THE JIM SCREECHY RIDDIM

I still can't figure how to preview individual tunes. We know I certainly don't know how to review tunes.
Blogger has idiot proofed loading videos from youtube. So to show off my new found skill...SPICE'S weird and wonderful take on the JIM SCREECHY RIDDIM. Damn, that tune (and video) is just absolutely ridiculous in every way!
Been a few years and I'm stilling not getting bored with it! Last count is...712,361 views.

Some big names work over this SOCA Riddim. Dancehall names like AIDONIA and BEENIE MAN. As well home turf talent like BUNJIE GARLIN and FAY-ANN LYONS.

ABOUT TIME!

Speaking of ladies...

I read somewhere that CHERINE ANDERSON is getting ready to drop a real deal full record on us! She teased the hell out of us with this short INTRODUCTION  EP. Love her ironic take on MOVIE STAR. A sly choice of tune and riddim. She started out making moving pictures as youth silly. DANCEHALL QUEEN and ONE LOVE. Required viewing. 

Eons ago way back in prehistoric 2007 she dropped a duet with Chuck Fenda. That big tune COMING OVER was a tasty appetizer and could be found nestled neatly in the middle of  Fenda's LIVING FIRE disc. All good then. Still good now...so they made male/female chemistry again this year in 2011 with the single CALL ON ME. 

Very cool that for her birthday...she gives us a gift! A mix-tape featuring a mix of old and new. Haven't heard it? Find here for free...

http://www.cherineanderson.com/

I want so much more from this singer!

DONE HER WAY

I did something rare awhile back. I bought Mi Lady Saw's MY WAY CD the day it hit stores. I always wait for the feeding frenzy to die out before moving in. But with her there was no way I was gonna idle my moments patiently away. I hopped in my car and drove to the local trendy independent. I dropped exact change. I played MY WAY on heavy rotation all day. I loved it and then mysteriously and completely empty headed, I filed it in the section reserved only for unloved orphaned discs. 

Recently...I asked myself why. Is it equal to WALK OUT or PASSION? Nope but in no way should this disc be shunned! 


I hear a lot more New York than Kingston in this disc. Electro beats creeping in on the mix. There is even an old school feel too it. Some of the Riddims remind me of 1980's MANTRONIX. Remember them? 
So...then, that's a good thing! Yeah, after listening to this record again for some motivation while I beat my face on the ground (army slang for push-ups) I was finally able to wrap my mind around it. I should of waited for it to go cold before I bought it hot in the charts. 


There is no moral to my story.

NEVER ENOUGH COOL RULER

I feel sorry for dem yutes today. Dem too cool for this Lovers Rock business. Dem only wanna Gun Spree talk and Pum Pum lyrics. Where is the poetry in that? Lovers Rock deh say is for likkle school girls and "sentimental ole fools".  GREGORY ISAACS is wah Grandma listen to .

 Yeah...it's dem yutes loss. 

In the wake of Gregory's passing many "best of" see the light of day. Most are good but a few really stand out. This TAD'S release will have your heart breaking and your eyes tearing.

ISAACS old record label AFRICAN MUSEUM struck a deal with TAD's before JAH reached down from Heaven and tapped Gregory's soul on the shoulder. So this be the official best!

Of course reggae giant VP Records couldn't sit still. And this is the product of their squirming. 

Big big tunes. A lot of the same big big tunes. So price or brand loyalty are the tings to consider. Both sets contain the essentials.

Even if the Cool Ruler just read off the ladies names out of a phone book and backed it over with a smooth Riddim I would be happy. 

Now imagine if Gregory recited Willie the Shake's Romeo et Juliette.  

It would of been the greatest love song of all time...

I will gave respect to TROJAN RECORDS. In the old days before digital remastering...their collection was unmatched.

The forever EXTRA CLASSIC. Long outta print.

Something for everyone..

I hadn't been over to COURTNEY JOHN'S official dot-com in a little while so I figured I'd stop in. Only thing more behind the times than my blog are these official artist/star pages. Need proof? Check out producer Dave Kelly's homepage for his madhouserecords. The Production crew are still big upping Baby Cham's GHETTO STORY like it just dropped yesterday! In Reggae terms that was like two life times ago. Where the hell is BABY CHAM anyway?  (They're out to call me a liar...they have since added a tiny blurb mentioning last year's killer single with MICHAEL ROSE AND BOUNTY KILLER.) 

Remember me?

Back to MR. JOHN...Alright his management updated the page. All new on his site is a free download of the smash tune HEY JAMAICA. 

