Hey there Reggae fans.  As you may or may not know, I am fortunate enough to be employed at Rhapsody.com as a “producer,” managing the content submitted by record labels and distributors.  Now that I have worked there for a few months, I have been able to fully manage all of the Reggae that we have available on the service.  I take pride in the fact that we don’t have multiple listings of guys like Gregory Isaacs and Michael Rose that have recordings released in several versions of their names.  It’s not perfect but it’s a work in progress.  I can also say that if you are a Reggae fan, a Rhapsody membership is worth it because I have been digitally crate digging for 7 months every day and still have not explored everything that we have.  Fortunately I was able to also take over the Reggae “Channels” that we have available that is essentially a commercial free music stream that is available at Rhapsody.com.  I will be constantly updating these stations with quality tracks that I find throughout our vast library and make sure that you stay up to date on new releases and rising artists.

Reggae Essentials:

This is where all the hot One Drops go down…  You know I am a huge fan of the classic one drop made famous by the Wailers and every roots band that followed them such as Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown and the list goes on.  That is the back drop with a strong representation of the new school roots movement.  I really feel passionate about the up and coming Reggae music that has evolved into hard hitting anthems from the likes of Gentleman, Richie Spice, Sizzla, Capleton, I Wayne, Warrior King, Gyptian, and of course the Marley Brothers always leading the charge.  There is over 1000 songs in rotation on this channel so there is always something new to hear.  Definitely check this out.

Dancehall:

Most people associate Dancehall with the pulsating Soca like feel, but Dancehall is so much more.  When I think of the Dancehall I think of the originators.  Guys like Barrington Levy, Cocoa Tea, and Michigan and Smiley. So I did a major overhaul of this station and added a more classic feel.  Of course there are plenty of tracks from the major stars such as Shaggy, Sean Paul, Shabba Ranks, Rihanna, Busy Signal, Buju Banton, and many others.  I have held back on the amount of tracks from artists such as Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel, and other controversial artists though they do have some tracks that I felt fit the atmosphere that I wanted to create.  I’m also considering doing an overhaul on this station and turning it into a station that also features Hip-Hop collaborations.  Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Dub Wise:
This is my baby.  I did an overhaul on the the other stations and made them my own, but Dub Wise is a One Lovell original.  I thought that it would be a good fit for people who are at work and need some instrumental music to check vibe out to.  I tried not to make it too slow and repetitive but I think that it really came together once I got enough different artists involved that fit.  Of course we have Lee “Scratch” Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Sly and Robbie, Dean Fraser and many classic pioneers of dub but I also included selections from Thievery Corporation, Gorillaz, Zenzile, and other electronic artists to change up the feel of the playlist.  As I have grown older, my appreciation for dub has steadily increased and now is a major influence in my life.  The simplicity is calming and humbling…

I really feel blessed to be given the opportunity to share my passion for Reggae music for a living so please take full advantage of these FREE music streams.  Music is and always be for sharing and we are developing more and more ways to do that.  That is my mission.  In the spirit of sharing, I’ll be back to share some fantastic new releases soon.

Jah Bless    –   One Lovell

I & I have been faulty on my promise to keep you up to date on the happenings in the Reggae world, but no more.  The latest and greatest in Reggae news was the 2nd annual Reggae Rising Music festival in Humbolt country California.  This festival has actually taken place for 25 years, but last year a legal dispute between producer People’s Production and host Mateel Community Center that lead to the Reggae Rising.  I have been fortunate enough to have been present for 18 of those 25 years.  Though many fans were sceptical of the”Irie-ness” of the festival following the dispute, no one can deny that the line ups and special guests the last two years has erased any doubt about the greatest Reggae Festival in the world.  At Reggae Rising 2007 the The Marley’s performed with special guests Mr. Cheeks from Lost Boys and Chali-2na formally of Jurassic 5, but in 2008 they stepped it up another notch by reuniting Black Uhuru for a special performance to highlight Saturday night.

Following a mind blowing performance by Jr. Ried featuring Sly & Robbie, Ried and the rhythm twins were joined on stage by Don Carlos and Garth Dennis to perform classic anthems by Black Uhuru.  It was clear they hadn’t performed together recently due to the chemistry on stage, but I am so thankful to have witnessed such a momentous event.  And of course Sly & Robbie was the familiar rock playing for at least 2 straight hours with three different artists (Reggae Angels, Jr. Ried, and Black Uhuru).  The performance even carried on the the next night when Don Carlos brought Jr. Ried back on stage during his solo performance to play more Black Uhuru classics.  I can only hope this leads to a reunion record.

