Today is Aaliyah’s
birthday (January 16th) and boy do we miss her. Her silky smooth voice rocked parties
worldwide and had us hooked on every note she sang. For the short time she was with us, Aaliyah
spent most of her years on Billboard charts as a platinum selling artist. Listening to interviews with Missy Elliot and
Timabaland, the two often talk about how much they miss her, and say if she were
still here, the R&B we hear today would be different. I happen to agree.
The Reggae and Dancehall fraternity loves Aaliyah and DJ
Silent Spinna’s remix of “Rock the Boat”
reflects that love! Placing her vocals
on the Punany Riddim, Spinna ensures that all parties can transition from
R&B to Dancehall with ease. For
those of you playing on the radio, this chune is just as effective. Don’t sleep, pause, or blink … add this to
your playlist!
The award that all musicians strive for, and whose
recognition they yearn, is The Grammy!
This coveted trophy represents the highest standard of excellence in
music supported by a collective of music makers who vote.
Every year, and prior to the television broadcast of the big
night (this year the Grammy’s will air on CBS on February 8th, 2015
from 8pm to 11:30pm EST), the Grammy’s releases their compilation album called
Grammy Nominees Album.
My only bone to pick with the committee who puts together
this compilation is their consistent shutting out of categories like Reggae
Album of the Year and Gospel Recording of the Year. Why can’t they be more diverse instead of
being predictable?! Anyways, here’s the
tracklist:
1. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
(Record of the Year / Song of the Year / Best Pop Solo
Performance)
2. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – Fancy
(Record of the Year)
Pharrell Williams
3. Ed Sheeran – Sing
(Album of the Year / Best Pop Vocal Album)
4. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – Problem
(Best Pop Vocal Album)
5. Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
(Record of the Year / Song of the Year)
6. Katty Perry ft. Juicy J – Dark Horse
(Best Pop Vocal Album)
7. Coldplay – A Sky Full of Stars
(Best Pop Vocal Album)
8. Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
(Best Pop Vocal Album)
9. Sia – Chandelier
(Record of the Year / Song of the Year / Best Pop Solo
Performance)
10. John Legend – All of Me (Live)
(Best Pop Solo Performance)
11. Hozier – Take Me to Church
(Song of the Year)
12. Beyoncé ft. Jay Z – Drunk in Love
(Album of the Year)
13. Pharrell Williams – Come Get It Bae
(Album of the Year)
14. Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Darkchild
Version)
(Record of the Year / Album of the Year / Song of the Year /
Best Pop Solo Performance / Best Pop Vocal Album)
15. Beck – Blue Moon
(Album of the Year)
16. Keith Urban ft. Eric Church – Raise Em
Up
(Best Country Duo or Group Performance)
17. The Band Perry – Gentle on the Mind
(Best Country Duo or Group Performance)
18. Tim McGraw ft. Faith Hill – Meanwhile Back
At Mama’s
(Best Country Duo or Group Performance)
19. Miranda Lambert with Carrie Underwood –
Somethin Bad
There is an age old expression that says when the praises go
up, the blessings come down, and if that expression is true (which I personally
think it is), then thanks to Busy Signal’s
new chune called Gospel Medley, be
prepared to receive non-stop blessings because you will be giving non-stop
praise!
Busy Signal
Released and produced on Busy’s label Turf Music, Busy
begins 2015 singing a medley of Gospel songs reminiscent of what you would hear
in church. Combining the musical
ministry of Pocomania (Jamaica / Caribbean) and Baptist, Team Turf goes hard
with heavy accents of organ, tambourine and hand clap. While doing so, we can hear Busy sing “I saw
the light / I saw the light / no more in darkness / no more in night / now I’m
so happy / no sorrow in sight / praise the lord / I saw the light!” What makes this medley so profound is this
chune will be played in the Dancehall, and wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his
name, there shall he be. God is in the
Dancehall!
If you remember 2009’s “Praise
and Worship,” or 2013’s “Reason Why
I Sing” you will more than understand this Gospel Medley and will
appreciate the spirit in which it was made:
let blessings come down on the people!
If you have a playlist that is designed just for Sunday, this is a song
you must add!
I should also note that pure music lovers (people who love
instrumentation, chord progression etc), you will LOVE the down south (southern
United States) sound Busy creates at the end of the song. He does this with song choice “Sweet Chariot”
and male and female backing vocalists.
The effect is the sound of a choo-choo train. Let the song play to the very end!
Her monster and certified platinum hit “All About That Bass”
landed her on 58 charts around the world, kept her at #1 for weeks on end, and
made her one of the most talked about artists for 2014. With the energy of that unprecedented success,
Ms. Trainor is now preparing to release her album called ‘Title’ (coming
January 9th) in which she’ll forget that bass and throw out some
Reggae!
