Buju Banton In Pilgrimage to West Africa

Though not his first time in the western region of Africa, Buju Banton's proposed musical pilgrimage to Gambia and Sierra Leone is echoing with loud vigor. Youths in the streets of Gambia are already celebrating the anticipated
peak sound party.Buju was in the Ivory Coast in 2004, and that tour could be tagged the prelude to this largely coordinated pilgrimage that is aptly scheduled for the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Via the impresario
emblem of Afric Afriq, an international promotion outfit, Buju Banton is billed to thrill the entire Gambian reggae scene as well as conscious lyrics lovers on the 24th and 25th of December 2005.

The Godfather of Dancehall

Lincoln "Sugar" Minott is one of the great figures of reggae music and is fully justified to carry the status as the "Godfather of Dancehall". He was born and grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and started his musical journey by entering talent contests in his youth. In 1974 Sugar then teamed up with the legendary producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and the singer was responsible for reviving the fortunes of Studio One in the 70s. Sugar wrote new songs and sung them over classic Brentford Road rhythm tracks and single-handedly invented the modern day dancehall style. His Studio One hits included such classics as "Vanity", "Hang On Natty", "Mr. DC", "Jah Jah Children" and many more. These tracks are collected on his two Studio One albums "Live Loving" and "Showcase".

Sir Coxsone - "the father of reggae"

The name Clement Seymour “Sir Coxsonne” Dodd is synonymous with the development of Reggae music. Mr. Dodd has been the recipient of countless accolades, awards and acknowledgments (including the Jamaica Order of Distinction, the third highest honor issued by the Jamaican government) for his immense contributions to the island’s music industry as sound system operator, record producer and founder of Studio One, Jamaica’s first and only self sufficient record label. Mr. Dodd’s tireless endeavors, which span six decades, have set an imposing standard of artistic excellence and played a pivotal role in molding Reggae into a globally embraced musical force.
Legendary music pioneer and founder of Studio One, Sir Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, passed away in Kingston from heart complications on Tuesday May 4, 2004. Sir Coxsone was in the studio with Jennifer Lara and Bunny Brown when it appeared that he didn't feel well.

Maxi Priest [no pot-smoking hippy]

Maxi Priest wants the world to know the new generation of reggae performers are professionals, with a sharp eye for business. "The majority of leading reggae artists today don't even smoke (marijuana)," said Priest from London. "We have been through that stigma. We went through that in Bob Marley's day. "My generation kind of wanted to get rid of that and make people focus on the fact that we make music and can do some business."

Burning Spear ~~Calling Rastafari

Once in a great while, an artist emerges that has a profound effect on popular culture. Burning Spear is such an artist. A certifiable musical legend, Spear's career has already spanned over three decades and shows no sign of slowing down. His concerts regularly last over two hours, a live show that delivers more energy and vibrancy than many rock and roll bands that are half his age. Its no surprise that Spear was the only reggae artist included in the 2002 music issue of Vanity Fair. But it is not just the music that generates the excitement, it is also the message. Carrying the torch for the gospel of Marcus Garvey, Burning Spear is one of the single greatest proponents of self-determination and self-reliance for all African descendants; but his message is not exclusively based on the teachings of Garvey. Through his music, Burning Spear has consistently been able to educate, inform, and uplift people the world over with his positive message based on honesty, peace, and love.

The U.N. of Musical Genres

Far from Jamaica, reggae is gaining a slew of
new ambassadors as artists from all over try to stir it up.

Willie Nelson Rebel Roots: Abbott, Texas Reggae Sound: On his July release, Countryman, Nelson covers Jimmy Cliff with twang. Island Cred: Says cannabis should be legal and shared on the tour bus.Matisyahu Rebel Roots: White Plains, N.Y. Reggae Sound: The Hasidic hipster who hails Bob Marley in
Yiddish has two fall albums. Island Cred: Some Rastafarians view themselves as the original Jews.Daddy Yankee Rebel Roots: San Juan, Puerto Rico Reggae Sound: His Gasolina popularized reggaeton, a reggae-derived, Latin hip-hop. Island Cred: Last we looked,
Puerto Rico was an island too.Sinéad O'Connor Rebel Roots: Dublin, Ireland Reggae Sound: Her next album, Throw Down Your Arms, features Jamaican musicians and Marley songs. Island Cred: She embraces the Rastafarian faith--and the notion of hair as a statement.

Jr. Gong and his rebel music Catch-A-Fire

His father grew up in Jamaica's shantytowns
and impoverished countryside, but he was raised
in a well-to-do neighborhood. Actually, two well-to-do
neighborhoods: one in Jamaica and one in Miami.
So does Damian (Jr. Gong) Marley, the youngest son
of Bob, have the right to sing about the ghettos
and poverty of his native country?That's the question
the Marley family's latest hitmaker has been answering
ever since his infectious [Dancehall] single
"Welcome to Jamrock" hit the U.S. radio waves this summer.
~~Chris Riemenschneider

" 'Reggae Jamdown' will benefit Katrina victims"

A group of area musicians and artists are holding a benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims, Habitat for Humanity and local county families relocated from the gulf area due to Katrina.
"A Thanksgiving Weekend Reggae Jamdown" will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the Victorian Village Theatre in Elkhart Lake. The show will feature Natty Nation, a Madison-based Reggae band; Bowser, a popular local jam band; and Mike Brumm, an acoustic guitarist.
Doors open at 7 p.m.
The event will also feature the works of local artists, jewelry, food, raffles and more.
There will be a $10 cover charge at the door; children under age 12 are free.
All of the proceeds and donations will go to Katrina victims.
If you are interested in donating or have questions, call John at (920) 459-2963, Ext 513.