MR. LEXX lends his vocal talent to COURTNEY'S latest single. 

I hope this tune is a good omen of things to come. Also is a free download of DJ I-VIER'S mixtape LOVE IS. Only stipulation is you haffa sign in first. I suggest you set up the details over at mixcrate.com

A impressive variety of different styles and an endless supply of DJ'S. I have a SOCA mixtape threatening my computer's speakers as I write this. (Soca Wuk Upp from Double Threat Family.) This is FREE people! 

http://www.courtneyjohn.com/

http://www.mixcrate.com/

http://madhouserecords.com/

18 TASTY TREATS

And speaking of delicious...

This batch of tunes doesn't quite push up inna your face the same way as Badgyal does but she's still flashing us listeners a glimpse of that ample bosom. By that I mean lyrically. Ce'Cile is always coy when she plays with words. With Badgyal she rolled those tunes off her tongue like she was rolling her R's...but here she's engaging us in something a little more vulnerable. So has Ce'Cile gone all soft and cuddly on us? Nah she's just more ticklish with this record. 

Now guys don't dress in rags when you listen to Ce'Cile's latest drop. Check unna your fingernails before you press play and maybe splash a drop of class cologne on...because you don't merely hear this release with your ears...she is inviting you out on a date with each spin. 

Ce'Cile herself sets the mood with a few romantic style Rythym and Blues make out tunes. All good. Right? Then things get seriously hormone driven as the beats hit harder and the riddims get faster. Gettin' better. She even steams up the windows with a few rowdy Dancehall bashes. Did I just hear her call out my name in that moment of ecstasy? Keep dreaming.

Imagine turning on the local pop radio station and your ears are treated to the cooing of Ce'Cile's come hither. It would be like all the problems of the world went away.

For more temptation...

http://www.jamaicanization.com/

I'M MOVING

I'm moving tomorrow morning. 250 miles round trip. I'll be collecting a new paycheck in a new town doing a job that still makes me think I lost my mind. I'll be crashing at my Mom In-laws till I find more stationary surroundings! In my wife's old childhood room no less. I have lost my mind. She'll be two weeks behind me due too job etiquette. My Mom In-Law is a good cook...so I got a few weeks to fatten up. 

Not actually me...my car is green.

Why am I telling ya this? I won't have access to my computer. I do however have a batch of my incoherent musings already half baked and ready to finish. 

My record reviews are sorta like buying a dime bag only to find you've spent your dime on lawn clippings! 

Another WTF Moment!

Not enough news of VYBZ  circulating in the press lately? Sizzla gets hospitalized by a coward hit and run. The patriarch of the Morgan family, DENROY MORGAN, getting busted with 25 pounds of Ganja and of course BUJU going down slammer hard in TEXAS for ten years. Well VYBZ had to top everybody and face a murder charge...WTF

Here is the latest article courtesy of the Gleaner...

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20111004/lead/lead1.html

Or if you prefer the Observer...

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Vybz-Kartel-s-case-put-off-again


By the way DENROY MORGAN could easily plead a case for personal use and prove not intent to distribute. It is 31 people if you count himself and his kids! Bomba-clat...25 pounds is not enough to go around!

AS PROMISED...

I did mention to Rootstar Entertainment way back on July 27th that when I master the mysteries of Blogging that I would post the video "What Goes Up" from their artist The Matik. Well it took several months but here it is!




Now if my car battery goes dead on a freezing cold night...umm you guys will offer me a jump? As a favor in return...right?

MATIK officiall Youtube page-www.youtube.com/therealmatik

1,2,3 TESTING...

When a disturbed mind and creative brilliance mash up. Mad crazy!

TOI!

Okay...I feel a decade younger! And not because I use "Just For Men" to hide the grays! I persevered thru a few bouts of being completely stupid and....

Success!


While I'm at it here is a few links to TOI the sweet voiced Earthly Angel...
Her website- http://www.toimuzik.com
Her Facebook page-http://www.facebook.com/toimuzik
And Youtube link-http://www.youtube.com/toimuzik

Yeah? Oh yeah

COMING SOON AGAIN AND AGAIN....

When time allows...finish that BUSY SIGNAL post! 


I would say a third of my selection is DUBS. I've yet to put one under the spotlight. It seems to be a dying art with the studios but every so often something interesting slips thru the void.  I'll find one.

Here is a new release that's actually old. And a damn near perfect record....

And from someone that is PERFECT...

in both name and sound!