The 21 year old singer (who just celebrated her birthday on
December 22nd) recently spoke about plans for her album which will
be released in the UK later this month, and she is quoted as saying “Yo! I wanna get my Reggae out there!” Some may be surprised to hear the worlds most
beloved genre’s as one of her choices, but it’s actually very close to Meghan’s
musical home!
Born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Meghan began singing at age
6, and song-writing at age 11. She was
also a part of a band called Island Fusion which explored multiple genres
including Reggae. A few years later, she
added Jazz to her repertoire! Her fans
are thankful for that influence and loving her sound!
Her second single, "Lips are Movin" will be released in the UK
in February! Trainor is currently
nominated in two Grammy categories, Record of the Year and Song of the Year for
“All About That Bass,” and Favorite Breakout artist and Favorite Song at the
People’s Choice Awards.
Update: Monday January 5th, 2015 ... I just received word from Team Akon that "Just a Man" features Stephen Marley and not Damian Marley. The song was mis-labeled when sent. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused! This post has been edited for proper credit!
Akon’s
relationship with Reggae goes as far back as his musical career. The truth is, he has always been inspired by
Reggae, and, has always incorporated elements of the worlds beloved genre in
his music. One of the artists greatest
crossover hit records, “Mama Africa,” produced and co-written by Jamaica’s own Bobby
Digital-B Dixon and Paul ‘Computer Paul’ Henton helped seal Akon’s fate with
Reggae. Fast Forward to 2015!
Teaming with Stephen Marley, Akon has released a new single which is a part of his 5 disc
forthcoming album called Stadium. The
single, entitled “Just a Man,” hears the artist understand where the woman he
loves is coming from: a place of wanting
genuine love from her man. Akon answers
the call with a little help from Jr. Gong singing “I beat you to the punchline
girl I love you / now what we / what we gone do / I mean it when I really say I
love you / whatever they did I will not do… I’m just a man / trying to love
you.”
Jr. Gong adds support to the message by DJing: “your walls are so impossible I’m tired / as
I’m climbing / they keep on multiplying / and every time we progress / we
regress in your stress / all I wanna know / is why you can’t let it go….”
There are so many men in the world who want to love a
special woman but due to her previous experiences, she makes it very hard. This is the issue that Akon addresses so ladies pay attention!
Check out this very Reggae chune with a sweet bass line at
the links below and make sure you tell Akon and Jr. Gong what you think via
Twitter >>> @Akon | @stephenmarley
P.S. The album Stadium will be released soon and comes in 5 discs: Electronica / EDM, Pop, World, Urban and
Island. I've previewed a few tracks and can absolutely tell you you'll love it.
Jah Cure ended 2014 with a highly successful tour of Europe and a determination to keep pushing the musical envelope - giving fans the best of him. His year end release of the song "Life We Live" accomplishes his goal.
Structuring the chune in a way that everyone can relate to (whether you're a lover of Reggae or not), the artist demonstrates that he understands the trials we go through. he understands us having to deal with people who say they wish you well
and don’t.The ones who say they will do
this or that, don’t deliver, and leave you hanging to figure things out for
yourself.Yes, the badminds!
Life We Live, released October, 2014 addresses these and other issues we face. The singer performs from a position of
understanding (he’s been through quite a journey in 2014), so the song is
immediately understandable when he sings:“every time you take one step /
something pulls you back / but you get back up each time you fall / wicked
people and badmind / lurking in the dark / but I have no fear I walk with Jah….”K-A-B-O-O-M!
Not only does Jah Cure sing
all the right words, he sings the right words to the right music notes which is
why this chune should be at the top of your playlist when it comes to Reggae.
If you’re planning to go from
classic Dancehall, and you’ve dropped The General Riddim and need to move
forward to Reggae of today, this chune “Life
We Live” will take you there with ease.
The same is true in reverse (going from today’s Reggae to throwback
Dancehall). In fact, Jah Cure has a line
in his song where he says ‘every time you hear this song, put your lighters up’
and that is exactly what you will do. We may have to go around, go above or go
under, but nothing is going to stop us from living the life we are meant to
live and accomplishing the goals ordained from above!
Catch the big bad mighty
chune “Life We Live” by Jah Cure at the links below and make
sure you tell the artist what you think >>> @theRealJahCure
P.S. Big up Rico
Vibes for breaking this record, and salute VP Records for including this hot on Strictly The Best Vol. 50!
The Reggae and Dancehall fraternity loves Aaliyah and DJ
Silent Spinna’s remix of “Rock the Boat”
reflects that love! Placing her vocals
on the Punany Riddim, Spinna ensures that all parties can transition from
R&B to Dancehall with ease. For
those of you playing on the radio, this chune is just as effective. Don’t sleep, pause, or blink … add this to
your playlist!
