Marvin Sparks

Just gonna drop these videos here to show the line of UK mic chatting music. Cos sets from these Jamaican's - Wayne Wonder, Frisco Kid and Lady Saw And UK ragga deejay's: Tippa Irie (from Saxon Sound a.k.a. the first UK mic chatters to chart in UK top 40 a.k.a. the sound that popularised fast-chat/double-time "rapping"), Sweetie Irie and General Levy. Please note this is the foundation of UK mic chatting culture. Accept no rewording of our history. Thanks in advance. UK garage MC's from So Solid, Pays As U Go and Heartless Crew Grime MCs Lethal Bizzle, Dizzee Rascal, BBK, Tempa T, Footsie Look pretty familiar, alie? To quote this Skepta interview : Hypetrak: Were people in Jamaica aware of grime? What’s their perception of the genre? Skepta: When we got to the airport, kids were outside welcoming us screaming "Boy Better Know." The internet has made everything so small. They understand of the grime beats because it’s similar to danc...

First off, big up Red Bull. Bigging up the sponsors usually means this is a sponsored post. However, this isn't a sponsored post. They put on a big show and shoved 20,000 people into one place to experience Jamaican culture even if the music wasn't explicitly Jamaican. So big up Jamaica cos none of the music yesterday would exist in the way it does without it and there wouldn't be a format. Jamaica changed the way music was made and consumed. Both were on full display yesterday. Keywords:  Dub/dubplate/special = song cut specially to either big up your sound, kill another sound or both. Most "dub plates" are pretty much extinct - they're just specials - but everyone understands the term dubs. A$AP Flop = A$AP Mob First round = normal juggling/playing music Second round = hosting Third round = Sleeping with the enemy (playing other teams genres of music) Fourth round = dub for dub/five minutes to play songs I will update the post with videos as and ...

Came across this tweet today, (big up @MervinMartin_) the kinda songs I listen to on a daily basis. pic.twitter.com/HZNlKJUQAb — Zeena Xena (@ZeenaXena) September 11, 2014 Memories. The date was week commencing 20/August/2004. I remember these times because I was in New York when these songs were everywhere. Took me back to the year Sean Paul was nominated for Best New Artist Grammy. When dancehall videos by the likes of Elephant Man, TOK, Wayne Marshall etc., were all over MTV Base and Channel U. When Elephant Man was on every remix. When hip hop videos had dancehall dances and dancers. When r&b songs had a  dancehall groove. Number 1 on the US chart as pictured above, Fat Joe "Lean Back" Dancehall-friendly groove + dancehall dance (the rockaway). Elephant Man said "Them thief all me rockaway... cos we just dance it down [here]" referring to the above on "Father Elephant" Number 4: Kevin Lyttle "Turn Me On" This song is...

Yep, you read correctly. Bob Marley's thirty year old greatest hits collection, Legend, sits in the top ten both sides of the Atlantic. "How?" I hear you ask. Well, that's mainly down to Google Play selling the album for 99¢ in US . Not sure what happen but I'm guessing 99p in England? "Oh, that's obvious then," well, kinda but not really. Two questions I ask, why Bob Marley's album and why now? Is it the "Rude" effect ? "We love to celebrate artists like Bob Marley whose music is timeless and beloved," says Google Play head of global music partner management Gwen Shen. "Our hope is that this promotion ... will introduce his music to the next generation of fans and continue his legacy." For the record (pun intended), the set already peaked at #29 over here in the UK without any such promotion and has spent the last couple months in the top 75 (as it does every April to Sept/Oct when big guns come out). It is the...

Remember Lucas DiPasquale "that white boy from Canada singing Popcaan songs" acoustically? Well, he went to Jamaica earlier this summer on a promo trip but Popcaan was out of the country so they didn't get to meet. However, couple weekends ago, the dream came true at Dream Weekend. Popcaan brought him out to shell the Dream Live event. So many artists still haven't got a reaction like this in their lives. Big up him. Look forward to hearing the official releases

As premiered last night by 1Xtra's don Mista Jam, "Drunk & Incapable" is the first official single by Krishane features Melissa Steel and dancehall legend, Beenie Man. Melissa's fresh off a top ten single of her own [ click here to read more ] and a dancehall legend in Beenie Man to seal it is a good look. Little boy-girl singing duet and reggae-tinged vibes with the breakbeat. Hopefully this won't be judged on the summer season, but allowed to flourish in the post-summer settings. FYI Krishane is the 20 year-old son of dancehall icon Barrington Levy. Born and raised in Jamaica, now living over here in UK. Harlesden a.k.a. Brixton if it was in northwest London to be precise. Recently signed to Atlantic so expect to see a proper roll out of this single in the not too distant future. Check out the first song I posted last week,  Typical . Lovers rock vibrations produced by KZ, nephew of Caron Wheeler (Soul II Soul)

New name on the scene to watch out for: Krishane, recently signed to Atlantic records over here in the UK. He's the son of one of dancehall/reggae's greatest singers, Barrington Levy, and he has a set of pipes on him too. Oh, and the song is produced by Caron Wheeler's (of Soul II Soul fame) nephew, KZ. Nice little reggae lovers bubbler.