Issential Knowledge

Greetings Reggae massive,
I have a lot of cool things to tell you about as the summer concert season rolls closer. This is the busy time of year in the Reggae world and there are no less than 20 live performances in northern California this month including Collie Buddz, Capleton, Jr. Reid, Mad Professor and many more. This is the good life. For all my Californians you can keep up on all the up on all the upcoming shows at ireggae.com. In other concert news, Reggae Rising has finally began to populate their website and releasing their lineup which is already looking impressive with confirmed artists Gentleman, Queen Ifrika, Tony Rebel, Aswad, Marcia Griffiths and others. They have also made quite a statement by dropping their ticket price to just $99 for a limited time. This is a welcome financial relief to all of the dedicated Reggae fans who have been excluded from this celebration as the price been steadily increasing over the past few years and was almost $200 last year. Much respect to People’s Productions. Also make sure to check out their videos from last year.

On this site I have talked at length about the profound influence that Reggae has had on the world of Hip Hop and Pop in general but something that I have yet to talk about is Dub. Dub is the foundation of Reggae and has led its own journey through music being the basis for much of the electronic music that is produced today. Dub’s tempo was doubled which created Drum n Bass which lead way to House and Techno. You can learn all about it and its pioneers in the new feature film “Dub Echos,” which looks to be one of the coolest reggae documentaries of all time. Seriously, this is not to be missed. Check out the trailer below. If that isn’t enough Dub, Rhapsody’s newest channel “Dub Wise” programmed by your truly will soon be available for free on Rhapsody.com. I’m really excited about this and will definitely let you know as soon as it is available. 

Last but not least let me put you up on a few tracks as always. First off let me flash you back with a rediscovery of one of Reggae’s many one hit wonders. Ever heard of VC? No I didn’t think so, but I bet you remember this cut from some party in the last decade. Track by the name of “By His Deeds.” I’m not sure what happened to you VC but you will never be forgotten because this is an anthem. Big Up. The next track on our always trusted YouTube playlist is a remix of Athea and Donna’s Dancehall classic “Uptown Top Rankin,” by our favorite Reggae crossover artist Estelle. This is a crazy track featured on Joni Rewind’s album. It’s great to see her sticking to her roots. We salute you.

Alborosie is at it again… At any given time there are at least 2 or 3 new Alborosie tracks floating around the digital world. Bredren, if you’re reading this, much respect but give us a chance to support you by releasing these tracks officially. We want to let you know how much we love you and want you to continue to produce and resurrect the original rub a dub style. And PLEASE COME ON TOUR TO THE U.S.!! My favorite new tracks that I featured below are Promise, Rainy Day, Always, and Angel. Got to keep up with this hard working Ras. I also included a couple riddims you’re bound to hear at the club this summer. We got Jah Cure and Cherine Anderson on the Indiscretions Riddim and Turbulence, Mykal Rose, new comer Mitch on the Collie Monster Riddim.

Enjoy and Jah Bless – One Lovell

Greetings Reggae Massive,

Don’t worry, I haven’t forgot about you.  I have been hard at work since I was given the opportunity to re program the Reggae Essentials channel on Rhapsody.com that is available for free.  I’m also working on revamping the Dancehall station and building a brand new Dub Wise station that will be available soon.  Please check them out and let me know what you think.  Give Thanks

I see a lot of records come across my desk as i process music for Rhapsody, but this new Release from Heavy D. of Heavy D. and The Boys caught my attention.  Heavy D. has been known to dabble in Reggae as he was born in Jamaica before being raised in Mt. Vernon New York, and I had heard about this all Reggae album that he was working on.  Since D.’s career has been born in the world of Hip-Hop, I expected a dancehall based record with lots of features as that would be the natural route.  Much to my surprise “Vibes” would best fall into the sub genre of Lover’s Rock.  My first impression of the album is that it is surprisingly authentic and genuine both lyrically and musically.  It is hard to take D. seriously as crooner but he has a astonishingly good voice which is well balanced with the sound of a full Reggae band.  The album starts strong with the hard hitting single “Long Distance Girlfriend,” and also sets the tone for the subject base of the project.  He goes on to display his singing skills on “No Matter What” and the rock steady track “Queen Majesty” which are definitely worth a spin.  Heavy then measures his chords to the Dancehall legend Barrington Levy on “Love Me Like This,” while also displaying his best Deejay impression.  Then he looses me with  “All I Have” and “Hugs and Kisses” but picks it back up when he brings along Sizzla for “Private dance.”  It is always helpful to have some notoriety and experience when branching out into a new genre.  The only track really worth mentioning after that is my favorite selection from the album “Chasing Windmills.”  On this particular track, D. shines and it is clear that he stumbled upon a potential anthem.  This one is definitely in rotation on Reggae Essentials.  All in all,  I’d say that this was a great effort from Heavy D. and overall successful project.  Though there were several obvious misses, 5 of the 10 tracks will definitely be in rotation on your next Reggae mix.  This video is protected by UMG on Youtube, but here is a link to the video of the single “Long Distance Girlfriend.”  If you look closely you can see Julian Marley making an appearance and blessing the drums.

Jah Bless    -    One Lovell

Greetings and Happy New Year all my Bredren and Sistren. 2009 is all about hope and progress. Everyone I have been around the last few days has been very optimistic for the coming year and very happy that 2008 was over. Personally, I am thankful for 2008, a year that I was able to graduate from Loyola University New Orleans and secure a job for Rhapsody.com. So 2009 is all about moving forward and making progress on adding some substance to a career in the music industry. Among things that I want to do in 2009 is transform this site and start reviewing and highlighting some of my favorite albums and artists. In addition to filling out the site I will also be working on developing some dub lounge nights here in San Francisco. It’s time to make some moves and put in some work for Jah movement. So check back for upcoming reviews and shows.

Peace & Blessings – One Lovell