Month: January 2021

  • “Strong Me Strong” Blessed Earthstrong King Yellowman

    “Strong Me Strong” Blessed Earthstrong King Yellowman

    Nuff Respect to a Dancehall Legend

    Today marks the 65th birthday of Winston Foster, the youth raised in a Jamaican orphanage who was once ostracized for the color of his skin but turned adversity to his advantage on his way to becoming King Yellowman. Born with albinism, the future international celebrity was disowned by his parents but went on to collab with Run-DMC and record a massive catalog of classic tunes, blazing a trail for Jamaican dancehall culture around the world. In honor of his earthstrong, we’ve dipped into the Boomshots archives to share his remarkable story.  Check out Reshma B’s in-depth interview with King Yellowman and his daughter K’Reema recorded backstage in New York City, as well as an in-depth profile published over 20 years ago. Nuff Respect. Video And Article After The Jump…  (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Runkus ‘IN:SIDE’ Album PREMIERE

    HEAR THIS: Runkus ‘IN:SIDE’ Album PREMIERE

    When We’re Not Outside, Take Care of In:Side

    One of the few redeeming aspects of the year 2020 was the emergence of Runkus as a force to be reckoned with at the forefront of Jamaica’s vibrant music scene. As with many so-called “overnight success” stories, most of the rise of this multitalented singer, deejay, rapper, and producer has occurred under the radar. Or, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow so memorably put it:

    The heights by great men reached and kept
          Were not attained by sudden flight,
    But they, while their companions slept,
          Were toiling upward in the night.

    Back in the Christmas season of 2014, Runkus popped up on the Reshma B Chains pop-up shop at Manor Park Plaza in Kingston. Identifying himself as “Paula’s son, aka Determine bwoy, aka Joyce grandson, aka Pam nephew” the tall, slim dreadlocks youth with a wide-brimmed hat proceeded to unleash a lyrical barrage alternating between dreamy spliff-fueled melodies and furious fast-chat syllables that promised greater things to come. Flash forward to this past November, when Runkus rolled out his witty “Quarantine Slide” visuals with Boomshots. Today he blesses us with a full album on the Delicious Vinyl Island label, aptly entitled IN:SIDE. “The project came about simply from the times,” says the artist and producer who lists Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Vybz Kartel—not to mention his brilliantly inventive father Determine—as musical influences. “Being locked down in my home city, Portmore, under order of the Government,” he says, “I took to the only thing I knew, music. In a trying time, it was my salvation.” Album & Videos After The Jump… 

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