I also went to the (better) second night at Rebel Salute in Jamaica

So yeah, I said I'd give you second date review in the first night review post. I realised reaching so early the previous night was a mistake, so went at 1am, fully sleeped up after a long nap. Smartest move possible. I wanted to see Exco Levi and Cali P but so it go more time.

If the first sight was about intriguing performances, second night was about the artists I'm a fan of but UK reggae promoters don't see fit to bring them over. It's better seeing them in their natural habitat anyway.

That time I went to Jamaican reggae festival Rebel Salute [First Night Review]

I've always wanted to go to Rebel Salute. For those who don't know, Rebel Salute is an event created by roots artist Tony Rebel. The now two-night (and morning) event is held in Ocho Rios since moving from St Elizabeth where it moved from about two years ago. This year was the 22nd staging of the event.

[Photo credit: Rebel Salute website]

Rebel Salute is a straight conscious music event. Even when they've booked Lady Saw, Bounty Killer and Mavado, all had to perform strictly clean and conscious material to fit the movement (yes, they do have enough suitable songs). No alcohol or meat is served - alcohol is confiscated at the gate. Drugs aren't allowed either. Herbs are cool though. Strangely enough, Red Bull are a big sponsor. Wouldn't have said they fit the ital description, but hey, so it go. Food stalls sell fresh fruit and pescetarian-friendly food.

Sting 2014 thoughts

Just gonna re-post my tweets here cos they sum up everything about Sting 2014.

"Sting was worse than I thought it would be [and that was bad]. Its the lack of professionalism and man taking on the war ting too far that kills it

Sting could be a great show on paper. Make the up comers work, reggae artists, clash vibes, then end it with the top man doing hits

Instead Laing gives us reggae artists, Capleton > EDHM > Tarrus > nobodies > clashes > nobodies > Demarco > Gully Bop > dead clashes

Killer, Cobra, Spice, Lady Saw and Ninja Man should be at Sting every year. They have Sting-friendly catalogues. I-Octane should be there too

Sting's problem is it no longer books headline artists to compensate for lack of worthy newcomers. That was a (lack of) new talent showcase

Capleton should've closed the show. I-Wayne penultimate performer/after the clashes. Would've softened the nonsense that came before it

In the end, we waited for nothing. Clashes are too unpredictable to have as the last impression so make sure you go out with a bang. Simple

Dancehall night at Sumfest is the best place for performances. Sting just has clashes, history + more cultural importance so stronger name"

Big up Sashae in the clashes against two women, Don Maestro against Likke Dainjah, Capleton, Tarrus Riley and Gully Bop. He isn't an artist to be taken seriously, he's there for fun and make us feel good. A man man would walk passed on the street and look down on, up there on the stage representing himself. He's like if Susan Boyle was a Jamaican dancehall deejay.

JA influence on UK and world in 2014

Catch my review of dancehall in 2014 on Red Bull dot com

We can also start with Logan speaking similarities between grime and dancehall here and Sticky & General Levy talking early ragga raving experiences and Jamaican influences here. Absolute pleasure speaking with all three dons.

It's that time again; end of year reviews come rolling it. The time we all look at happened in the year while asking where has time gone? But seriously, I remember this time last year quite well. Anyway, as they say, time waits for no one. As Oasis said "You gotta roll with it!"

(Previous yearbooks can be found here.)

So let's have a butchers at what happened in the world of bashment-influenced music, mainly from a UK perspective (but not restricted to). Oh, and as much as I'd love it to be, it isn't in any chronological order. They just appear as they appeared in my brain, ya dig wah me ah seh?

JA influence on the world's music in 2013

So, this is a bit late, but I didn't have the time to do it last year, nor find it suitable at any other point this year. I'm not even gonna write up because its a waste of both our times. Straight links, couple embeds and a sentence or few about the notable ones.

Amplify Dot - "I'm Good" feat. Busta Rhymes samples Buju Banton "Champion"
MO - "Hot"
Tanika ft. Sneakbo - "Hooker Heels"
Daley - "Silly Games" - Janet Kay cover
Show N Prove - "Zimmer Frame" (samples Prince Buster "Al Capone")
J Spades ft DVS - Live Life (dancehall style mic chatting)
Giggs - Yes Yes Yes (first four bars of each verse), "Cool Nuh" ft. Wretch 32
Shy FX - "Soon Come" ft Liam Bailey
Ms Dynamite & Shy FX - Cloud 9
Ellie Goulding "Burn" #1
Sean Paul and The Saturday's "What About Us?" - UK #1
Stylo G - "Soundbwoy" - #18 - first UK bashment artist to top 40 in 10 years
Sneakbo - "Ring a Ling" - #21 (someone imitated Shabba Ranks' "Ting A Ling")
Sean Paul - "Other Side of Love" - #7

Rudimental's platinum-shifting album had a couple Jamaican influenced stuff like the drums on Emeli Sande-assited "More Than Anything" and drums on certain parts of "Right Here" and their dub-inspired "Solo". They also covered Paramore's "Now" + Bob Marley "Sun is Shining" in a ska style and fashion on Radio 1 Live Lounge



Miguel on Jools Holland - "Do You" x Bob Marley "Stir It Up" - vid isn't on Youtube.

