With all of the versioning and remixing Hip-Hop is looking more and more like dancehall. With all of the jailed artists, leaked photos, gossip and now product placement in the music, dancehall is looking more like Hip-Hop…. Kartel just pushed Clarks sales through the roof. When I first heard the tune, I assumed Clarks paid him for the homage… but I reall don’t know… Can dancehall push sales for Jamaican products? The Jamaican observer posed the question:

THE stimuli that dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel has given to the Clarks brand of footwear on the local market since he dropped his hit single Clarks a few weeks ago, exposes a long-standing culture where corporations benefit from urban contemporary music.

In the song, the popular singer declares his preference for the particular brand, which appears to have helped inspire hundreds of Jamaicans — who have long had an affinity for Clarks — to replenish their shoe stock. Shoe stores say sales of Clarks has multiplied since the single was released and an increasing number of persons can be seen donning the brand on the local party scene. [read more]

Download: Vybz Kartel – Clarks

In what may be a groundbreaking and possibly historical event, controversial reggae star Buju Banton met with representatives from the LGBT community this afternoon. Banton has been a frequent target of gay rights protesters for his 1992 song “Boom Bye Bye,” which activists say glorifies murder and violence directed at gays.

Was Boom Bye Bye About A Pedophile?

[Full Story]

SO WHAT HAPPENED? BEENIE MAN’S WEDDING? CAUSE KARTEL AND KILLER WERE ROLLING STRONG FOR YEARS

Yeah man, ah that me ah tell you, 2-5 things start get shaky. To explain it the simplest way, it’s like this you know, Rob—you are a big man now, and you have respect for your father. When you were nine or ten, he could tell you what to do, he could probably tell you how to dress, he could probably tell you where to go. When you are thirteen, fourteen, things start changing. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, you becomes a man of your own. You probably start having kids, and you start setting your own rules of your own—yeah, so it’s as simple as that.

HOW DID THE SITUATION COME UP WITH MAVADO THEN?

He felt he had to defend his father against, quote-unquote, the Judas. That’s how he walked into a massacre. Not really in the first war, you know, cause in the first war him kinda did get a edge cause in terms of he’s new, and you know, a new commodity. But by the end of the first war, and the beginning of the end of the second war, people see say Kartel is the realest thing. And as you see in the survey done by the University of the West Indies, Vybz Kartel is the most popular artist.

Via [Boomshots]

On the new album, Alborosie pays respect to his heroes from reggae’s golden age (Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse and Bob Marley), infusing this timeless music style with a touch of modern roots and dancehall. The lead single “Mama She Don’t Like You” is a humorous ska-flavored track with enough feel good elements for a great crossover summer hit. On the thought-provoking “America”, Alborosie sings about power, globalization and war set on an upbeat rockers riddim. “One Sound”, a collaboration with Gramps from Morgan’s Heritage, offers a powerful yet simple message – ‘One Love, One Heart, One Sound, One Destiny’. On the closing “Likkle Africa”, a beautiful melodic song is stripped down to a Nyabinghi drum pattern. Alborosie gives an impassioned chant – “Only Jah can set my Africa free”. We assume that the ‘Escape From Babylon’ is still his final goal.

Alborosie has hit the road for a summer tour in support of “Escape From Babylon”, with an extensive 45-date tour (June – August 2009). Having already taken Sweden by storm, Alborosie is scheduled to appear at Italy’s Rototom Festival and there are also dates at major festivals in Germany, France, Scandinavia, Holland, Spain and London. We’ve featured his extensive tour date schedule below.

