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  • Joseph Mersa Marley In Memoriam

    Joseph Mersa Marley In Memoriam

    Memories of a Young Lion

    “I don’t really walk around bragging about what I can and can’t do,” Jo Mersa said the first time Boomshots interviewed him, during the summer of 2013. Just the night before he had shared the stage with his father Stephen “Ragga” Marley and his uncle Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, spitting his rapid-fire lyrics to a capacity crowd at London’s Indigo O2. “I don’t talk about it,” he said. “When you hear, you hear it — and you get weh you get.” Video and Full Story After The Jump… 

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  • WTJRC 2022 Heavy Rotation Playlist

    WTJRC 2022 Heavy Rotation Playlist

    All in the Same Boat, Rockin’ on the Same Rock

    Once again it’s on. The last time we were on board the Jamrock Cruise was December 2019, before most people had ever heard the words “Covid-19.” Three years later the big ship is ready to rock with artists like Burning Spear, Shabba Ranks, Damian Marley, Bounty Killer, Sizzla, and more. Check out this Boomshots playlist featuring the latest sounds from all the artists performing on this year’s Jamrock Cruise.
    Heavy Rotation Playlist After The Jump…  (more…)

  • Post-Millennium Memories: On Tricky

    Post-Millennium Memories: On Tricky

    Story By Michael A. Gonzales

    In 1997 I was a Tricky fiend. Over a two-year period beginning with his debut Maxinquaye in 1995, Tricky and his musical partner Martina Topley-Bird were recording and releasing some of the most innovative material of that era. And what an era the ’90s were for reggae, hip hop, and the UK underground, which seeped its into my speakers all the way in Brooklyn. Follow-up projects Nearly God, Grassroots, Pre-Millennium Tension (recorded at Grove Studios in Ocho Rios) and the many remixes took his sound giant steps beyond the other artists were doing. Story & Videos After The Jump… 
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  • WATCH THIS: Baby Cham x Bounty Killer “BLOOD CLXXT” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Baby Cham x Bounty Killer “BLOOD CLXXT” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    Nobody Nah Talk, So Madhouse Haffi Cuss BLOOD CLXXT 

    The term “BLOOD CLXXT” has a rich and complex history in the Jamaican vernacular. “You can’t get more authentic Jamaican than blood claat,” says dancehall star Baby Cham. “Blood claat is the only word we use for joy, frustrations, stress, happiness.” Officially considered a profanity on the island, the word can get an artist in a whole heap of trouble if they utter it onstage. But given the mood of the times all over the world, there was no other word to sum of the vibes of moment. And so of course the dancehall super-producer Dave Kelly chose the word as the title of the first single from Baby Cham and Bounty Killer’s highly anticipated collaborative EP Time Bomb on the legendary Madhouse Records imprint. Boomshots is proud to premiere the official video for the tune today, along with “Buss The Dance,” a video recap of the big Madhouse tribute which took place last week at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay. Video After The Jump…  (more…)

  • Tanya Stephens & Patra Reason About Their New Collaboration “50”

    Tanya Stephens & Patra Reason About Their New Collaboration “50”

    When Two Legends Connect

    As a wise woman once said, “Nothing before the time.” Two of Jamaica’s most respected recording artists—Tanya Stephens and Patra—recently joined forces for the first time on a new song called “50.” The result? “Revolutionized big woman shenanigans.” Their historic collaboration will be featured on Tanya’s 10th studio album Some Kinda Madness, which launches in September 2022 via Tad’s Records. In this exclusive Boomshots interview, the dancehall legends speak with Reshma B about their lives and careers as strong women in the music industry, and why everything gets better with age.  Video After The Jump…  (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Watch Gyal” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Watch Gyal” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    The Turf Prezident & Young Pow Connect in the Vegas Desert

    Boomshots proudly presents another exclusive world premiere from dancehall’s most versatile hitmaker. Last time we checked in with Busy Signal he was “Cruisin‘” with his girl in a vintage droptop on some smoothed-out soul vibes. This time Busy’s racing through the windswept desert in a brand-new baby-blue Corvette dodging dinosaur bones and giant gorillas like a hothead mad max. The woman by his side is Kenyan-Japanese model Tiffany Keiko Hatano. The track was produced by Grammy-winning producer Sean ‘YoungPow’ Diedrick, and happens to be the first release under the brand new Independent label YoungPow Productions. Director Kieran Khan delivers another next-level visual experience, with larger-than-life digital effects that sneak up on you when you least expect it. “You know this is the summer gyallis song so we had take it to the desert and really heat things up,” says Busy. “The video really showcases what the track is all about: a lifestyle… the gyallis lifestyle.” Video After The Jump… (more…)

  • Damian Marley, Shabba Ranks, and Burning Spear Speak on the Return of the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise

    Damian Marley, Shabba Ranks, and Burning Spear Speak on the Return of the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise

    All In The Same Boat, Rockin’ On The Same Rock


    “All in the same boat, rockin’ on the same rock,” Bob Marley sang on the Wailers’ 1971 classic “    Don’t Rock My Boat.” Produced by the late great Lee “Scratch” Perry, the song is a plea for unity in keeping with the time-honored values of reggae music. “Got to get together,” Bob sang, “loving each other.” Some forty years after its release “Don’t Rock My Boat” became a sort of unofficial theme song for the Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise, an yearly musical excursion created by Bob’s youngest son Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and his longtime manager Dan Dalton. Of course the official cruise anthem would be Jr. Gong’s Grammy-winning smash hit “Welcome to Jamrock.”

