VP Records has collaborated with the Vans team, famous for their shoe line popular among skaters, to produce the Dub Rockers Mixtape Vol. 1.
DJ Juan Love, who actually was a professional skater and whose real name is John Cardiel, produced the mixtape and has an inspiring story of his own. In 2003, after a terrible car accident, doctors predicted that he might never walk again. He used reggae music as part of his recovery and began DJing. Today he is a brand ambassador for Vans, a professional DJ, and a judge of both skating contests and DJing events worldwide.
The mixtape has 21 tracks and features mixes of the latest music by reggae heavy hitters including Alborosie, Morgan Heritage, Luciano, Beres Hammond, Alpha Blondy, and Tarrus Riley.
You can stream or download the mixtape for free at the VP Records SoundCloud page by clicking on this link:
1. Java (Prince Polo Remix) - The RBC featuring Augustus Pablo & Tommy McCook 2. Lighter's Up - Snoop Lion featuring Mavado & Popcaan 3. Change - Natty featuring Alborosie & Busy Signal 4. The Gold (Dubmatix Double Dutch Remix) - John Brown's Body & Peetah Morgan 5. In My Arms Riddim - Fat Eyes 6. Easy To Love - Maxi Priest 7. In My Arms - Beres Hammond 8. Never Be Alone Again - Nikesha Lindo 9. Never Be Alone Again Instrumental - Fat Eyes 10. I'm Not Crazy - Don Carlos 11. Long Time Ago - Eek-A-Mouse 12. Heartland - Stick Figure 13. Dawn of Time - Tribal Seeds 14. Here Come the Kings - Morgan Heritage 15. Rebel/Worldwide Rebellion - Tarrus Riley/Captain Sinbad 16. Stop Fight Reggae - Anthony B 17. By Jah Will - Luciano 18. Super Powers - Alpha Blondy 19. Positive - Fortunate Youth 20. Smoking Bomb Bud - J. Boog & Fiji 21. Ska Militia - Sacto Storytellers
This is a powerful video from Morgan Heritage, off of Here Come the Kings, their first studio album in five years. Produced by Maximilian Shelton, the vocals and instrumentals show why the group is true reggae royalty.
Jacksonville reggae artist Sgt. Remo is back at it with the release of his latest video, "Thunder and Lightning", from his Life is for Living EP. To find out more about this up-and-coming singer, check out his interview on this blog.
Sicilian-born reggae singer Alborosie released his self-produced album Sound the System in North America on Greensleeves Records September 30. Available in Europe since July, the album continues the singer's mission to produce top-quality riddims and conscious lyrics that promote his Rastafarian beliefs. A tour is scheduled beginning February 2014, with dates and locations to be announced.
Highlights of the album include a guest appearance by Ky-mani Marley for a remake of "Zion Train", as well as a special collaboration with the iconic group The Abyssinians, who sing in Amharic on "Give Thanks", paying homage to Ethiopia, the country dear to the hearts of Rastas everywhere. Alborosie also shows that he can more than hold his own among the dancehall crew with tracks like "Rock the Dancehall" and "Who Run the Dance".
Alberto D' Ascola was born in the town of Marsala in Sicily. In his teens he moved to Milan, where he eventually joined the band Reggae National Tickets. Touring with the band through Europe and eventually Jamaica completely changed his life. He relocated to Jamrock and started working at Gee Jam Studios in Portland. Over a decade later, he is still going strong and leaving a lasting imprint on the roots reggae scene.
photo courtesy of With Love PR
Sound the System Track Listing (Greensleeves Records)
1. Intro
2. Play Fool (To Catch Wise)
3. Rock the Dancehall
4. Zion Train (featuring Ky-mani Marley)
5. To Whom It May Concern
6. Who Run the Dance
7. Goodbye (featuring Nina Zilli)
8. U Got to Be Mine
9. Love is the Way
10. There is a Place (featuring Kemar)
11. Positiveness
12. Don't Pressure It
13. Warrior (featuring Nature)
14. Give Thanks (featuring The Abyssinians)
15. Shut U Mouth
16. Outro
Today's video of the day is "Hide Away" by Kingston, Jamaica native Tessanne Chin. She is actually a contestant on this season's The Voice. Though most Americans don't know who she is, including the four judges on the show, reggae fans know how amazing her voice is. "Hide Away" was on the Reggae Gold 2007 compilation. Love this tune!
On Wednesday, September 11, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley announced the first annual "Welcome to Jamrock" Reggae Cruise. Departing from Miami, Florida on October 20, 2014, the cruise will make stops in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, returning to Miami on October 25.
Confirmed artists for the cruise include Marley brothers Damian, Stephen, and Julian, Shaggy, Jah Cure, Tarrus Riley, Busy Signal, Morgan Heritage, Sean Paul, Christopher Ellis, Black Am I, Wayne Marshall, Etana, and Jo Mersa. In addition, iconic sound systems and DJs' Stone Love, Mighty Crown, Renaissance, and David Rodigan will be on hand to ensure that passengers are never without a moment's entertainment.
The Jamaica Tourist Board has officially endorsed the cruise as a way to bring attention to the beauty that Jamaica has to offer and at the same time providing top-notch entertainment to reggae lovers from across the globe.
Tickets are on sale at the official Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise website, where you can check out the itinerary as well as view the different cabins available. You can also order by phone at 1-800-248-7471. Payment plans are available with deposits starting at $250 per person. If you are interested, you need to jump on this now, because the cruise was just announced and some cabins are already sold out according to the site.
