When A Dancehall Tune Was About The Cold War
I think it was when I recently tuned in to DJ Autograph’s set on Miss Lily’s: Super Cat’s “Under Pressure” came on and, of course, I pounded my desk with delight. Big big tune! I was bouncing along in my chair, singing along as I plugged away with some work when it clicked in my … Read more
Marley
On Monday night I saw the new documentary about Bob Marley as part of the 2012 DC International Film Festival. So important is “Marley” that it was introduced by the Tony Gittens, founder and director of FilmfestDC. Marley’s director and producers specifically chose Filmfest DC for a pre-release screening; the film had only screened at … Read more
Guest Post | Dancehall, Jamaica, and Me
Not long after I became an active tweeter a young lady using the handle @spyasamy started following me. She immediately started interacting and soon I followed her. It was clear that Yasmine loved Jamaica and Jamaican music and she really loved Jamaican superstar Sean Paul (@duttypaul). It was heartwarming to see, and to honest, it made … Read more
“Be Inspired!”
A simple but powerful two word command. Those were the last words tweeted by Heavy D, a popular rapper who was key to bringing Dancehall and Reggae music to mainstream America in the ’90s. I was shocked to hear of his sudden death. True, I wasn’t a fan but I do remember seeing him all over … Read more
All Shall Be Well…
Click play…listen while you read This morning was unpleasant. I had a bad Thursday night’s sleep punctuated by an awful dream about a high school classmate. So I awoke a little shaken (I don’t usually remember my dreams or that I’ve dreamed so yeah, I was disturbed). Then during my commute I was further agitated. … Read more
Celebrating Jamaica
Eric Donaldson’s “Land of My Birth” 1978 Jamaica Festival Popular Song Contest winner. Listen while you read! O how I wish I never had to leave The Rock’s shores but I did and that’s that…but mi neva run weh and mi nah and nevah fling no stone back ah mi! Now for my own piece/peace … Read more
I was wondering when this would happen
Buju’s new album has been released and I’ve read some good reviews. It’s his first purely dancehall album in years so many are anxious to attend concerts on his tour as he promotes the album; besides, he’s a good performer and the artists on tour with him can also draw pretty good turnouts. But I’ve … Read more
Voices in the Wind Part 2
Even as I posted “Voices in the Wind” I felt the urge to put all of the scripture that said “Vengeance is kind, sayeth the Lord.” Although that paraphrase is powerful, when taken with the few vereses before and after, I think we learn a lot about how to approach not only this gay activist … Read more
Voices in the Wind
I’ve been trying to post this entry forever but time has not been my friend. So here it is. Someone recently sent me the Time magazine article that tried to discuss Jamaican society’s homophobia. The author got the genres wrong – it’s dancehall not reggae that has been ardent about expressing the anti-gay sentiment – … Read more
