Tag Archives: reggae

Dancehall’s Beenie Man & Bounty Killer-Clash of the Century

Beenie & Bounty – The Digital Dancehall Clash of the Century!

beenie man bounty killa verzuz clash 2020
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.

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Maxi Priest: This is My Life – A 2015 Interview & 2020 Update

by M. Peggy Quattro

maxi priest reggae report
Maxi Priest, It All Comes Back to Love 2020

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 with Easy to Love CD
Maxi Priest – Easy to Love CD 2015

No doubt, Maxi Priest is 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

Bobby Digital – Reggae/Dancehall Producer for the ’90s

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.”

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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.

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Skip Marley – Bob Marley’s Grandson – Carries on the Marley Mission

By M. Peggy Quattro

Skip MarleySkip 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

Singer/Poet JAH9 – The Love Revolutionary

By M. Peggy Quattro
Jah9 “The Love Revolutionary”

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

Lady G – Interview with the DJ V12#09 1994

Lady G – Don’t Call Her Gal  1994

Interviewed by M. Peggy Quattro
Written by Sara Gurgen

The talented ladies in Reggae have historically taken a back seat to the popularity of their numerous male counterparts. A handful of singers, and even fewer DJs, have held their ground and withstood the test of time.

Not to be outdone by the current crop of new lady DJs, the lovely and talented Lady G has consistently proved that she is not yet ready to be considered among the “dead and gone.” The sweet appearance of Lady G does not belie her steely interior, and the Spanish Town-born DJ has taken her shot at macho males with her latest sizzling releases. Lady G, who has seen a great response to her hit song “Me or the Gun,” a demand that her man chooses between which one “gives more fun,” is now coming in strong with her latest song “If I was a Gal.”

Lady G
Lady G Live at Reggae Cafe

“You’ve got guys who call women gals; that’s not the right way for a man to style [call] a woman,” said Lady G following her terrific performance inside Ft. Lauderdale’s Reggae Cafe. Referring to her new song, she goes on to explain: “It’s not the name they should call the women. In some countries–like Trinidad–they call their women gal. It’s not the name that they call the women, it’s the way they express it.” Lady G is telling the men that if they want to get a woman’s attention, these days, that’s not the way to do it. Continue reading

Judy Mowatt – Singer on Sisterhood – Reggae History ’96

Judy Mowatt – Leading the Charge of Sisterhood – 1996

By Howard Campbell.       V14#5 

judy mowattA visitor to Judy Mowatt’s home is in for a fairly long walk before he or she reaches the spacious front porch which houses a piano. Mowatt’s not pounding the keys today; she’s enjoying some peace and quiet at the back of the home near the hills of St. Andrew, Jamaica, not too far away from where she was born in the small village of Gordon Town.

An admitted lover of the soil, Mowatt’s cozy back room hideaway is surrounded by a small farm of sugarcane and bananas. Gospel music wafts through the air as she appears, barefoot and bareheaded, her locks complimenting her African-style blouse. A photo of Emperor Haile Selassie greets you upon entering, with another postcard-sized photo of the Wailers, circa the Uprising album, occupying one of the shelves of a nearby cabinet.

judy mowatt calendar 1994
Judy Mowatt graced August in our 1994 Calendar

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