"Out in the streets, they call it murderrrr!!!!" De cruise gwaan be mad mi seh!
When thinking of the home countries of most reggae artists, naturally the Caribbean islands are foremost in mind, followed by England, America, and even France. Rarely do people think of reggae artists hailing from Mexico. Sgt. Remo,who currently makes his home here in Jacksonville but hails from Mexico, shows that good reggae crosses cultural and geographical borders.
Sgt. Remo is making waves in the reggae scene both locally and abroad with the recent release of the official video for "No Man Stranded", off of his EP, Life is for the Living, released towards the end of 2012. "No Man Stranded" is a conscious tune that reassures listeners that Jah will never leave "no man stranded". It was featured as a Video of the Day on this blog in June.
Recently, Sgt. Remo took time out of his busy scheduled writing and performing to answer a few questions about himself and his music.
CVWA: Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started in music? SR:My name is Remo and I was born in Juarez,
Mexico. I grew up there until I moved across the border to El Paso, TX. A lot
of people ask me how I sing reggae music being from that area and I guess it's
a valid question. That area does not have a strong Caribbean population or a
strong influence in reggae but I started following reggae music from a young
age and just fell in love it from day one. I've always sung from a young age
but I began to chant dancehall around the year 2000-2001. When I lived in Corpus
Christi, TX I met a Guyanese named Ali and a Jamaican by the name of Mistah
Blaze and we started working together voicing over riddims and recording mostly
dancehall songs. We recorded a few mix tapes and did a bunch of dubs but it
never really went anywhere for me although it set a foundation for what would
come later.
In 2005 I began to be more active in performing which took the music to a next
level. I could say I honed my skills when I moved to New Mexico and lived there
from '04 to '08. I was very surprised to find a strong reggae community in New
Mexico. I performed quite a bit there
with Brotherhood Soundsystem and a lot of stage shows. During this time I
started recording more reggae and less dancehall. During the last few years I
realized I needed to grow not only as an artist but also as a businessman in
order to be successful in the music. The only route there is for most artists
today, especially in reggae, is as an independent and this can be a tough road
if you are not well prepared. So I have made a lot of effort to improve myself
musically, of course, and also in different areas such as production, marketing,
and distribution.
CVWA: What inspires you?
SR: Today my music is more reggae than dancehall
although if you listen closely you can tell I'm still more of a lyricist than a
singer. I grew up on Supercat, Buju, Barrington, Shabba and that era of reggae so
my influences are in the dancehall but I like singing as well. I don't sing
slack lyrics because my children are my biggest fans so whenever I write I have
to write something worthy of their listening. As I've grown I've realized the
impact of music on our culture and how powerful of a tool it can be. With this
in mind I try to make a positive impact through my music. There is already too
much negativity in the music and, although I respect some of it as
entertainment, I think we should be mindful of what message we put out there
and how that will affect the listeners.
CVWA: What is your latest project?
SR:Since last year I have stayed pretty busy with music
with the release of my EP and a few releases on various riddim albums. Late
last year I released my EP titled Life is for Living. This is my first solo
project and I have been steadily promoting it since then. This past July I
released the official video for the first single titled "No Man Stranded" which
was filmed here in Jacksonville. It was a fun experience being involved in the
production and editing from start to finish. I learned quite a bit from it. I
just finished filming a second video a few days ago in New Mexico. I traveled
there to do a performance and also to shoot a video for the song "Thunder &
Lightning", also from the EP. I am also planning to shoot a third video for
another song from the EP. That should wrap up the promotion for the EP.
In September I will be releasing an extended play
single titled "Call on Jah". Don Goliath, a producer out of Germany, reached out
to me about voicing on one of his riddims and after a few weeks we had the
finished product. It sounds really nice. It’s a little different. He is a
dubstep producer and he also sings a real catchy chorus on the song. The next
big project I am working on is a follow up to the previously released Reggae
SoulJahs Worldwide Vol. 1 which we released in 2011.
Reggae SoulJahs Worldwide Vol 2 is shaping up to be
a huge project with a strong lineup of artists. The goal of Vol. 2 is to gather
a truly “worldwide” group of artists, not only from JA but from around the world
to showcase the vast global reach that reggae music has accomplished. I can’t
really mention the list of artists just yet, except for myself, since we are
still negotiating with several artists but this project is going to be great
when we are finished. We have carefully reached out to artists who proudly
represent their countries but are still delivering genuine culture reggae
music. I am working with EA Productions from St. Petersburg, FL who has
already produced several of my songs including "No Man Stranded". Some of the
countries which will be represented include Jamaica, UK, Germany, Norway,
Gambia, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Suriname, Netherlands and possibly a few more.
CVWA: What plans do you have for the future? SR:I have so many plans for the near future and also
down the road. I will probably be finished with a full length album next summer
after the promotion of Reggae SoulJahs Worldwide Vol 2. I would like to do a
tour next year as well throughout the US, Central and South America.I've really had a good time filming videos
and I would like to continue to put out some good quality videos that are
interesting to watch. There is so much left to be said in music. I want to
cover a few topics that I think are not being addressed fully. Family is the
strength of our societies. Families set the foundation for young people to
carry on the legacy of their predecessors and I don’t see these values being
promoted in mainstream media. If anything, I think there is an assault on the
value of family and I think we can do a better job of bringing this, and many
other important topics, to the forefront. So I’m not sure how we will be able
to accomplish all of this but I know Jah will continue to provide the guidance. CVWA:How can we keep in contact with you? SR: Official Website www.sgtremo.com