    “How blessed we are to have the opportunity to be doing this,” Jr. Gong said back in 2014 when the first Jamrock cruise set off from Miami to Jamaica, with an all-star lineup of the greatest Jamaican reggae and dancehall stars on board, as well as many of the world’s top reggae sound systems. “All of us who are on the cruise are part of a historic moment,” Jr. Gong predicted. “Both for ourselves and on behalf of the genre of reggae music.” Or as the world-famous recording artist and selector Shinehead put it that first year, “I only fantasized about shit like this. It’s like Rub-A-Dub Disneyland!”


    Over the next six years, the Jamrock Cruise emerged as one of reggae’s premier annual events, hosting historic performances year after year and selling out so quickly the organizers expanded to a larger vessel. As the sixth cruise wrapped up in 2019 with powerful performances by the likes of Koffee, Popcaan, Buju Banton, and Skip Marley, the Jamrock team was looking forward to smooth sailing ahead. But then as the new decade began, the whole world changed. 

    A worldwide viral outbreak shut down the cruise industry and many other aspects of life as we once knew it. Since then two Jamrock Cruises had to be postponed, and cruisers were invited to refund their deposit. “But many of our loyal supporters have held on to their reservations,” says Dalton. “I think people have been yearning for Jamrock more than ever. The community vibe on the ship has always been love and unity and diversity, celebrated under the umbrella of reggae music and Jamaican culture. This cruise is more than a festival to be honest. It’s not just a good time. Jamrock is more like a food for the soul kinda thing. Jamrock brings people together. That’s what reggae music always did.” 

    Today VIBE and Boomshots are announcing the official lineup for the seventh Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise, which includes two legendary first-time performers: Burning Spear and Shabba Ranks. Video After The Jump…  (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Cruising” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Busy Signal “Cruising” Official Music Video PREMIERE

    The Turf President Takes A Smokey Robinson Classic To The Dancehall

    Busy Signal is dancehall’s most versatile hitmaker. Ready for some roughneck reality? Cue up “Stay So” and watch every badman in the place buss a blank. When it’s party time, drop “Watch Out For This (Bumaye),” his outernational Major Lazer collab, and watch the whole place tun up. If it’s bar work you want, check “All In One” and watch Busy brutalize a grip of classic hip hop beats like the five fingers of death. And when it comes to some smooth sounds for the ladies, the Turf Prezident knows just how to set a romantic mood. “Some of Busy Signal’s biggest hits have been on the lovers’ records,” says Junior Brown, founder of Nuh Rush Records. Romantic rub-a-dub selections like “One More Night” and “Night Shift” have become a highlight of every Busy Signal performance. Today VIBE and Boomshots proudly premiere the official music video for “Cruising,” a Nuh Rush production which is soon to become another fixture in Busy’s catalog. “This will be one for the books,” says Busy, describing his dancehall remake of the Smokey Robinson R&B staple. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to do such a classic song in my own way and style.” Video After The Jump…  (more…)

  • WATCH THIS: Morgan Heritage ft. Rytikal, Jahshii & I-Octane “Headline Fi Frontpage” Lyric Video PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Morgan Heritage ft. Rytikal, Jahshii & I-Octane “Headline Fi Frontpage” Lyric Video PREMIERE

    The Truth Must Reveal

    It’s been a long time since we’ve heard new music from Morgan Heritage, but today the Grammy-winning brothers Peetah, Gramps and Mr. Mojo came through with a hard-hitting new track featuring guest verses from some of the freshest young voices in the dancehall. Rising stars Rytikal aka Puryti—fresh off his victory in court—and the born fighter named Jahshii join veteran dancehall star I-Octane aka the Hot Ras to hold up a mirror to the ills of society and burn a hotter fire on the news media that pushes mindless clickbait while refusing to report the real story. This is what the late great Fela Kuti had in mind when he said “Music is the weapon of the future.”  Video After The Jump…
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  • WATCH THIS: Jo Mersa Marley “Eternal” Visual Mixtape PREMIERE

