2010 January : Al Fingers

Cocoa Tea Sings For Buju

January 30, 2010

"Buju" - Cocoa Tea: Play Now | Play in Popup

Cocoa Tea’s wicked re-lick of the Heptones’ 1976 classic, Country Boy, dedicated to Buju Banton, whose cocaine trial begins in Florida at the beginning of March. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Buju’s lawyers are set to use entrapment as their defence, claiming that a “paid government informant” persistently pestered Buju to buy cocaine after befriending him on a flight from Madrid to Miami in July 2009. I’m not sure how much that could help his case but hey.

Produced by Roaring Lion.

Busy Signal Inna Gary Mix Up

January 25, 2010

busy-signal

Vybz Kartel may have been 2009’s deejay of the year, but Busy Signal wasn’t far off, and judging by some of his recent tunes (check You Never Knew and his three versions over Shane Brown’s re-lick of the Boops riddim), 2010 is going to be a Busy year. Right now though, he’s in the middle of a strange mix up. Read more

Busy Signal - One More Night: Play Now | Play in Popup

Bob Marley – No Woman No Cry (Love Is A Losing Game Remix)

January 7, 2010

Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup

Top 100 Reggae & Dancehall Tunes Of The 2000’s

January 5, 2010

There are various top tunes of the decade lists on the web, like Pitchforkmedia’s Decade In Music, but I haven’t seen a good reggae/dancehall one yet, so I put together a Top 100 Reggae & Dancehall Tunes Of The Noughties. Big up to Pierre, JP, Randy and Dub Vendor for the arguments.

Overall, Sizzla – my artist of the decade – came out on top with six tunes, followed by Beres Hammond, Vegas, Busy Signal, Jah Cure and Elephant Man with five each, and Mavado, Richie Spice and Sean Paul with four each. Tunes with homophobic lyrics were left out of the list – like “Log On” by Elephant Man and “Frenzy” by Sanchez, although would otherwise have been included. Also left out were tunes that blew up in the 2000s but were originally released in the 1990s, like Richie Spice’s “Earth A Run Red” (1998) and Jah Mason’s “Princess Gawn” (1999).

While the list only relects my personal preference I think in general it shows that the Noughties were not a great decade for reggae & dancehall, compared say to the Nineties, which had much bigger tunes: Buju classics like “Hills And Valleys”, “Untold Stories”, “Champion”, “Rampage”, etc, Garnett Silk classics like “Splashing Dashing”, “Lord Watch Over Our Shoulder”, “Kingly Character”, Capleton’s “Jah Jah City” and “Never Dis Trinity”, Sizzla’s “Black Woman & Child”, “Holding Firm”, “Praise Ye Jah”, “Good Ways” etc, Luciano’s “It’s Me Again Jah” and “Sweep Over My Soul”, Anthony B’s “Raid Di Barn” and “Fire Pon Rome”, Beenie Man’s “Who Am I” and “Slam”, “Heads High” by Vegas, “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus & Pliers, “Traffic Blocking” by Degree, “Bandelero” by Pinchers, “A Who Seh Me Dun” by Cutty Ranks, an a whole heap more.

Erykah Badu – On & On (Go-Go Club Remix)

January 2, 2010

Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup

Pat Metheny vs Kenny G

January 2, 2010

Kenny G gets a critical beatdown from Pat Metheny in this interview on jazzoasis.com. Yeah, Kenny deserves it, but he does have one massive soul weekender tune – 1982’s Hi How Ya Doin (Youtube link here) – whereas Pat doesn’t. On the same site, Wynton Marsalis gets dissed pretty bad by Keith Jarrett (here). Who ever said there was love between jazzers?

Top 100 Reggae Tunes Of The Noughties

January 1, 2010

Longing For (2004)
JAH CURE
Welcome To Jamrock (2004)
DAMIAN MARLEY
Just One Of Those Days (2002)
SIZZLA
She’s Royal (2006)
TARRUS RILEY
No Letting Go (2001)
WAYNE WONDER
Like Glue (2002)
SEAN PAUL
Thank You Mama (2002)
SIZZLA
By His Deeds (2000)
VC
Gimme The Light (2001)
SEAN PAUL
August Town (2008)
DUANE STEPHENSON
On The Rock (2008)
MAVADO
Can’t Satisfy Her (2004)
I-WAYNE
Ghetto Story (2005)
BABYCHAM
Rockaway (2001)
BERES HAMMOND
Get Busy (2001)
SEAN PAUL
view full top 100 »

Millie Jackson

January 1, 2010

millie jackson