I felt somewhat bad for Turbulence and Sizzla who had to follow this historic performance, but they must have been inspired because they were the best live performances from dancehall artists that I have ever seen.  It was my first time seeing Turbulence who was surprisingly melodic and extremely dynamic on stage while commanded the crowd.  I will not miss another performance by this talented young artist.  Sizzla closed Saturday night and did not hold back.  For those of you who don’t know about the tension there can be at a Sizzla show let me just outline a few things that could go wrong.  First of all, Sizzla has such a large body of work, that the set list might miss fan favorites in favor of songs on the current album.  Sizzla also is known to use profanity and derogatory remarks against homosexuals which can seriously damage the vibe of a roots Reggae show.  But at Reggae rising 2008, none of these things happened (to his credit he also did a very good performance in 2006).  He was dynamic on stage and seemed to feed of of the energy of the night keeping it positive till the last beat.  Much respect bredren.

Before we go on to Sunday’s highlights I would be wrong not to mention the performances that Tanya Stephens and Beres Hammond threw down on Friday.  I overheard many people saying that Tanya was the reason they came to the festival this year.  She blew away many people in 2007 and she s did not disappoint in 08 with a great performance showing the strength and command that only a woman can.  Personally, Beres Hammond was 1/3 of the reason I was especially excited about this years lineup. He has one of the purest and cleanest voices in Reggae music and is known for putting on a spectacular show.  He was extremely humble and grateful for the honor of being featured and seemed to have the most fun on stage out of anyone that performed all weekend.

Sunday was great finish to the weekend and featured performances by Collie Buddz, Gentlemen, and Don Carlos. Collie Buddz performed a lot of the remixes and news tracks that he released since performing in 2007, but lack of a studio release limited the potential of the show.  Don Carlos capped off the entire festival with a one of the Irie-est roots performances that I have ever seen and brought Jr. Ried back for a second Black Uhuru jam session.  Don is the godfather of Reggae and he embodied the spirit of the music that night with humility and graciousness.  Few things can upstage a Don Carlos performance in my mind but Gentleman made quite an impression on me.  For those of you who are not familiar with Gentleman, he is a German Reggae star that has collaborations with pretty much every major Reggae Artist in the world.  His appearance is very unassuming but his performance was the highlight of the weekend for me.  He was the guy that I went and looked for at the record store on Monday.  His crowd control was fantastic and his voice was surprisingly rich for a man of such small stature.  He performed hits from his various albums released over the past decade including several collaboration tracks such as Fire A Go Bun Dem featuring Capelton and his latest hot Celebration featuring Alborosie.  I will definitely be keeping an eye on the Gentleman US tour schedule.

The only problem with Reggae Rising 2008 is that fans will have too high of expectations for 2009!  Peoples Productions has a serious task ahead of them to live up to this year.  Nuff respect to all the organizers, Volunteer and of course the Musicians for making it an experience that I will not forget.

Bless-sed Love

-One Lovell

Check out my video playlist of fan Youtube videos.

I’ve been working diligently on the development of the company and the site. Before I go and spend thousands of dollars paying someone to build the site I thought I would give it a shot at filling it out with some more content. Browse through the pages and leave some comments to help me improve the site. I appreciate your input and I look forward to serving you and the community in the coming years.

In the video section I started to sift through the sea that is YouTube, and find the best and coolest stuff. I put together a collection of live acoustic performances, as well as started a HipHop collaboration video page. The best thing I found was this Timbaland Reggae remix by Bost and Bim. These guys spread up the original song and set it to a classic Black Uhuru dub. Phenomenal work, nuff respect. If you like this, then make sure you don’t miss the Bost and Bim remix of Wyclef’s latest release feat Akon and Lil’ Wayne. This video can be seen in the Hiphop collaborations video section.

One Lovell

Unfortunately for the Artists, the most reliable way to get the newest music is from street vendors. I picked up several CD mix tapes from the Higher Heights Sound System. On theseCD’s I did not find new songs from well known artists, but brand new artists with a fresh new sound. These included I-Octane, Demarco, Mavado, Queen Ifrika, Bugle, Da’ville, and Alaine. Sprinkled amongst these selections were songs from the likes of Lutan Fyah, Sean Paul featuring Shabba Ranks, and even Gregory Isaacs. Though I am an avid fan of Roots and Culture Reggae, I did pick up a Dancehall CD called Higher Heights Gangsta War, Volume 3. Featured on this CD were Mavado, Busy Signal, Vybz Kartel, Cobra, and Blak Rhyno. I was surprised by the quality of the new dancehall that had clearly been influenced by Hip-hop since the last time that I had heard.

Make sure you check out for these artists in the coming months, as I’m sure you will be hearing more from them as we approach the summer. Give thanks, and leave a comment to let me know what you think of these artists.You can always check out my radio show to hear the latest music that I am hyped on. Jah Guide