Tag: Kingston Jamaica

Throwback: R.I.P. Thom Bell

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms pay tribute to the legendary Thom Bell.

Born Mark Anthony Myrie, the Kingston, Jamaica-born and-raised dancehall legend Buju Banton is widely considered one of the most significant,  well-regarded and commercially successful recording artists in Jamaican music. Starting his career back in 1987 with a string of singles, Myrie came to national and international prominence with his first two albums, 1992s Stamina Daddy and Mr. Mention — with Mr. Mention at the time, becoming the the best-selling album in Jamaican history.  Adding to a breakthrough year, he broke Bob Marley‘s record for #1 singles in Jamaica.

1993 saw the Kingston-born and-based dancehall artist sign with Mercury Records, who released that year’s Voice of Jamaica. Interestingly, by the mid-1990s his work became more influenced by his Rastafari faith — especially on albums like ‘Til Shiloh and Inna Heights. As a result of his critical and commercial success, Banton has collaborated with a number of internationally renowned artists in a variety of genres and styles including hip-hop, Latin and punk rock, as well as Bob Marley’s sons.

The dancehall legend recently released an appropriately titled 4/20 anthem “Ganja Man.” Fittingly, the track is all irie vibes and strutting riddims paired with Banton’s imitable vocals.  Puff, puff pass y’all. And happy 4/20 to those who celebrate!

 

 

 

 

Born Damone Gervais Walker in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica,the up-and-coming emcee, songwriter and dancehall artist, best known as DeeWunn can trace the origins of his music career to roughly 2006 when he had his first child while working as Medical Records Clerk at Kingston Public Hospital.  Never one to be satisfied with the mundanity of the 9-5 life, he found himself creatively bursting at the seams. Feeling as though he lacked the freedom he needed to truly required to attain his dreams, the up-and-coming Jamaican dance hall artist made a leap of faith by quitting his day job to start a music career. At one point, he was an in-house writer for GeeJam Studios, writing songs for Mystic Davis, Charly B., A-Game, Nailah Blackman, Nordia Baker, Lily Allen and others.

Dancehall act Ward 21 scooped up Walker as a songwriter and vocalist in 2010 — and while as a member of Ward 21, he spent time penning songs for labelmates like Timberlee, Natalie Storm and others. In 2013, Walker’s Kunley McCarthy-produced  “Mek It Bunx Up” featuring Marcy Chin became an unexpected smash-hit that received attention internationally from the likes of Diplo, BBC 1Xtra’s Seani B, ZJ Johnny Kool, Hot 97′s Massive B and others. Adding to a growing profile, “Mek It Bunx Up” received spins in some of the world’s hottest nightclubs.

Interestingly, in 2015 “Mek It Bunx Up” sparked a viral dance craze after Parris Goebel recorded an impromptu performance to the single alongside students from her Urban Dance Camp class, which she later uploaded to YouTube. Since Goebel’s upload, there have been a countless numbers of independently made videos from dancers all over the world — all of those videos have amassed several million views. Additionally, the track landed at #30 on the Bulgarian Top 40 Radio Charts and reached #95 on Shazam’s World Charts.

Since then, DeeWunn has released his full-length debut debut Bunx Up — The Official Street LP, toured across Europe twice and collaborated with Parris Goebel on “Dynamite,” which appeared on her full-length debut Vicious. He’s also collaborated with renowned producer TJ Records for “Tun Suh.” And earlier this year, his single Back It Up, Drop It” was featured in an ad campaign for the Samsung S10.

Building upon the momentum of “Back It Up, Drop It,” DeeWunn’s latest single is the dance floor bop “Jaw Jump,” a track centered around Walker’s rapid-fire hip-hop influenced flow, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, wobbling synths and an infectious hook. Simply put, it’s an irresistible track that will set dance floors around the world on fire.

 

 

 

 

Bombay Dub Orchestra was formed over ten years ago, after the duo of Andrew T. Mackey and Garry Hughes visited Bombay, and found themselves inspired and deeply influenced by their experiences working with Indian orchestras. […]