Awhile back the management team behind a fresh upstart going by the name MATIK asked me to pass along the good word and post his video. The REGGAE NATION might cover the whole wide world but this thing called the Internet makes us all close neighbors so I figured it would be a nice neighbourly gesture for me to post it...but my brain made a fizzling noise and then my mind went blank. The light went out. 
My word is good...eventually I'll figure it out. 

I wish this lady was my next door neighbor! 

Okay...this sweet voiced Angel has graced a DON CORLEON production with a big tune on the SUMMER SCHEME RIDDIM! Her manager, Marlon Gichie, sent me a similar request. Damn I hate being old and technologically impaired! This old dog's gotta start learning video embed code. I gotta an idea....

TELL ME A KINGSTON STORY

I hate VYBZ KARTEL. 

Why you ask?

Because that mother f'er released his latest drop, Kingston Story, as a digital only copy. (Sure Ce'Cile did the same thing with her latest, but I could never hate her!) 

I never need a reason to paste up a pic of this lovely lady

 I heard this collection of tunes is the essence of summer listening and up here in the north corner we only have a couple of weeks left of that warm season. I don't wanna be left out in the cold. So that tabloid darling Vybz made me do something that was completely against my untrusting cheap bastard nature, I purchased a handful of intangible MP3 files. I even signed up to online service. Yeah. I figure I can't continue fighting the future! While I was desecrating my morals, I picked up his EMPIRE SUMMER as well. Oh the shame...

Why am I so against online downloads only? 

Well for starters...

I am a used vinyl and compact disc seller. An independent mom and pop underground music store. I'm pop. My music habit has always been bought and paid for by pushing great "like new" used music on unsuspecting ears. My habit has a huge appetite.

Now...

 It's not like I am gonna come across a few crates of old MP3 files tucked behind a stairwell in someones basement. I spent half my adult life slinging pipe wrenches in peoples basements. You would be surprised what homeowners forget what's stashed down there! 

Alright back to the mother f'er whose fault this all is. VYBZ. That tattooed cartoon character straight outta of a big budget sci-fi movie. (The one where he portrays a brilliant but mentally damaged soul survivor.) 

The music? The usual topic of girls and what he likes to do to girls. That much hasn't changed. Vybz's amazing flow has evolved into a more subtle sing song stream of lyrics these days. Is the hard blunt of gangster rhetoric he uses to bludgeon our ears into submission beginning to fade with age? Or is it wisdom? Maybe success? VYBZ delivers all those odd and clever vocal mannerisms that add a difficult depth to his work. Is KINGSTON STORY a worthy successor to say...THE TEACHERS BACK? No it's not meant to be. This is something unique and yeah it was worth losing my innocence.

Epilogue... I'm still leery of MP3 only copies and this is why...a day later for reasons unknown to me I had to re-load the site's download manager into my applications folder. In doing so I deleted all traces of two MAVADO singles. F-ck off! I'm not blaming the online music service but they need to make the process idiot proof for all of us technically challenged idiots. I'm going back to using my stone tools.

THE LINE IS STILL BUSY

I'm gonna revisit a release that I heard all wrong the first time I spun it.

A quick note about BUSY SIGNAL... He has the mixed blessing of being mentioned in the same critical breathe as Vybz and Mavado, but hasn’t made the same overall impact as his Alliance crew brethren. Well, with Vybz, former crew. Maybe he is leery of committing controversy for the sake of self -promotion. Maybe BUSY is just to smart to be a tabloid darling.  

A quick note about AUTO-TUNE...“Do you have the look but don’t have the talent? Don’t worry baby we have tha machine for you! “ Correct pitch at the flip of a switch. I watched an interview with Rihanna and she enlightened us to the fact that the record companies can make anybody a STAR! Umm...Is that her confession? Alright... I'll grant you that there are performers out there not using auto-tune to sound pitch perfect but to exaggerate their vocals to the point of sounding cold and inhuman. (Like a ghost in the machine.) Depending on the talent in question...It either gets distracting or gives you goosebumps.

I was about to dump Busy Signal's LOADED from my I-Pod's playlist to make room for more frequent spins. The physical copy of course is safely filed away alphabetically. After getting hooked deep on his debut drop, STEP OUT, I tried getting this sophomore release stuck under my skin but it just wouldn't stick. After that I even began to question my opinion of that first drop. So I spun STEP OUT a few more times. Yeah... that's Busy off to big pushy powerful thug of a record. So I must be wrong with LOADED. So before I pushed delete on my I-Pod...

