Shook Volume One

We're doing a regular news column for Shook, a brand new magazine set up by former Straight No Chaser assistant editor Jez Smadja and featuring work from many of that publication's contributors. The first issue hit the shops this month and includes interviews with Benga and Leroy Burgess alongside features on coupé decalé, bhangra, the sad demise of Goya Music and much more. You can buy the mag direct from their website as well as shops - in the meantime, you can read our column below or by clicking on the scanned image of it...

Queen Ifrica's been getting a lot of hype recently with a trio of songs touching on often-taboo subjects. The Jamaican singer's been recording and releasing great music for a number of years now: 2002's beautiful Peace and Love on the Belly Skin riddim was followed up by tunes like Boxers Or Stockings, Perfect Combination (with Buju Banton) and Burn Some Herbs. But it's her recent singles, Put On Yuh Thong (Below The Waist), Stop The Genocide and Daddy, dealing deftly with a violent domestic argument, the genocide in Darfur and sexual abuse respectively, that have catapulted her to the centre of reggae's attention. Queen Ifrica will be performing at Sting in Jamaica on Boxing Day and is currently working on an album with producers such as Sly and Robbie, Shane Brown and Don Corleon.

Following in the footsteps of hip hop entrepreneurs like Jay-Z and Lil' Jon, bashment superstar Vybz Kartel is launching his very own drink, Vybz Rum. The rum's distributors even go so far as to call Kartel "the Jay-Z of the dancehall music world" with his line in a triple distilled white rum and a five year red rum. Vybz Kartel aka Adidja Palmer is perceptive in recognising the fact that dancehall/reggae's cultural influence has often failed to translate to economic clout and recompense for its pioneers. He describes how his deal demonstrates that, "the [dancehall] industry can be taken seriously as a viable economic force because of the influence and power that dancehall wields as an art form in Jamaica."

From the highly militarised build up to the 1980 general election which spawned lyrics such as Soldier Take Over (General Echo/Yellowman), Raiding Party (Sassa Frass) and Radication Squad (Burro Banton) to the 'night noise' regulations and Operation Ardent (as chronicled by Buju Banton) in the 90s, Jamaican dancehalls have long been in the line of fire for their supposed links to dissent and opposition as much as crime and violence. Within a week in December, two high profile reggae/dancehall events in Jamaica were locked off by the police: first Mavado's birthday bash and then Reggae Fever in Montego Bay. At the time of going to press, there were concerns that the Boxing Day extravaganza Sting, known for its occasionally controversial onstage lyrical clashes, might also come under similar scrutiny from the authorities.

According to New York-based dancehall entertainer Skerrit Bwoy aka Sponge Bob, who was at the Mavado event, "A policeman took the mic and made his 'nobody move, we have soldier ina bush, soldier ina air, soldier ina river' speech. Someone shouted out, "what about the soldier ina panty?" and everyone who could hear was dead with laughter. I think that vexed the police - they locked the gate and searched everyone after that." A police helicopter circled the venue and shone its bright lights on the crowd while the search was conducted; the police found one handgun, a few knives and some ice picks. Only a week later, the Reggae Fever concert in Montego Bay headlined by Beenie Man and Busy Signal was also abruptly halted by a major police operation, though nothing notable was discovered in the ensuing search. A third event, Riding West in Llandilo, was also raided in over the same weekend but the show was over and the venue empty by the time the police arrived.

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 deservedly won Best Urban Album at the Latin GRAMMY Awards for their effort Residente O Visitante. The childhood friends have turned the reggaeton rhythm of their homeland into a solid base for experimentation with pan-Latin sounds like salsa, cumbia and tango. They bring rhythmic variety and humour to a genre which sometimes seems to stagnate sonically even as it becomes more popular outside Puerto Rico. Check out the hilarious video for the Colombian-inspired Cumbia de los Aburridos to get a taste of their refreshing take on the urban Latin style.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 18 January 2008