Diddy went to Jamaica to experience the culture inna him body.



Beyonce put a slice of "Limb by Limb" into "Baby Boy" and got "Dutty Wine" trending via her Superbowl halftime show
Bruno Mars traced his hit single's influences "Locked Out of Heaven" back to The Police then back to reggae via the Marley's and special guest Rihanna at the Grammy's. His explicit reggae song is "Show Me"
BET Awards had a reggae segment with Chaka Demus & Pliers, Dawn Penn, Beenie Man and Elephant Man. 106 & Park did something for Carbbiean Day parade
Rihanna dancing to Busy Signal

Beyonce ft. Mr Vegas - Standing on the Sun
Asap Ferg "Shabba" + Shabba on the remix
Selena Gomez - "Like a Champion" samples Buju Banton "Champion"
Busta Rhymes - "Twerk It" ft. Nicki Minaj + remix feat. Vybz Kartel

Busy Signal + Major Lazer - "Bumaye". Their best song so far. Absolute shellings.



Eddie Murphy ft. Snoop Lion - "Red Light" isn't as cringe as it looks on paper. It's actually ok, considering
Drake - No New Friends (blatant result of listening to dancehall), "5AM in Toronto" uses Popcaan's "Y pree"
2 Chainz - "Feds Watching" produced of Pharrell on a Jamaican vibe. Someone at the end chatting patois.
A$AP Rocky - "Wild For The Night" produced by Skrillex on the reggae side of dubstep
French Montana - "Freaks" + Remix feat. Mavado, Wale and Rick Ross
Jay-Z - "The Crown" samples Sizzla "Solid as a Rock" / "Versus"
Kanye West "I'm In It" feat. Assassin / "I Am a God" samples Capleton / "Send It Up" samples Beenie Man "Memories" / there's one featuring Popcaan but I can't be arsed to find it.

Musiq & Syleena Johnson released a reggae album called 9ine. Snoop Dogg played dress up and renamed himself Snoop Lion for album Reincarnated.

Popcaan - "Unruly Rave" vid directed by one OVO guy
Drake in Mighty Crown dance
Mavado ft. Nicki Minaj - "Give It All To Me"
Lady Saw ft. Flo Rida - Heels On

Some European hits
Phar Phar - La Mig Rulle Dig
TopGunn - 21 - album hit #21 in Denmark
Djames Braun -  Kvinder Og Kanoner - #28 in Denmark
MØ - Pilgrim - #11 in Denmark
Klumben - "Mit Hjerte" - cover of Wayne Marshall "My Heart" - #25 in Denmark



Cheek ft. Jukka Poika - "Jossu" - #1 Finland.
Nicholas Mayorca - "Mi Cancion" in Spain. Not sure on chart position but 4m views on YouTube.
Yandar - Te Pinaron Pajaritos - 7m views on YouTube.
Chaka y Rakata - "Raka Raka" this ran clubs in Havana, Cuba.
Prince Royce - "Darte un Besos" - 436m views on YouTube.

Burna Boy is basically a bashment artist based in Nigeria. His whole style. Explicit examples are "Smooth Sailing" and "Yawa Dey"(below)



Maleek Berry supplied Wizkid with a bashment-flavour for banger "The Matter"

That time I experienced a Protoje/reggae show in France

As much as I'd love to tell you all the stories and things I witnessed on my travels to a reggae show in Europe (except UK obviously) for the first time, please remember I have a biography to sell in a few decades. I hope you understand my rights to withhold certain aspects of my life until then. If not, tough innit. You won't know now.

So anyway, went to Boulogne for the first time in my life apart from those times I got dragged along on coach trips to stock up the alcohol in time for Christmas. And I'd like to add, none of the alcohol was bought for or by me nor consumed by me. My sole purpose was extra hand to carry bags. Some might call this child slavery, I just know it as "You ah di bwoy, ih!" as another carrier bag is shoved into my hands. Bearing in mind, I'm short and slight, I'm definitely not a contender for "People you can depend on when you need bag carriers" lists.

But we digress. So yeah, Boulogne. I don't recall meeting anybody that spoke English for starters - apart from security in the venue (not even the guest list person) - so for someone who learnt Spanish and says "gracias" before correcting himself to say "merci", this was a slight issue. Like, when asking for directions to the venue! Found it eventually, after walking around for about 45 mins. These times, it was about a 10mins walk from the train station.

So the sold-out show featured Protoje sandwiched between two French-speaking acts, Yaniss Odua - who's from Martinique (and everything else you can make out on this French wikipedia page) - and Parisian band, Danakil, who closed the show. It was proper interesting because I couldn't understand the artists either side, so it mainly the feeling of the songs, style of riddims and crowd reaction. I'm sure there were people in the building who didn't understand Protoje, so we were all together as one on that.

RIPower Garnett Silk - 20 years today

One of Jamaica's greatest talents left earth in physical form on this day 20 years ago today aged just 28. It is reported that the fire started after a gun hit a canister in the house causing a fire. Dunno who or why the gun was fired, however, all that matters to me is he tried to rescue his mum from said fire in the house and they both died.



I was only young when he died so most of what I know about Garnett Silk are how his songs made me feel. And on that note, I'm just gonna post some of my favourite tunes.