"A dancehall dilemma for Jamaica's dangerous days"

What's up in Jamaica right now is the murder rate.
Should the homicides continue at their current
pace�over 1,180 since January�Jamaica could
end the year with the highest per capita murder
rate in the world. What's that got to do with Shaggy,
Sean Paul, and other dancehall acts releasing
albums this fall? Nothing. And that's their and
dancehall's potential dilemma. Violence isn't new
to Jamaica; neither is dancehall's role as
escapism-cum-therapy. But when flamboyant
dancer Gerald Bogle Levy� virtually a symbol
of dancehall itself�was murdered in Kingston in
January, a line was crossed: The sacred realm of the
dance, outr� sanctuary from the harsh realities of
ghetto life, had been bloodied. More than ever, the
conscious, one-drop reggae that began dominating
the scene last year better fits the national mood.
Soothing or seething, roots had enough fire to
trivialize dancehall: The massive willie-bounced
while Kingston burned.~~Baz Dreisinger

Rasta/Reggae - universal

In a year when reggae music has already been turned on its ear with the release of Willie Nelson's "Countryman" and the Carson Daly-endorsed ascent of Hassidic toaster
Matisyahu, the bald beauty tries her hand in the spiritual sounds of deepest, darkest D'yer M'aker with "Throw Down Your Arms." Recorded at the legendary Tuff Gong Studios in the heart of Kingston, this is as
straight-up dirt floor reggae as it gets (well, at least by Sinead standards), especially when you got such masters of their craft as Sly & Robbie behind the boards.
--Ron Hart

"the Hasidic reggae superstar"

Matisyahu isn’t your average reggae musician.
Dubbed “the Hasidic reggae superstar,” he is just that:
a young, white Hasidic Jew from the Bronx who
performs smooth reggae that sounds like it is
straight off the beaches of Kingston, Jamaica.
Rather than making a joke out of the music,
he takes himself and what he does very seriously,
using the microphone as a forum to express many
of his beliefs about faith and morals.

Anthony B - Rasta-A-Revolution

Anthony B is the living personification of Afrikan consciousness in Reggae. His single "Nah vote again" was a major factor in making the Jamaican elections of Thursday, December 18 1997, the most peaceful one since the insidious cancer of gun violence was introduced in West and Central Kingston, prior to the elections of 1967. Like his hero, Peter Tosh, the most revolutionary of the Wailing Wailers, he is an uncompromising Pan Afrikanist, in the tradition of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica's first national hero and the founder and leader of the largest Afrikan organization ever, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and Afrikan Communities League, U.N.I.A. and A.C.L.

Push For Grammy Reggae Category To Be Televised

The 2006 Grammy Awards may still be months away
but a Jamaican-born national has begun a
grassroots efforts for reggae to be included in
the telecast. While the Academy includes the
reggae music category among its list of nominations,
the winner is never presented on television but
earlier in the evening’s proceedings.

Everybody's Favourite Artiste

Don't be deceived by Beres Hammond's cool profile. The playful smile, the unassuming demeanor, the beard, the cap and the spectacles might lull you into forgetting that you're in the presence of an awesome musical talent, Jamaica's greatest practicing singer/songwriter. Beres remains cool, though he knows that he's one of a handful of people responsible for maintaining a mighty legacy of soulful reggae music - a select group of Artistes like Toots and Gregory, like Dennis and Bob. "Father bless me with a song," he pleads on the last cut of his latest album, 'Music Is Life,' "to make the whole world sing along. Regardless of the race, regardless of the taste." In the year 2001-2003, the blessings just keep coming, the world keeps coming, and is just starting to catch on.

Everybody has a favorite Alton Ellis song

Someone once said: "Everybody has a favourite Alton Ellis song, and every Alton Ellis song is somebody's favourite"
Singer, songwriter and producer, Alton Ellis is a genuine icon of Jamaica's music and one of the major pioneers of the Rock Steady era. Gifted with a distinctive voice and delightful stage presence, Alton is one of the few singers who can thrill an audience for over two hours with the certain knowledge that every song that emerges will be a big hit and a well loved favourite.

Morgan Heritage

Since the 1980s, the world has anxiously awaited a Reggae band to continue the path that was set by the legendary Bob Marley and the Wailers. Morgan's Heritage is a vocal band that is continuing that path to revolutionize Reggae music worldwide.

The band, which was formed in the early 1980s, consists of five of the 29 children of former Black Eagles' lead vocalist, Denroy Morgan. The band is comprised of percussionist, "Mr. Mojo" Morgan, vocalist/keyboardist, Una Morgan, keyboardist/vocalist, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, vocalist, Peter Morgan, and rhythm guitarist, "Lukes" Morgan.

The five siblings were all born in Bushwick, Brooklyn and raised in Springfield Massachusetts, where they attended school. They would leave on weekends to record music in their father's studio back in Brooklyn.