The LargeUp Interview: In the Mix with Engineer David Kennedy
The Jamaica-raised studio veteran on mixing A Tribe Called Quest's new classic and breaking in the business with Bob Marley + Keith Richards.
Toppa Top 12: Twelve Caribbean Albums We Loved in 2016
Never mind the Grammy nominations. These are the reggae, dancehall + soca LPs that get our fulldorsement.
Trini Gladiator: How Phife Dawg Influenced Caribbean MCs From Here to Grenada
Bunji Garlin, Jillionaire + more reflect on how A Tribe Called Quest's Five Footer helped spread rap in the islands.
Toppa Top 10: Ten Rap Songs That Shout Out Shabba
Words by Jesse Serwer and Raine Martin—
It seems that Shabba Ranks' name is buzzing in the hip-hop world once again. Kanye West called himself "the new Shabba" on his new, highly dancehall-influenced... Read More...
LargeUp TV: Johnny Osbourne, Red Fox + Screechy Dan Meet The Roots
Words by Jesse Serwer, Photo by N. Corren Conway
Coming into December's Okayplayer Holiday Jam, we had quite the task before us. Last year we brought out Shaggy and Patra, among others, for an all-star s... Read More...
You Rate It: Brooklyn Rap Great Chip Fu Hits Us With “Tear Gas”
Words by Jesse Serwer—
Chip Fu, hip-hop heads over 30 may recall, was the featured MC in Fu-Schnickens, the Brooklyn trio known for lighthearted rap tunes like "La Schmoove" (with A Tribe Called Quest's ... Read More...
Toppa Top 10: Ten Essential Ninjaman Tunes
Words by Jesse Serwer, Sherman Escoffery and Spliffington—
Ninjaman is dancehall music's Edgar Allan Poe: dark, brilliant, curiously articulate... and possibly mad. Two weeks ago, the artist born Desmo... Read More...
Toppa Top 10: Ten Trini Rappers Besides Nicki Minaj
Words by Jesse Serwer and Rishi Bonneville—
Without a doubt, Saint James, Trinidad native Nicki Minaj is the most influential and accomplished Caribbean-born rapper to come along in many years. But Nic... Read More...
Throwback Thursdays: Tiger feat. Q-Tip, “Who Planned It”
Words by Jesse Serwer—
Ghetto Muzik was a video show that aired in New York City in the mid '90s. Along with Ralph McDaniels' Video Music Box, it had the distinction of being one of the first and only US... Read More...
Heds and Dreds: Annotated Tribe Called Quest for the Unseasoned Patois Interpeter
Words by Jesse Serwer
If you know your Jazz from your Rhime, you're probably aware of Phife Dawg's Caribbean roots. Sometimes thought to to be Jamaican due to his love for reggae and patois inflections, ... Read More...
Now Things: Exclusive Interview with The Kid Daytona
Words and Interview by Jesse Serwer
The Kid Daytona is one of New York hiphop's best kept secrets. The dapper Antiguan MC from the Bronx balances style and substance in a fashion that reminds us of Slick... Read More...
Toppa Top 10: Reggae Samples In Rap Songs
Words by Jesse Serwer
Hip-hop's been borrowing from reggae since Jamaican-born Kool Herc updated the soundsystem throwdown for his new home in the Bronx. But the reggae references, both sonic and other... Read More...