Timing had to right. The planets had to be aligned in a row or something because LOADED completely fried my brain cells and shorted out my nervous system. 

My first impression of LOADED when it dropped? I remember hearing a rock-solid effort buried under the latest trend in fashionable pop. I remember thinking that if the production team toned down the vocal effects to a minimum that the gritty tales of urban realism buried underneath would shine. 

Tune by tune breakdown....

*PEOPLE SO EVIL-The brainiest decision to make when making a record is what tune you stick up front. It has to serve as a welcome mat of sorts to the rest of the album. It invites you in for a full listen. Give up your biggest tune and everything that follows is downhill. Stick a mediocre tune up front and you may lose interest and shelve the record without giving it a chance. A delicate balance of choice. People So Evil is the perfect lead in. And so true...just take a look at all the shit going down in the news. Or my x-wife.

*JAIL- Sure...the free room and board is fine, but it is the possible unwanted attention from male suitors in the showers that scares the shit out everybody. Not necessarily their loss of freedom. As such this particular hit tune and video is not a picker upper in mood! It also isn't the violent dirge that the subject matter warrants. 

*TIC TOK- As soon as this tune begins my synapses immediately start miss firing and all my neurotransmitter breakdown. WTF?

 Nothing. I repeat nothing...in any genre sounds like this tune! What a mind blowing Riddim! My obvious favorite from this release. 

*WINE PON DI EDGE- Probably a hit tune. If not...it should of been a hit tune. Damn catchy refrain and clever use of AUTO-TUNE. Yeah...I'll admit when I was wrong. This tune has that mass appeal that only a finely crafted blend of riddim and lyric can attract.

The other 11 tunes soon..

LOADED QUESTION

Have I been exposed to so much gratuitous AUTO-TUNE in the media that I've become desensitized too it? 


Next...

SIZZLA KALONJI'S THE SCRIPTURES

HURRICANE MIGUEL COLLINS AT 155 MPH

An angry SIZZLA KALONJI is a mighty force to reckon with. Must be like standing in the path of an approaching category 5 hurricane. Kiss your ass good bye. I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of his wrath. 

But that is only one of SIZZLA'S many schizophrenic moods.The world of SIZZLA exists in multiple of dimensions. 

There is....

the lustful dutty mouth of a healthy young man being seduced by the temptations of fame and fortune.

 There is...

the pissed off shouting down of Babylon by a man confronted with the Demons of injustice...

There is...

the soul searching of a righteous man hoping to reach purity of heart. 

Personally I like the calm level reasoning of a man at peace with his surroundings. Then again I love when SIZZLA'S voice strains under weight of his message. Even when his falsetto is being crushed it still crackles with celebration. 

Then there is the SIZZLA that explores other genres that his not supposed to. (You know which discs I'm talking about!)

The same SIZZLA that can walk into a recording studio, be handed a random Riddim, and on the spot make a tune of lasting value. 

So what then happens when he is subject to a Hollywood blockbuster sized production from JOHN JOHN? What happens when he is given layer upon layer of instruments and sounds too build up each Riddim? When lead and background vocals are multi-tracked into operatic choruses? The answer is a little bit of everything SIZZLA has done throughout his intense career. Not to say that this disc is a cold stale serving of old ideas. It is not. SIZZLA and JOHN JOHN are giving us a MAGNUM OPUS. 

This disc is slick without being greasy. Know what I mean? A very sing song collection of positive vibes.  THE SCRIPTURES is not a disc of FYAH and BRIMSTONE like the title misled me into believing. Sure...there are HEAVENLY tunes that praise JAH, but a few of the tunes here, deal with EARTHLY matters. 

Track 1- WORLD CRY picks up where his work on the amazing BILLIE JEAN RIDDIM for IRIE IRITES leaves off. His passionate wailing like a tortured soul lost in a life and death struggle brings this tune to it's knees. Hell way to start a record!

Track 2- THE WORLD IS WATCHING is modern ROOTS at it's zenith. The thirty-five year old wise SIZZLA reaches higher plains of knowledge. And his voice is reaching for higher octaves. He gets there. Taking a cue from the extremely talented and successfully STEPHEN and DAMIAN MARLEY, SIZZLA drops in a passage from rapper PETER JACKSON. Seamless. Not a cheap crossover attempt.

Track 3- IN JAMAICA is in the mellow tradition and for me is the least engaging tune. I'm not saying it is bad tune. Just a nice flow. You can't be hit over the head with every tune! The disc has to catch it's breath.