    WATCH THIS: Jo Mersa Marley “Eternal” Visual Mixtape PREMIERE

    A Day in the Life of a Young Lion

    “I don’t really walk around bragging about what I can and can’t do,” Jo Mersa told us the first time Boomshots interviewed him, during a London studio session in 2013. “I don’t talk about it,” he said. “When you hear, you hear it — and you get weh you get.” Since that first conversation, the young lion has demonstrated his “action speaks louder than words” approach to the game, heating up the streets with tunes like “Bad So.” The Comfortable EP would soon follow in 2014, and subsequent scorchers like “Rock and Swing” as well as standout cuts on various Set Up Shop compilations from the Ghetto Youths Camp in rapid succession. And let’s not forget those guest appearances on Stephen Marley’s Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life and Morgan Heritage’s Grammy-winning album Strictly Roots. Earlier this year, Jo Mersa stepped it up to another level with his Eternal EP.  “No more will I roam,” Jo Mersa states on the EP’s opening track, “Guess Who’s Coming Home,” meaning he’s staying close to home. Stylistically the project roams freely amongst varied sounds and styles. The first two singles from the project are the dancehall-flavored “Yo Dawg” featuring Busy Signal and “Made It” featuring rootical DJ Kabaka Pyramid. “I love dancehall just how I love reggae,” Jo told us from early. “Well, not just like — me love reggae more… But I still have a love for dancehall which I can’t ignore.” That love comes to the forefront today with as Boomshots proudly premieres the Eternal Mixtape, a collaboration with Bashment, Disco Neil, and Silent Addy, and hosted by Supa Hype. The Mixtape features songs from Jo Mersa’s critically acclaimed Eternal EP as well as exclusive freestyles and dubplates with guest appearances from Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, Kabaka Pyramid and Black Am I. Check out the world premiere of the visuals—shot and edited by Disco Neil—right here. Video After The Jump… 

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  • Rygin King and U Roy Collab on “Stop That Train”

    Rygin King and U Roy Collab on “Stop That Train”

    New Generation Meets Foundation

    “Me get a dream last night,” Rygin King sang, flashing across the stage at Reggae Sumfest 2018, “and the dream tell me things ah go change.” At that precise moment, three years ago this July, the young reggae star’s life changed forever. Rygin was chosen as one of three Montego Bay artists to headline Dancehall Night at Sumfest, Jamaica’s premiere music festival. To see his face on posters all over his hometown meant so much, especially in a year when MoBay was placed under a state of emergency due to an upsurge of violent crime in the city known as a picturesque tourist mecca. “A long time man a suffer,” Rygin sang in the early morning sunshine and the people felt it. “And all now, tings still a di same / Mi just wan’ yuh have faith fi mi / When mi touch di road Daddy pray fi mi.” Following that landmark performance, Rygin emerged as one of the hottest new artists in Jamaica, flooding the streets with big songs like “Powerful,” “Star Life,” and “Clean,” and booking lucrative gigs in the U.S. and Europe. On his 2021 release “Stop That Train,” Rygin collaborates with the late great Daddy U Roy, a dancehall pioneer who took sound system slang to the top of the charts back in 1970. Besides showing the power of his vocals on the historic collab, Rygin also connects dancehall’s new generation with its foundation. “It’s a great feeling to collaborate with a legend like Daddy U-Roy,” says Rygin King. “Not many people end up on a track with one of their elders, so I want to give thanks to everyone who made it possible… big up Trojan Jamaica and U-Roy. ‘Stop That Train’ is a classic song that is part of our culture.” Video After The Jump…  (more…)

  • Blessed Earthstrong Super Cat

    Blessed Earthstrong Super Cat

    Big Up The Wild Apache Every Time

    On this day in 1963 a dancehall legend was born in the Kingston neighborhood of Cockburn Pen. The child of a Black mother and an Indian father, William Anthony Maragh was given the nickname Wild Apache by his lyrical mentor Early B the Doctor. He is best known to reggae and hip hop fans the world over as Super Cat. Stylistically, Cat’s DJ style was strongly influenced by the late great Daddy U Roy, a dancehall pioneer who also hailed from Cockburn Pen. Cat honed his skills on sound systems like Killamanjaro, mentoring future champions like Ninjaman. In the early 90s he relocated to New York City where he established his own Wild Apache label. While chilling at the Bronx nightclub Act III, Cat met rap superstar Heavy D and they would eventually collaborate on classics like “Big and Ready” and “Dem No Worry We.” Super Cat would continue to dominate the reggae/hip-hop crossover zone with early ’90s joints like the “Ghetto Red Hot” remix and the “Dolly My Baby” remix that shed an early light on a young up-and-coming Jamerican MC known as Biggie Smalls. The last time we reasoned with Sean Paul he made sure to give major props to Cat, who was a major influence on his own lyrical flow. (Little-known fact: Rob Kenner owes his whole 17-year VIBE career to Super Cat since his first article for the magazine was a feature-length profile of Super Cat, it’s only right that we Today we pay maximum respect to a ghetto youth and lyrical genius who blazed a trail for Jamaican music worldwide. Check out some of our classic interviews with Mr. Cat over the years. Respect in all aspect. Video After The Jump…  

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