Beenie & Bounty – The Digital Dancehall Clash of the Century!
Beenie Man and Bounty Killer Bring the Dancehall Vibe to Verzuz Soundclash
Kingston, JA – May 23, 2020 – Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, the two Dancehall legends that dominated Reggae’s DJ scene in the ‘90s, live-streamed a lively sound clash battle that was viewed—and engaged with—by virtually a half a million global fans.
The once-feuding competitors stirred up some dance hall memories: 1) remembering the traveling dance hall sound systems of the 50s and 60s when rivals-of-the-time would battle it out with rapid-fire lyrics relating to politics, women, sex, and the socio-economic injustices of the time, and 2) the “sonic dominance” of the traveling 70s, 80s, and 90s mega-sound systems.
Update 2020: Due to Covid, Maxi is currently unable to tour. He is, however, busy on social media staying engaged with his fans and promoting his latest LP, It All Comes Back to Love, and his latest music video “I’m All Right,” featuring and produced by our friend Shaggy! Watch the video at the end of this up close & personal interview ⇓
(This article is from my 2015 interview)
Maxi Priest – Easy to Love CD 2015
No doubt, Maxi Priestis one of the hardest and longest-working men in the Reggae biz. In town to perform for the ONE Caribbean Fest, and, following an exclusive Meet, Greet, and Eat fan luncheon at Miami’s HOT 105 to promote his Easy to Love CD, the supercharged singer sat down inside the Miramar offices of VP Records for a long-overdue catch-up interview.
Our connection goes way back. Maxi Priest has been featured on no less than five Reggae Report magazine covers, and from 1985 to 1998, he was featured, reviewed, interviewed, or mentioned in innumerable issues. In fact, since storming the music scene from his South London base in 1985, Maxi Priest has not stopped writing, recording, performing, promoting, producing, or rockin’ n’ rollin’, all while circling the globe . Continue reading Maxi Priest: This is My Life – A 2015 Interview & 2020 Update→
UPDATE 2020: Julian “JuJu” Marley is currently in Jamaica during the COVID-19. He is keeping busy with his music, his “JuJu Royal” CBD line, & supporting people globally as we go through this pandemic together. Touring to support his latest Grammy-nominated album, As I Am, is temporarily on hold. So instead, Julian streams his campfire sessions where he sings and plays guitar.
In Feb., Julian participated in the opening of Trench Town’s Cornerstone Learning Center, founded by the Marley brothers and the Ghetto Youths Foundation. In April, he was part of Jamaica’s Telethon to raise funds for the first responders. He talks about the new music he is producing now, which highlights the 80s Afrobeats influence he enjoyed while growing up in multi-cultural London.
To watch & listen to Julian Marley’s latest single “Fly,” a tribute to his daughter who passed away in 2019 from cancer, go to the link at the end of this interview ↓↓↓♥
Julian Marley – In His Own Words
By M. Peggy Quattro
Miami, FL, 2011 – Julian Ricardo Marley, a seasoned Roots Reggae performer, is a multi-talented musician, writer, and singer. Born June 4, 1975, in London, Julian is the only British-born Marley son. He spent summers with his extended family in Kingston, where he tuned in to Rastafari and became immersed in the Marleys’ musical environment. A self-taught musician, Julian is skilled at guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards. Since the 1996 release of his debut CD Lion in the Morning, Julian “JuJu” Marley has traveled the world extensively to perform alongside his talented brothers. The 2003 CD Time and Place, and 2009’s Awake, have resulted in a large legion of loyal fans that attend his solo performances. At the invitation of the Jamaican government, Julian Marley and the Uprising band represented his adopted country and performed at the historic 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Julian at Recife Fest 2010
Julian spends time between London, Kingston, and Miami; much time is devoted to working and recording in the family-owned Lions Den studio. On a recent mini-Florida tour, I caught up with Julian following his casual and intimate performance at Pineapple Groove in Delray Beach, Fla. Continue reading Julian Marley: In His Own Words Interview 2011 & 2020 Update→
Update 2020: We are saddened to report the passing of producer/engineer Bobby Digital on May 21, 2020. His son Sheldon relayed that his father passed away from a kidney-related illness. The entire Reggae and Dancehall family mourns the loss of this visionary who left his mark and sound on five generations of musical history. ~ M. Peggy Quattro
Bobby Digital – The Producer for the ’90s
By Clyde McKenzie V14#3 1996
Bobby Digital, producer extraordinaire, shares the same astrological sign as such notables as Albert Einstein, Quincy Jones, and Mikhail Gorbachev. This affable Pisces is also a first-class studio engineer and creator of some of Reggae’s most compelling rhythms, including the popular “Kette.”
Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon Photographer Unknown
Bobby Digital’s life began in a fashion not far removed from that of many major players in the music industry. He was born poor to Mary, a dressmaker, and Eric Dixon, a carpenter. With his four siblings, Bobby Dixon shared a modest existence in the Olympic Gardens area Kingston, notorious for its natives who find refuge in a life of crime.
Skip Marley, the 23-year-old grandson of Bob Marley, burst onto the Reggae scene in a blaze of glory in 2015. Born June 4, 1996, and rightfully blessed from birth, the multi-talented Skip (so named to honor his grandfather’s nickname) plays numerous instruments, writes, and has the best of music industry connections, beginning with his mother, Cedella Marley, Bob’s firstborn child, original Melody Maker, CEO, & entrepreneur. But, without the gifts of a haunting Bob Marley-esque voice, extreme good looks, and a pleasing personality and great smile, Skip Marley, a relative newcomer on the Reggae scene, may not have so quickly reached the higher heights he now so readily enjoys. Continue reading Skip Marley – Bob Marley’s Grandson – Carries on the Marley Mission→
The Conscious Era of Reggae – the positive, Rasta-inspired message music associated with the early 1990s – primarily showcased male DJs and singers, notably such stalwarts as Everton Blender, Luciano, Tony Rebel, and Garnet Silk…all revolutionary. This current generation welcomes our female “Love Revolutionary,” our “Rebel Empress,” our Jah9.
Singer/Poet Jah9, aka Janine Cunningham, was born May 23, 1983, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She was raised in nearby Falmouth by a preacher father and singer mother. Her roots in Nina Simone and Billie Holiday are heard in her neo-soul-India-Arie-like, Jazzy, Dancehall, Dub-style delivery of self-penned poetic and powerful lyrics. Her stories surround Rastafari and Selassie, as well as the importance of yoga and women & children’s causes. Continue reading Singer/Poet JAH9 – The Love Revolutionary→
By M Peggy Quattro (written in 2000 for the release of Definitive Collection)
Garnet Silk, the young singer/songwriter who died in a horrific fire at the age of 28, was one of the brightest stars to ever shine in the Reggae galaxy. During his short, illustrious career, Garnet Silk was hailed by many as “the next Bob Marley.”
After five years of lewd and rude Dancehall lyrics, Garnet ignited the stagnant music arena with Roots Rasta music. He is credited as the artist most responsible for the conscious and spiritual resurgence of early 90’s Reggae. His profound lyrics and distinctive vocal styling—a throwback to the poignant messages of the Marley era—captured an international audience.
From 1992 to 1994, Garnet Silk released a multitude of songs that soared up Reggae charts and touched the lives of those who heard them. The long-awaited Big Beat/Atlantic Garnet Silk:TheDefinitive Collection is a celebration of the memory—and a tribute to the music—of this legendary artist.
Recorded at Tuff Gong and Couch Studios in Kingston and mixed at Kariang Studio in Ocho Rios, this two-CD set features 20 songs recorded and/or re-recorded over a three year span. Garnet’s silky voice is enhanced by the assemblage of Jamaica’s finest musicians—Sly & Robbie, Tyrone Downie, Earl “Wya” Lindo, Mikey Boo Richards, Earl “Chinna” Smith, Mikey Chung, Dean Fraser, and Sticky Thompson, to name a few. Garnet insisted that real instruments were to be used and all the musicians were to be in the studio at the same time. “Like the Wailers,” said Tony Chin Loy, co-founder of Kariang Productions and co-manager, “the old fashioned way—the Bob Marley way.” Chin Loy revealed that when Sly Dunbar came to do the project he had not played a real drum kit in five years!
The passing of Garnet Silk is greatly mourned throughout the Reggae community. It is becoming a far too common occurrence for talented artists to needlessly lose their lives. In Silk’s case, the tragedy is compounded by his youthfulness, his vitality and the sense that he hadn’t yet come close to fulfilling his considerable potential.
It’s Growing was Silk’s first album released on VP Records in 1992, although he had been releasing records for at least a couple of years in Jamaica. It’s inconsistent, at best, with a handful of great songs, such as the title track, “Place in Your Heart,” “Commitment” and “I Am Vex.” Some of the other songs, however, sound forced or incomplete, and while Silk has one of the best voices, he hadn’t completely learned to control it or discipline it on It’s Growing. The session was produced by Bobby Digital. Continue reading Garnet Silk – On Record – A Discography 1995→
Reggae History!…'80s & '90s…Read the Music!
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