Track 4- CLEANSE MY SOUL is sung in my favorite SIZZLA voice. I hear the aching and the longing for JAH'S love in his voice. This isn't hollow lip service. This is a true DEVOTIONAL HYMN. Not a prayer gussied up with gilded gold trappings. This heavenly requests only earthly ornamental vestments are punchy horns, an angelic girlie chorus and Dubby wah-wah guitar!

Track 5- LET IT BE has a nice sing song melody that flows from SIZZLA'S deep wellspring of RASTAFARI belief. Lyrical conviction as heavy as the drum and bass Riddim it rides. This is a healthy tune that's strong in body and spirit. 

Track 6- JAH IS MY SHIELD almost has a subtle groovy sixties MOTOWN feel with it's girlie chorus. I can picture them swaying in synchronized rhythm behind the microphone. Very catchy without being gimmicky. Pure positive vibes in honour of HIS MOST HIGH, HAILE SELASSIE I.

Track 7- SCRIPTURES is a tune where the Riddim doesn't bring too much attention to it's self. This tune is about the message contained within the words. Nothing to detract from the preacher's sermon! You in the back...pay attention. 

Track 8- WHAT A WHOA is the certainly the darkest mood felt on THE SCRIPTURES. Like this disc as a whole, every time I spin it, it slowly reveals more of itself to me. It's truths are not as obvious or immediate as say, the masterpiece, BLACK WOMAN AND CHILD. A perfect record the first time ya hear it! Spend some time with THE SCRIPTURES. Let it slowly soak in. 

Track 9- GOD BLESS YOU MOMMA features the falsetto in full effect. The tune is a joyous declaration of love and respect for family. I dare you to call SIZZLA a mommas boy!

Track 10- JUMP FOR JOY is the heaviest riffed tune here with a militant call and response style refrain. This tune cries out to be a hit! It is definitely a jumpy tune but not necessarily a joyous tune. 

Track 11- I LOVE YOU is the most honest love song I've heard in awhile. Only his twisted vocals keep it from curdling into cheese! 

Track 12- HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a peppy SKA shuffle! The big horn section behaves like proper gentleman. Not too rudebwoy. Just the right amount of brass. Just the right amount of balls. 

Track 13- MUSIC IN MY SOUL is probably gonna be the biggest tune to drop off THE SCRIPTURES. This tune just screams mash up all over radio. It will be heard the world over.

In JAZZ the saying goes CHARLIE PARKER discovered the atom but it was JOHN COLTRANE that smashed it. I'll slide rule this over to Reggae. SIZZLA is all hell on EARTH breaking loose.

He just does it quieter with this disc!
I expected to hear this...

...but got this!

 And that ain't so bad...

NICO'S TWO CENTS. AGAIN.

Okay, I'll admit I can be a hypocritical bastard!

 Let my explain...for years I rejected YELLOWMAN because of the nature of his lyrical content. I always preached that his songs were the Devil's playground. Yeah...high morals coming from an erotic painter and photographer!
 Awhile back I came to the realization that thru decades of radio exposure, tons of mix-tapes and Friday nite parties, I knew every slack word that the YELLOWMAN has ever spoken! And you know what? He is better than good, he is fucking great. I never admitted to myself what an innovator he was.

ACTUALLY TAME BY TODAYS HARDCORE STANDARDS!

Damn fool... I wasted so much time trying to ignore him. 

GUILTY PLEASURES!

Apparently YELLOWMAN, since rechristened KING YELLOWMAN, felt the same way. Absent from his current work is the overtly slack sentimentality and in it's place is a higher reverence for life. Belief in JAH does that!

Every once in awhile I go on a massive YELLOWMAN kick to atone for my past sins. This VP Records collection culled from their vast archives of goodies is great place to start penance. 

When I want to escape life's daily drudgery, I indulge in the fine art of browsing. An independent music chain provides the getaway. I can't bad mouth 'em because of the musical goodies that they've stocked in their bins for past 25 years has always made this miserable bastard happy. 

But more recently I had no clue that artists like Baby Cham and Mr. Vegas were in the Rap/Hip-Hop section. Odd. Considering Elephant Man is stocked in the Reggae bins. Now I could see accidentally dropping his stuff in the RAP section. ELE'S Let's Get Physical was put out by RAP MOGUL Sean "Puffy Doodle" Comb's BAD BOY RECORDS! 

AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF ENERGY AND MELODIES

The stampeding ELEPHANT MAN is in the same bin as the ETHIOPIANS and the sedate musical meditations of EARL ZERO. So why in BABYLON is Mr. Vegas's releases hiding among some of COMPTON'S finest. I'm trying to find the logic.

