They have a number of excellent tracks. They also have bouts of performing solo which has produced some good stuff. thanks.
Morgan Heritage are very consistent in making quality music, although some of their stuff can sound a little overcooked some times (I tend think of it as an "American" sound, as they are based in Brooklyn), they are also consistently very good live (which isn't always the case in Reggae), I have seen them several times (also individual members on their own) and they always deliver. This compilation is good for anyone who wants to check them out (or at least their earlier stuff, as it's from 2009): Morgan Heritage - The Journey Thus Far So let's give old Phil another shout out then! Here's Busy Signal's take on "One More Night". When I first heard this I wasn't aware it was a Phil Collins song (I must have heard the original, but I wasn't paying attention at the time), and that could be a theme for future posts, songs I first heard as a Reggae cover where the original hit had passed me by, there are quite a few! Busy Signal has a very varied output, to the point of being almost schizophrenic, it ranges from the sweetest Lovers sounds like this, to quite harsh sounding Dancehall (no melody or harmony in sight), some of his tracks I find very appealing and some of his tracks I find extremely annoying, it's all over the place. I once passed on seeing him live even though I was in town, because I had seen some live streamed festival footage that seemed like crap, and then later I saw clips from the show I had skipped and it was completely different, seemed I really missed something, so you never know what to expect from this guy. Here's an actual video, but it's a combination of two songs (it starts with "Nightshift"), so I though it confusing: Busy Signal - Nightshift / One More Night | Official Music Video Many artists have offical uploads of every track of whole albums, so that would give them a lot of singles. But I guess an official upload on YouTube that is not part of an album could theoretically count as a single, but then that begs the question what a "single" really is. Those statistics I looked up on Wikipedia are surely exaggerated, but I figured they still made a point. The single (whatever it means in practice) has always been the primary format in Jamaican music, but it is so to an extreme in modern Dancehall. I'm not sure if you are being ironic, I don't think what you describe is very relatable to people that are not in a Kingston ghetto, but then again themes of Rastafari and repatrion etc. are not to many Reggae fans either, so that should be no hinderance for the enjoyment of the music. While I get what you are saying otherwise, this part doesn't make any sense, surely music continues to be the one "hit" from which you "feel no pain"?
To comment on various points: 1. I do find Morgan Heritage to have an Americanised sound on a lot of tracks, which iI don't mind. But sometimes, and it's often their biggest hits, they are as rootsy as they come. 2. I like Phil and he does get a few covers in Jamaica. Busy's One More Night is a song I've played a lot. I've played the original a lot as well though. Busy does have a broad range even venturing into country music and doing a rocksteady album. One of my favourite 21st century acts. 3. There's a lot of songs I've heard first in their dancehall form. It would confuse my kids when they'd hear Justin Timberlake, for example, singing a song which they knew as dancehall but which was of course a Timberlake original. 4. I used Chronic Law as an example as he's had no albums. If he cuts a song I figure it's effectively a single but the definition is somewhat meaningless nowadays. Perhaps nothing is a single? 5. By relatable I did mean to his Jamaican supporters which is his real fan base. And who he is talking to. The level of support he has is hard to fathom for an outsider. 6. Your point regarding Rasta & repatriation are true. I've never had a desire to be a Rasta despite the thousands of songs on the topic I've heard. Similarly there are not in fact very many Rastafarians in Jamaica, I've seen the number 30,000. That does not hinder non Rasta's enjoyment of the music. 7. In a similar vein you don't need to smoke marijuana to enjoy the music 8. As regards my last line I liked the sound of it but appreciated it didn't necessarily make sense if someone analysed it.. I used it as Vybz Kartel does not necessarily make music to be uplifting and to ease the pain in the way Bob & his generation did.
Here's a classic song "Always On My Mind" of which there are heaps of versions, I'm partial to Willie Nelson's. Here's Daville & Sean Paul's cut:
Another Da'Ville track. He should have more success than he gets: Da'Ville Soldier Girl On the Sweet Riddim.
