For those of you who don’t know, all the songs about Clarks (yes the shoes) sung by Vybz Kartel have pretty much taken over the island. For those of you who DO know, this post will totally make sense. One morning I was taking a shower in my guest house and out the bathroom window I could hear a child singing “Clarks” over and over again. It was pretty cute so I made it my mission to go look for these kids when I hit the road that day. They couldn’t be hard to find because...
While in Ocho Rios on my last trip we randomly met a Jamaican artist while eating breakfast at Fishermans beach and it turned into a full on recording session! On this trip I was with Canada’s UrbanDK Sound, who came to Jamaica to play 3 shows around the island. I was also with my son, also known as DJ Nitris Oxide. So we had a lot to talk about with this artist since they’re all in the music industry. Group shot with PolkaDat PolkaDat aka David Forbes is a local artist from Portmore,...
I just received word that ONeil Edwards from the group Voicemail passed away today. When I was in Jamaica a couple weeks ago I heard the news that he’d been shot 7 times, and he managed to hang on for more than two weeks….until today. Voicemail - Oneil on the far left Coincidentally I made this little video last week of a sweet little Jamaican boy dancing, so I edited it to the song “Style & Swagga” by Voicemail. It was just so fitting. Now I’m dedicating this...
This post has nothing to do with me going to Jamaica. But since discovering this song yesterday I just HAD to post it. It’s a Caribbean artist collaberation through the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund and it moves me to tears every time. Even though it makes me cry it’s also very uplifting in a way. And what an awesome display of some of Jamaica’s and the Caribbean’s amazing musical talents. Big up to Shaggy, Tessane Chin, Etana, Sean Kingston and all the rest. Bring out...
I can’t really get enough of watching people dance….I grew up dancing myself. Maybe subconsciously that’s why I was drawn to Jamaica, because that’s all they do there is dance! EVERYONE in that country can do it! When I’m at home and out in public listening to my Ipod I always feel like busting out into a Jamaican dance but then realize people would look at me like I’m a fool here. But if I was in Jamaica they’d probably just join right in! A while back...
In December of 2008 I had the opportunity to visit a recording studio in the hills of Ocho Rios. Unfortunately at that time it wasn’t in operation yet, it was just being put together. But this was great and exciting to me since I have a background in recording studio operations. Fire Traille Recording Studio - Ocho Rios We found this place because of a few local dancers we met who live up in these hills. This studio is right by one of their houses and we happened to be driving up to the...
If any of you KNOW Jamaica you will know that music and dance is ingrained in their culture. And they learn “from dem bawn” or from a very young age – how to dance. It’s not unusual at all to see little kids in the street who know ALL the latest Jamaican dances. That was my little friend Devin from Negril, who never hesitates to entertain us with a dance! I’ve spent lots of time with Devin and he’s one special little man so I thought I’d share the...