04.06 Festival – Bergen Reggae Festival – (Norway)
05.06 Club – Rockerfeller / Oslo (Norway)
06.06 Club – Tyrol, Grona Lund / Stockholm (Sweden)
07.06 Club – Parksnackan / Uppsala (Sweden)
09.06 Club – KB , Kulturbolaget / Malmo (Sweden)
10.06 Club – Musikens Hus / Gotheburg (Sweden)
11.06 Club – Konrad / Vasteras (Sweden)
12.06 Festival – 100 Contests / Cergy (France)
13.06 Festival – Festival Skabazac / Rodez (France)
14.06 Festival – Festival Camino / Tournefeuille (France)
17.06 Club – EXO7 / Rouen (France)
18.06 Club – Kammgarn – Schaffhausen (Swiss)
19.06 Club – Trezzo – Milano (Italy) TBC
20.06 Festival – Sherwood Festival / Padova (Italy)
21.06 Festival – Mundial Festival / Tillburg (Holland)
23.06 Club – Stadtgarten / Koln (Germany)
24.06 Club – Backstage / Munich (Germany)
25.06 Festival – Stabilimento Ausonia – Trieste (Italy)
26.06 Festival – Metarock / Pisa (Italy)
27.06 Festival – Chicobum Festival – Borgaro Torinese (Italy)
28.06 Festival – Solidays / Paris (France)
02.07 Festival – Rototom Sunsplash / Osoppo (Italy)
03.07 Festival – Rock in Umbria / Umbertide (Italy)
04.07 Festival – Falconara ( Italy) TBC
08.07 Club – Kafe Antzokia / Bilbao / ( Spain)
09.07 Club – Durango Club / Valencia (Spain)
10.07 Club – Heineken Club / Madrid ( Spain)
11.07 Festival – Nova Reggae Festival / Vilanova I la Geltru (Spain)
12.07 Festival – Festival Destination Soleil / Marseillan (France)
15.07 Festival – Villa Serra / Genova ( Italy) TBC
16.07 Festival – Théatre Antique / Vienne (France)
17.07 Festival – Artsonic / Briouze (France)
18.07 Festival – Dour (Belgium)
19.07 Festival – Vieilles Charrues / Carhaix (France)
22.07 Festival – Villa Arconati / Milano (Italy) TBC
23.07 Festival – Paleo Festival / Nyon ( Swiss)
24.07 Italy or Portugal TBC
25.07 Festival – Reggae Sunsplash / Olbia (Sardinia)
26.07 Festival – Reggae Sunsplash / Cagliari (Sardinia)
27.07 Club – Villa Ada / Roma (Italy) TBC
28.07 Tunis TBC
30.07 UK TBC
31. 07 Birmingham – UK TBC
01. 08 London – UK TBC
02.08 Festival – Esperanzah / Namur (Belgium

Via [DM]

Download:  Busy Signal & Alborosie – Murderer

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Came across this article recently and it looked kind of interesting. I assumed it was going to be a bit of the same old stereotypical dancehall talk but it ended up being kind of decent and the writer seems like she knows a thing or two about reggae.

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation via Twitter with Andrew Collins, About.com’s Guide to Gay Travel, regarding modern reggae and dancehall music. If you’re not familiar with dancehall, it’s an upbeat genre of music based on reggae rhythms (or, more precisely, riddims) that features a deejay toasting (rapping) over the top. Musically, it’s really fun. Lyrically… well, not so much. There are plenty of dancehall artists whose lyrics are socially conscious and respectful, but the majority of popular artists tend towards slackness, specifically violent homophobia. I’ve got a pretty decent mental filtration system, and years of practice have put me in a place where I can listen to lyrics that I disagree with and see them as indicators of socioeconomic factors and cultures that are different from my own, but even I can’t take some of the more hateful lyrics that directly advocate killing gays and lesbians. It’s especially true because Jamaica is one of the most dangerous places in the world for homosexuals, where violent attacks are commonplace and offenders are rarely prosecuted.

Read more @ About.com

Mavado was recently featured in Vibe Magazine. Check the full article HERE.

Previously:

Mavado Rips BET’s Runway

Mavado’s I’m So Special Video

Due to copyright infringement issues EMI music publishing has ordered that Kartel remove all CDs, Mp3s and videos “Romping Shop” from circulation.

“Romping Shop Video”

More after the jump Vybz Kartel and Spice’s ‘Rampin Shop’ has been ordered to be destroyed and pulled from all radio, television stations and the Internet by EMI Music Publishing.

check the full story at [Dubtunes.com]

Alliance Entertainment, Mavado’s management team, has issued a press release this morning, outlining that BET’s legal team had last minute objections to the video, particularly its “excessive display of alcohol” and “careless use of women as writhing set dressings!” Notably, Alliance Entertainment has outlined that when the video was first submitted to BET, they flagged several issues and it went through three different edits before final approval.

Get the full story at Dancehall.Mobi

The results are in and according to the public, Kartel was the ‘last man standing’ at Sting ’08, held at Jamworld, Portmore, St Catherine.

Last Friday THE STAR asked the public to vote for the winner of the clash held on December 26 by texting the name of who they believed won to the number provided.

Kartel won the vote-off after he got more than 65 per cent of the votes from the respondents.

When THE STAR called Kartel yesterday for a response to his victory in the poll, he quickly pointed out that he was not surprised.

Visit The Jamaican Star for the full story.

Anger as anti-gay reggae singer is granted UK visa

THE Home Secretary was criticised today for granting a visa to a controversial Jamaican reggae singer, allowing him to perform in London this weekend.

Jacqui Smith was accused by gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of “rewarding a maladjusted thug” after the Home Office gave a work permit to dancehall artist Bounty Killer (Rodney Pryce).

Tatchell has accused the singer of glorifying the killing of gay people and promoting gang culture.
Bounty Killer will play at the Stratford Rex on Saturday.

Among his song lyrics are the lines “bun a fire pon a puff and mister faggoty”, translated as “burn a fire on poofs and faggots,” and “you know we need no promo to rub out dem homo” meaning “you know we don’t need prompting to kill a homosexual”.

Full story via This Is London