Kabaka Pyramid & Christopher Martin - QUARANTINE Here's what the Jamaica Observer said: By the end of this COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaican artistes would have composed a full soundtrack to the global crisis. One of the tracks which made it out the gates very early is Quarantine, featuring Kabaka Pyramid and Christopher Martin. The genesis of the song came from Kabaka Pyramid who had been sent a rhythm by an associate. He shared it with a friend who came up with a hook which immediate caught his ear. “Before all this coronavirus thing get so intense, we were in a recording session at Tuff Gong and Abi (Manager Abishai Hoilett) said: 'Chris Martin woulda sound really good singing the chorus on this'. We all agreed and sent off our recordings to Chris for him to listen. That was a Thursday and by Saturday, Chris sent us back his tracks and we realise this was really great stuff.” Quarantine shows the sexy side of being isolated with that special someone. Produced by Craig “Grizzle” Higgins and written by Kabaka Pyramid, King Mas (Glenford Prospere) and Martin, the song is released by Bebble Rock Music and Ghetto Youths International. “This is just something light for the people to listen to at a time when there is so much heavy news and sadness all around. When you are on lockdown at home just think about more of the romantic side and the fun you can have while under quarantine,” Kabaka Pyramid continued. Like all involved in the entertainment fraternity worldwide, Kabaka Pyramid has been directly affected by the pandemic. He was forced to cancel his spring tour of the United States which was set to commence in March and last for four weeks. The stops on the tour included: Arcata, California and Cave Junction in Oregon; Berkley, Santa Cruz, Morra Bay, Fresno, and Pomona in California; Phoenix, Arizona; Park City, Utah; Denver and Boulder in Colorado; as well as two stops in Austin, Texas, before ending in St Augustine, Florida. “This is certainly a difficult time for me. As you know touring provides a major part of our income and I have not been on the road since the end of September last year...So I have been really forced to depend on the royalty statement and the live shows in-between. But now with COVID-19, we all just have to stay at home. It really is not a problem for me as I am a stay-home person generally. I have a home studio and so everything I need is at home, so it isn't really an issue for me,” he said Kabaka Pyramid is urging his fellow Jamaicans to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus by following the guidelines which have been set out by observing social distancing, washing hands and by staying informed. “We all know what to do and I just encourage everybody to make the right decisions. Don't be overcome by fear. We live in a social media age and that allows for the spread of all kinds of wrong information. We know it's a pandemic but down allow it to result in 'dem panic'. Also use this time to indulge in some self care, and focus on some of the things you have been letting slide over the year. For me, I am making some more riddims and focusing on the production side. Since I now have more time on my hands I am seeing the difference in my work,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
When talking about Morgan Heritage I was about to post "Protect Us Jah", but it's from the 90s, so I didn't (maybe that is not too important). Anyway, that song is on the "Heathen" riddim and it got me thinking about how in this era it seemed to become increasingly popular to do songs over the riddims of Marley songs, something which was not very common earlier. Most riddims that get done over are often built out of just something as minimal as a two chord vamp that loops, sometimes a riddim can have two parts, but it's usually a very simple structure (rooted in the R&B/Soul school of songwriting) which makes it easy to repurpose. But Marley songs from the Island era are often more Pop song constructions with multiple parts including bridges, pre-choruses, intros/outros and other things which maybe made them not too appealing to write over (some have even more irregular structures). Exceptions are things like "Crazy Baldhead" (which had been popular) and the mentioned "Heathen". Island era recordings are also very produced, so to replicate them would take some effort. But in this era it became more common to hear song over recreations of some of the more intricate songs in Bob's catalogue. Here is Tarrus Riley expertly navigating his way though the changes of a well recreated "Coming In From The Cold" with his "Love's Contagious". It also ties in with the Covid-19 mention, since the video takes the "contagious" theme as a jumping of point to recreate a "pandemic" scenario, so fitting for the times. I seem to be making a habit of mention live performance, and Tarrus is no exception. He is out touring every year it seems (except this obviously) and if the opportunity presentes itself to catch his show, take it! He is in his element in front of a crowd, a great performer, he also has an excellent band, led by saxophone legend Dean Fraser, they can be seen in the video. (I am reminded of stepping out from the men's room in a club and literally bumping right into Dean, he has plenty of "padding" so he was ok. A very nice guy.) Tarrus Riley is the son of legendary singer Jimmy Riley, member of the classic line up of The Uniques and later a solo artist in his own right. One of his albums (the Sly&Robbie produced Rydim Driven) can be seen in beenieman's avatar (and a great one it is to), so I guess I am not alone in being a fan. Here is a playlist where someone has been gathering Corona-related Dancehall, artists where on the ball immediately and early in March there were already tons of tracks out, the list is at the moment up t0 65: Sizzla - Corona Virus (COVID-19) | Reggae Music
