Jesse Serwer Archives - Page 55 of 59

Return of Django: New Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Music + Movie Trailer

Words by Jesse Serwer Anything involving Lee "Scratch" Perry is usually better off left unexplained. His burning down of his own legendary creative haven Black Ark Studios in 1979, for one thing. The va... Read More...

Good Thing Going: Reggae Historian Beth Lesser’s New Sugar Minott Book

Words by Jesse Serwer, via The Hype Life and Shimmy Shimmy Last summer reggae lost one of its great, and most unsung, icons in sweet-voiced Sugar Minott. Here's how we remembered the dancehall pioneer's ... Read More...

Bajan Persuasion: Exclusive Interview With Rayvon

Words by Jesse Serwer To the masses, Rayvon is that guy who sang on Shaggy megahits like "Angel" and "In the Summertime." Others may yet confuse him for Rik Rok. Those who followed dancehall in the '90s,... Read More...

Throwback Thursdays: Reggae Pon “Top of the Pops”

Words by Jesse Serwer In light of this Cockney & Yardie trip we've been on recently (for better or worse), we thought we'd take a journey through the reggae/dancehall archives of the British hits sho... Read More...

Toppa Top 10: South x Southwest Edition

Words by Jesse Serwer and Eddie STATS Houghton This time every year the US music industry shuts itself down and heads to Austin, Texas for the annual orgy of live music, informal politicking and drink-... Read More...

Thanks & Praise: Gappy Ranks’ ‘Coulda Runaway’ Video + Japan Travelogue

Words by Jesse Serwer Thanks & Praise is not just the title of Gappy Ranks' upcoming LP for VP/Greensleeves: It's what the U.K. singjay is giving after experiencing the calamitous earthquake that has... Read More...

Throwback Thursdays: Shinehead’s “Jamaican In New York”

Words by Jesse Serwer If you were getting your music information from MTV in the late '80s, you might have thought that Shinehead was the only reggae/dancehall artist out. The square Cazal aficionado was... Read More...

Pitch Control: New Caribbean Cricket Doc ‘Fire in Babylon’

Words by Jesse Serwer UPDATE: according to the NY Times, Fire in Babylon has been added to the line-up at the world-renowned Tribeca Film Festival, alongside films on Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Que... Read More...

Media Watch: Machel Montano + Trinidad Carnival on NPR

Words by Jesse Serwer Sundays in the Serwer household rarely start before 1 PM. It's immaterial whether Saturday night involved late-night partying or re-runs on the couch: This is when I catch up on all... Read More...

Ova-Mars: Bruno Mars x Damian Marley’s “Liquor Store Blues” Video

Words by DJ Gravy One of pop's biggest new stars, Bruno Mars, has a serious reggae jones. First there was "Billionaire," the 2010 ubiqu-hit he co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred on with former Gym Clas... Read More...

Northern Soul: Melanie Fiona x Rocawear x Reggae

Words by Jesse Serwer We've been following our girl Melanie Fiona since back when she was voicing Supa Dups-produced one-drop riddims under the name Syren Hall. It's been two years since the lovely, soul... Read More...

Old Gold: Jolly Boys Make NY Debut, Drop New EP

Words by Jesse Serwer The Jolly Boys—the legendary, six-decades-and-running, Jamaican mento institution currently enjoying a renaissance thanks to their link-up with Jon Baker's Geejam Recordings and the... Read More...