduce her latest soca release, just in time for Vincy Mas 2013, CARNIVAL AGAIN.
Carnival Again is written and performed by Ms Paige and featured on the Funtime Riddim brought to you by St. Vincent’s own Adrian Bailey, the mega producer behind Kevin Lyttle’s global hit, “Turn Me On” along with countless Vincy soca monarch, ragga soca monarch, and road march wins.
The Funtime Riddim also features: KC (SVG, Trinidad) “Wet”, Urban Mystic (St. Vincent) “Jam Dem”, Joaquinn (Barbados) “Funtime”, and Elwin Mark ‘Elo’ (Grenada) “Wukie Wukie”.
Title: Carnival Again
Written & Performed by: Ms Paige
Riddim: Funtime Riddim
Producer: Adrian Bailey, Sky Studios/Sky Jamz Productions
Don’t forget to stay up to date with all things Ms Paige at www.MsPaigeMusic.com and For more information on Ms Paige or bookings, contact info@mspaigemusic.com.
Island Pop singer Shalli is on a musical roll. She has been spending time between Canada and Jamaica as she makes it her business to claim her share of the world music pie.
Shalli, the Princess of Island Pop
The talented artist, who is always seeking ways to diversify her product offerings, recently collaborated with Rory of Stone Love on a remix of her culturally defining single, Down In Jamaica. The dancehall remix was produced by Belize’s own Certified! The single will bereleased on digital retail as of June 24th.
Accolades have already been heaped on the music video, which shows off the immense beauty of Jamaica and the sincerity of Shalli’s mission. On her visit to Jamaica in March, Shalli went into the studio with Rory and the result was a remix that is totally captivating.
“It was really a pleasure working with Rory, as he is someone who I have admired for a long time. He is a top-class Dj, so it is easy to understand that, with his knowledge of the music, he is also a great producer and has that ear for hit songs. And we all know just how important that is,” Shalli said.
Armed with a mission to give fans uplifting music, Shalli has also done a collaboration with Trinidad’s own Orlando Octave entitled Fire, on the ‘Happy Feet’ rhythm.
Wasting no time, the video for this was shot and both artists and their management are happy with the outcome. A very uptempo offering, this could have been specifically made to celebrate carnival in Trinidad, and with the natural chemistry between the artistes, the song and video jelled perfectly.
“The rhythm is called ‘Happy Feet’ because it is just that, happy. The single is already getting a lot of love, especially in the Caribbean. We are working on a dance remix now to support the video launch in the fall.” Shalli explained.
The Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS) led by Dr. Claire Nelson has announced its selection of Jamaican-American reggae artist Laza Morgan as Musical Ambassador for National Caribbean American Heritage Month (NCAHM).
As NCAHM Musical Ambassador Laza will help spread the word to a younger audience that June is Caribbean American Heritage Month. He will also serve as a role model to other young Caribbean American musicians and artists.
Laza Morgan is the son of acclaimed Jamaican music legend and hit maker, reggae singer Denroy Morgan. Laza was born into the Morgan Heritage Family Dynasty of reggae music and has been surrounded by music his entire life. Laza grew up in Brooklyn, NY, attended school in Springfield, MA and lived in a distinctly Jamaican household.
This year the NCAHM Musical Ambassador Program is being managed through RedCarpetShelley.com who has signed on as a National Media Partner. RedCarpetShelley.com is fast becoming the mecca for Caribbean Entertainment news.
Hardcore Dancehall fans have a new Diva on the Caribbean landscape – Tracey Night!
Dancehall diva, singer, song-writer and vocal coach Tracey Night
Recently released, the single “Talk The Tings Dem” builds on the popular phrase ‘Tun Up’ made popular by Cham and his Wife O, however takes aim at ladies who claim to be in that elite category and are not. The song was produced by Vexxx Records, and co-produced by Night.
About the rawness of this song Tracey says “Dancehall is a part of our culture. It’s raw, it’s gritty and it’s also honest! My music stays within the foundation set by the incredible dancehall divas before me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a softer side … I do!”
Catching the attention of the esteemed Alex Cohen who is an award winning movie director, producer, worldwide distributor and writer, Tracey has been added her to season 5 of Les Anges de la Téléréalité as a vocal coach.
Les Anges de la Téléréalité is a France-based reality TV show broadcast on NRJ12, hosted by Fabrice Sopoglian and moderated by Matthieu Delormeau and Jeny Priez (from Miami season).
Currently in season 5, the show includes Tracey as she guides aspiring artists in correct techniques when using their voice as an instrument. During the show’s season, Tracey is seen by 25 million viewers. Special guest appearances were made by Kim Kardashian and Kat Von D.
View Tracey Night at 22:35 to the end.
Look for her in upcoming episodes.
Based in Miami, Florida, Tracey, who also performed under the name TOI, has made an international impression with Radio Jocks for her ‘tell it like it is’ lyrical delivery, as well as her bold approach to co-producing tracks that represent pieces of her personality.
Radio host and personality Frazah Clection of Madd Squad Sound says “Tracey brings the raw energy that Dancehall needs right now; both on radio and in the Dancehall itself.”
Tracey’s single, “Talk The Tings Dem” has been released as a promotional single and is widely available for download. The Diva’s plan is to engage fans with select singles while developing projects that showcase her many talents including song-writing and vocal coaching.
Balancing her many faces in music, Tracey is a proud ambassador of Dancehall and brings that element to the cross-over market in which she is extremely active.
Media and fans can stay up to date with Tracey via her Twitter @traceynight or they can connect visually through her specialty YouTube page, iTunes and Facebook.
Highlanda Sound 