Tarrus Riley's most famous song is probably "She's Royal": It's a nice track, but that has nothing, except the title, in common with the classic song recorded by Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, etc. Da'ville isn't a name that rang a bell, but I realized I had heard this and some other tracks without knowing who it was, and although I do like smooth sounds some of those are a bit too sugary for my taste. So having Sean Paul on this one (which is a remix, the original is a straight vocal version) spices things up a bit. I like Sean Paul, he seems like a nice guy and he seems to concentrate on making music instead of getting into all the surrounding nonsense that a lot of other artists occupy themselves with, maybe he is seen as less authentic by some, but I think he is cool. (Can I take this moment to big up an artist from my country, Etzia, who has just had what I assume is one of her biggest moments in her career, as a new remix of one of her tracks was just released, and it features Sean Paul: Let My Spirit Fly She is out of Gothenburg, Sweden, but was raised in New York and has roots in Jamaica. I might get back to her, as she as been featured on a couple of big riddims.) Most people do not realize how much Jamaicans love easy listening and adult contemporary, some artists like Celine Dion have like a second paralell career there. Also since Jamaica always tuned into to American radio, and then natuarlly mostly from the southern states, Country music was in the air constantly and was and is very poular. The Reggae Community's Heart Will Always Go On for Celine Dion Nice'n'easy listening: why Jamaica loves Celine Dion and Air Supply Why Reggae Artists Had Crazy Love For Kenny Rogers A Dubplate Special of "The Gambler" kills any sound!: Kenny Rogers - Pharoahe Monch Dub Plate
Here is a live performance of a more recent Tarrus Riley track ,"Guess Who", featuring Mykal Rose (there to sing his chorus part from Black Uhuru's "Guess Who's Coming For Dinner"), the clip also continues with "Simple Blessing" (a song which featured Konshens on the record):
Here is another a little older live perfomance of Tarrus doing "Gimme Likkle One Drop", which is another of his most well known songs (I like these BBC "1Xtra in Jamaica" sessions, they are nice sounding and seem to inspire good performances):
Earlier songs are fine, I've dipped into the 90's on this thread. Not because there's a shortage of 21st Century but it's where you want to go sometimes. I bought the Jimmy Riley LP on release and it's a great cover, and a good album albeit a little hit & miss. I've been using it as my avatar practically since the birth of the internet. His son is a real talent. Thanks for the Corona dancehall link. I've been playing bits of it. Most of them were probably written in 5 minutes but they are fun. Not sure how I feel about Snagga Puss selling a cure though. And my favorite so far is the Dr. Ring Ding track which was unexpected. I was going to post No Woman No Cry by Beenie Man ft Blakkman,Abby Dallas,Nkosi,Little Wicked which is a 2020 release but I'll go with Beenie's 100 Dollar Bag instead:
She's Royal is still my favorite song of Tarrus's. Da'Ville's track just shares the title. He is smoother than most but there is a real maket for that, and he has had a long career. Regarding Sean Paul he does get criticism for being "uptown" and international but I do enjoy a lot of what he does. And it's been a while since he has had a big hit internationally. I'm pretty sure I've heard the name Etzia but wouldn't swear to it. I'll look it up (these threads keep me quite busy with the follow ups). Country music and certain AOR artists are very popular in Jamaica. Air Supply always sound amazed at their continued popularity in Jamaica. I think they still go there every year!
Continuing the Corona Virus theme. Wayne Lonesome - Corona Virus Attack. Note that the song finishes around 2.10 but the video continues in silence.
That is surprising if so, but pleasantly in that case! She was featured on the "Brighter Days" riddim, which is one "international" project I can think of that she has been involved in. Romain Virgo's "Soul Provider" is probably the biggest hit on the riddim (which also has strong efforts from some usual supects such as Christopher Martin and Busy Signal), heard first here in this "megamix": I think Etzia's song "Go Away" is the catchiest though, typical Swedish "pop-hook" songwriting: Etzia - Go Away (Brighter Days Riddim) prod. by Silly Walks Discotheque I think I may have misinterpreted things, maybe added two and two together and gotten five, I know she got into Dancehall because of going to Jamaica, and I somehow turned that into her going there because of family relations, I must have cooked that up. It is also incorrect that I said she was "raised" in New York, I meant to say she was born in New York, she came to Sweden as a young child. I am assuming one of her parents is Swedish, and although I've never heard Kenya mentioned I guess she also has roots there then.
It's from the Brighter Days riddim that I know her name. good on her for getting on the riddim as it's a good one. I see Fiji & J Boog are on it too so I guess they went "outernational" for artists on the riddim. I don't know her origins but youtube comments aren't necessarily accurate
For some reason this video keeps popping up for me. Duane Stephenson - Return What a lovely voice. I thought he'd disappeared as I haven't heard from him in a few years but I typed in "Duane Stephenson 2020" and he has a long list of songs released this year! I guess I've missed the riddims he's been on. I love this video too. For some reason it plays the song twice! I don't mind though.
They like country music in Uganda. Here's Busy Signal with Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" before an enthusiastic, and fascinating, Ugandan audience.
This song topped the charts back in 2011. Haven't heard much if anything of Danglin since. Top tune. Keep On Believing - Danglin
Brinsley Forde & David Hinds - Chillin' (2019 Tuff Gong Version) Legendary singers from @Aswad and @Steel Pulse join forces to sing about slavery days. From 2019
