01.23.14 - Channel One Sound LIVE in the studio

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CHECK THE PLAYLIST HERE

Channel One Sound System has spent the past 30 years solidifying their reputation as one of world’s heaviest hitting roots reggae sounds. Selector Mikey Dread grew up in the sound system business and christened the sound as CHANNEL ONE, in homage to the famous Jamaican Label of the same name. Over the past three decades, Channel One has been instrumental in the preservation and development of Sound System culture in the UK, inspiring an entire new generation of sound systems while influencing the evolution of some of its descendants such as dubstep and jungle among others. Their yearly Notting Hill Carnival appearance has become an institution and they have taken the UK Red Bull Culture Clash crown among others. They also have taken their positive message throughout the UK, Europe, and South America and for the first time this January 2014 to the USA.

On the January 23, 2014 edition of Jamaica Rock, Mikey Dread and Ras Kayleb were Queen Majesty's guest selectors ahead of their appearance at the Roots of Sound System event in Brooklyn.

08.29.13 - Beres tunes & Cool Hand Luke from the UK

LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE AT JAMAICAROCK.COM

A happy Earthstrong out to the soulful Beres Hammond! The show starts out with some of his older songs, such as ones with Zap Pow and moves into his classics and a few newer ones. The ladies love Beres. In the second hour I was joined by our friend Cool Hand Luke from North London and his wicked vinyl selections. He also joined us later that night at our weekly Downtown Top Ranking party where he kept the vibes strong and selected into for the deejays on the mic into the wee hours. Check the archive.

05.30.13 - Andy Shaw of Metro Stylee in the studio

LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE AT JAMAICAROCK.COM

Andy Shaw of Shaw Promotion aka Andy Stylee

The Specials

This was a very special show for me, one of my oldest and dearest friends Andy Shaw joined me in the studio to talk about his upcoming reunion with his band Metro Stylee. He introduced me to ska and reggae way back in the 90s as the third wave ska revival was happening. Like Andy I was enamored with the rude boys, skinheads, scooters, tattoos, the fashion, the scene and most of all the music. Through this third wave I traced my way back to the foundation of the music and continued to fall in love with reggae chronologically. In a way, I wish I had known about the insane dancehall happenings popping off at that time in New York but honestly I don't regret a thing.

04.25.13 - Barrington Levy Earthstrong Special

LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE AT JAMAICAROCK.COM

Barrington Levy was born on April 30th, 1964 in Clarendon, Jamaica. In 1976, he formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977. Levy established his solo career the next year with "A Long Time Since We Don't Have No Love"; though the single was a failure, the fourteen-year-old was a popular performer at Jamaican dancehalls. In 1979, Levy met Henry "Junjo" Lawes and Hyman Wright, both record producers, and recorded several singles with the Roots Radics, including "A Yah We Deh", "Looking My Love", "Englishman", "Skylarking", "Wedding Ring Aside" and "Collie Weed", all of which became hits and established Levy's career. Levy's next few singles were similarly successful, including "Shine Eye Girl", "Wicked Intention", "Jumpy Girl", "Disco Music", "Reggae Music", "Never Tear My Love Apart", "Jah", "You Made Me So Happy" and "When You're Young and in Love". Levy then recorded several duets with Toyan, Jah Thomas and Trinity, and appeared at Reggae Sunsplash in 1980 and 1981. Although albums were not terribly important in Jamaica at the time, Levy released four albums before 1980: Shaolin Temple, Bounty Hunter, Shine Eye Gal (United Kingdom) and Englishman, a critically acclaimed record. His success led to many earlier studio and sound system performances being reissued without his consent, releases he described as "joke business".

By the time his 1980 album Robin Hood was released, Levy was one of the biggest Jamaican stars, and saw his international fame growing as well, especially in the UK. Taking a break from albums, Levy then released a series of hit singles, including "Mary Long Tongue", "In the Dark", "Too Poor", "I Have a Problem", "Even Tide Fire a Disaster", "I'm Not in Love", "You Have It", "Love of Jah", "Under Mi Sensi", "Tomorrow Is Another Day", "Robberman", "Black Roses", "My Woman" and "Money Move". He began working with Paul "Jah Screw" Love and toured the UK in 1984, where he enjoyed a big hit on the reggae charts with "Under Mi Sensi", which was followed by the crossover hit "Here I Come", which reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985. He returned to LPs with Lifestyle and Money Move, followed by a British hit album called Here I Come; Levy received the Best Vocalist prize at the British Reggae Awards in 1984. The late 1980s saw Levy, now in his twenties, slow down his recorded output, though he continued to perform and record regularly, and played at Sunsplash every year from 1987 to 1995. His fortunes were revived by two cover versions of Bob Andy songs - "My Time" and "Too Experienced", both produced by Jah Screw, and he was signed by Island Records in 1991 for the Divine album. In 1991 he returned to the UK chart with "Tribal Base", a single by Rebel MC featuring Levy and Tenor Fly, which reached number 20. In 1993, Levy tried to break in the United States with the Barrington album, produced by Lee Jaffe, Andre Betts and Sly & Robbie, but it failed to give him the breakthrough he wanted and his relationship with MCA Records was short-lived. (via Wikipedia)

Check out his latest news and upcoming shows at www.BarringtonLevy.com 

02.14.13 - Lovers Rock Special

LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE AT JAMAICAROCK.COM

Valentine's Day is the perfect day to celebrate the special genre of reggae music called Lovers Rock. The roots of Lovers Rock lie in the early days of reggae, with Jamaican singers such as Ken Boothe and John Holt enjoying international hits with reggae versions of well-known love songs. It was also a style that resonated with the London reggae scene and became an apolitical response to the conscious Rastafarian sound dominant in Jamaica at the time. Lovers Rock really gave a style and voice to the UK reggae scene as well as an opportunity for female artists who were sought after for this sound. Some of the Jamaican artists that had the most success with this genre in the late 70s and early 80s wereDennis Brown, Sugar Minott and of course Gregory Isaacs.

Queen Majesty will be exploring both UK and Jamaican Lovers Rock, with a special Gregory Isaacs set in celebration of the Valentine's Day release of The Love Box. Issacs, the Cool Ruler aka Lonely Lover, lives on with this first four-disc box set comprised of 80 love songs, some of which are pulled from the vault. This unprecedented compilation is the result of a unique collaboration between Tad’s Records and Isaacs’ own label, African Museum and can be purchased here. (via EastVillageRadio.com)