Salute to ‘Daddy U-Roy’: The Originator’s Toasting Art-Form Spawned Dub Reggae and Dancehall—With Rap as Its Most Notable Offshoot
On February 17, 2021, the Jamaican music establishment lost a true giant in the industry. Ewart Beckford, popularly known as ‘U-Roy’ or ‘Daddy U-Roy’ passed away at the age of 78 at the University of West Indies in Jamaica after a long spell of illness. In the days following his death, there was a steady […]
Usain Bolt Wants to Become an International Music Star
Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s eight-time Olympic gold medal winner, said that he wants to become a global music star and is ready to pursue a musical career on an international scale. Bolt has just released a recording of “Living the Dream,” which features his friend Nugent “NJ” Walker, and is now working on his first dancehall […]
Beres Hammond among Jamaicans Inducted in YGB Hall of Fame in New York
The veteran singer Beres Hammond is slated to be inducted into the Young, Gifted & Black (YGB) Caribbean Music Entertainment ICON Hall of Fame in New York. His induction, along with the inductions of other iconic Jamaican entertainers Beenie Man, Freddie McGregor and Marcia Griffiths, coincides with Black History Month. According to the president of […]
Sonia Pottinger, OD Jamaica’s Matriarchial Record Producer
Most of us are acutely aware of the male dominance in Jamaican music, not only at its early years but throughout and with the exception of a few women involved from behind the microphone as solo or back up vocalists, only one emerged during the period brave enough to challenge from the business end. That […]
Tribute To Ewart ‘U-Roy’ Beckford, OD. (September 21, 1942-February, 17, 2021)
Jamaica lost another of its musical sons with the passing on February 17, 2021 of Ewart Beckford OD, better known to Jamaicans as U-Roy. Among the “massives” that have followed the development of Jamaican music and in particular the Jamaican sound system, he was known as Daddy Roy and was considered as “The Originator” for […]
10 Things to Know about Chinese Jamaican Influence on Reggae Music
Today’s reggae music is synonymous with the name Bob Marley and Rastafari, but there’s also a small but unsung group of Chinese session musicians, producers, sound engineers, and studio & record shop owners that were the early pioneers of reggae that evolved into the Jamaican music of today. Their descendants are still making an impact […]
Celebrating A Jamaican Icon the Honorable Robert Nesta Marley O.M.
This February, Jamaica and the rest of the music-loving world will Celebrate Reggae Month with a variety of activities and events, albeit constrained by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As we welcome this 14th annual observance of Reggae Month, we must be mindful that once in a couple of generations, creation blesses the earth with a […]
Remembering Music Icon Author Duke Reid, CD, Pioneering Sound System Operator & Record Producer
The island of Jamaica is known the world over for its pristine beaches, the general warmth of the Jamaican people, its tantalising cuisine, and even more so, for its music. It is interesting that this music was born solely out of the creativity of its people and driven by the tenacity of a handful of […]
The Grandma Who Runs Reggae Tells Her Story
This month VP Music Group announced the March 2021 release of the hardcover book Patricia Chin’s ‘Miss Pat: My Reggae Music Journey’ The book, decades in the making, will be of interest to music fans (especially Reggae, Soca and Calypso) as well as those interested in NYC cultural/immigrant success stories, entrepreneurship, and women’s empowerment. It […]
The Impact the Legendary Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd had on Jamaican Music
Every transformation of music in Jamaica, from the early Ska days to the short period of Rock-Steady to Reggae to the later dancehall and DJ days of the present, Studio One was the predominant institution. It was the leading innovator of Reggae music, producing a stable of artistes and musicians, technical personnel as well as […]