To quote the great thinker, BOUNTY KILLER, "Rap is an embarrassment to Dancehall." 

CANDY FROM A STRANGER...

As an old dog...I can't learn any new tricks, but I can make new friends. And a new friend slipped me a copy of SIZZLA'S hasn't dropped on the public yet set of tunes titled SCRIPTURES. I'm usually standing last in line when new stuff gets released. Yeah...I'm going spend sometime with it before giving you my honest opinion. 

My ears are tuned in. And my mind is always open for what Sizzla has in store for us patiently waiting fans. Fans or I could call us students. I guess it is a little of both when we're under his influence. 

SIZE DOESN'T MATTER!

NOT UP FOR GRABS 

Half the crowd claims MAVADO as their new dancehall king and just as many people would argue that VYBZ KARTEL earns that title. 


I will grant you that Mavado dropped one of the most intense debuts in the history of music with his GANGSTA FOR LIFE: THE SYMPHONY OF DAVID BROOKS. Ever. In any genre. Then followed that masterpiece brilliantly with his sophomore effort, but lately his singles haven't stuck like glue. 

EVIL GENIUS

Now VYBZ has been a major disruption in the ordered way of tings. On hype alone...the last two years are easily his best efforts to usurp the throne. Check his Clarks De Mix Tape Raw for evidence. And all the gossip pages!

GENETIC EXPERIMENTATION GONE AWRY

But have you noticed how many strong tunes the supposedly disposed king of the dancehall, BEENIE MAN, has dropped on us in the last few years? Whether it is an obscure single like INTERNATIONAL with Jurassic Five's, CHALI2NA, to his more current smash with FUTURE FAMBO,  their I'M DRINKING / RUM & RED BULL. Monsters...every single one of 'em is a monster!

ALPHA MALE

Apparently it is true...size don't matter...

because MOSES DAVIS aka BEENIE MAN stands small in physical stature but is still Dancehall's dominate ALPHA MALE.  

LONG LIVE THE KING!

AIR CONDITIONING

Today was the real first hot day up here in the north east of America. So to cool down I switched on the poor man's air conditioner; I youtubed the Lime's Christmas Pon Di Remix videos. Di Genius is responsible for the tune and it features Mr. Beenie Man, Mr. Mavado, Edwin Yearwood, and that master of melodies Mr. Elephant Man. And to balance out all that raging testosterone...the ravishing estrogen of Ce'Cile. A close cropped Alaine along with two other lovely ladies voice the backgrounds. It was an new look for her. LIME filmed several versions. Each featuring a different product or service. Nah sell out? Yes sell out...their commercials! 

But that is the point. Ce'Cile sold me on a Blackberry phone. Hell she could sell political elections or small countries. I tacked on that sexy picture of her on what was my least interesting post. My most hits ever! My point proven.




Some food for thought! I still have tears rollin' outta my eyes.

IN JAH'S EYES

All right…after being married for many years in JAH’S eyes, my wife Krispy and myself are planning to make our nuptials legal with the State. I am holding the celebration on my late father’s birthday to honor his memory. My dad originally wanted to throw the party. He hand built this mighty deck surrounded by flowers and gardens. Sadly, it didn’t get used that much due to bad health and bad times and everything died. I have been busy bringing everything back to life.

I could easily cop out and just play BERES HAMMOND in heavy rotation! My player has one of those five disc carousels. Load ‘em up, press play and then walk away for hours. But I wanna play DJ. 

My wife picked a few necessary tunes and is leaving the rest up to me. My wife picked out ANGEL by SHAGGY as her walk down the aisle tune. 

No…seriously!

 I Googled Reggae wedding songs and came across sites that had suggestions that made me piss my pants! I thought I know a lot about all tings Reggae but I didn’t know Australia’s 80’s new wavers, MEN AT WORK, and their signature tune, DOWN UNDER, made it to the top ten Reggae wedding tunes of all time!

You have different stages to a wedding celebration. Getting seated, exchanging of vows, getting seated again, dinner is served and finally dance the nite away.

I did pick up a few absolute killer mix-tapes that would definitely keep the party pulsating with life. Only down side, VYBZ uses a few foul-mouthed words. I don’t want the embarrassing moment of explaining what “Wrecking the PUM PUM” means to my seventy-three year old Momma!

With Vybz...there is always a lot of explaining!

So I am reaching out to people that read my rants for suggestions. Any ideas? Write me…