Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town, Kingston in 1948.  He was the youngest of seven children. Ken came from a musically talented family and he attributed his musical interests and abilities to both his mother and older sister.  When he was only eight years old, he won his first singing contest. After then, he has never lost his focus, and continued to practice. To sing and perform to the best of his ability are his aim in life.  Mahalia Jackson, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, The Temptations, and The Drifters became his musical influences. His career started in the late 1950. At the same year, he formed a duo with his neighbor Stranger Cole. Their duo is known as 'Stranger & Ken'.  Both of them released several...

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In 1975, Steel Pulse, a roots reggae band, was formed in Birmingham, England, in the inner city area of Handsworth. The founder of this band was schoolmates David Hinds, the song writer, lead singer and guitarist, Basil Gabbidon on guitars, and Ronnie "Stepper" McQueen on bass. All of them came from working class West Indian immigrant families, and none had much musical experience.  They had been nominated in Grammy and won only once but they were the only band to play a Presidential inauguration (Bill Clinton's in '93). Formed in 1975, their first album was “Kibudu, Mansetta and Abuku” under a small independent label, Dip.  It was then followed by “Nyah Love for Anchor”.  At first, Steel Pulse had difficulty finding live gigs,...

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Sheldon Campbell, popularly known as Turbulence, was born on January 11, 1980.  He is a Jamaican artist and a self proclaimed Rastafari member.  This 31-year-old Sheldon Campbell also known as Turbulence is fast becoming one of Jamaica’s leading conscious dancehall deejays.  His influences range from the great Bob Marley, Sizzla Kalonji, Jah Cure, Luciano, Mikey General and his older cousin Norris Man.  With these influences from great artist, he has developed a unique singing and deejaying style. Turbulence first discovered his talent while still attending classes at St. Andrew’s Technical High School in Kingston, Jamaica.  He started beating up the desk, testing his tunes on classmates. His talents were well received,...

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Inner Circle is a Jamaican reggae and Alternative Hip Hop group formed in 1968 by the brothers Ian and Roger Lewis.  Joining them is Jacob Miller, their front-man and lead singer.  This Jamaican- bred, Grammy winning quintet is one of the world’s most famous reggae groups of the 70’s.  Inner Circle’s pop Jamaican beat and energy- filled live performances made them transcend the traditional reggae niche.  They have performed alongside with pop and rock music legendary icons like John Elton, Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel and Jimmy Page among the few.  Its first debut album was released in 1974 under Trojan Records label.  In 1978, the band achieved a major breakthrough when the group was signed to Island Records...

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Christopher MacFarlane, also known as Macka B, was born in Wolverhampton.  At a young age, Macka B had already showed interest in music.  He was impressed by the vibrant reggae beat of the Lord Barley sound system playing in the blues party next door.  At school, Mack B played the violin and sang in the choir.  He listened to the music of Bob Marley, Count Ossie, Burning Spear, and Peter Tosh.  He continues to study and took his technical apprenticeship at the Ever Ready factory.  But due to factories closure, he was laid off.  He devoted his time practicing his toasting skills gaining inspirations from U- Roy, I- Roy, Prince Far- I and Big Youth.  He and some of his friend formed the Exodus sound system...

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Within the last 5 years German film company directors Noël Dernesch and Moritz Springer happen to be focusing on the film 'Journey to Jah' - an image that attempts to show reggae being an intriguing construct of music, politics and spirituality. They've adopted Gentleman and Alborosie because they attempt to bridge the space between cultures. They've also spoken to artists for example Luciano, the late Gregory Isaacs and Lutan Fyah in addition to adopted the youthful, ambitious Terry Lynn around in Waterhouse, among the numerous ghettos in Kingston. Help this movie come to reality. Click here for the full information of this magnificent project and how you can help i...

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Tags: Journey to Jah, Reggae, Reggae Movie

When Rancid's Tim Armstrong first hit the studio with Jimmy Cliff to produce the reggae legend's new record in May, the two had never even met. "I had no idea how it was going to work out," Armstrong says. During their first session, he picked up an acoustic guitar and started jamming on the Clash's "The Guns of Brixton." Cliff watched for a while, then headed over to an old Jamaican hand drum and started playing along. "For 12 minutes, he was locked into this serious rhythm," Armstrong says. "It was like magic." The Clash cover appears on Cliff's new EP, due in November (a full album is coming next year). Since getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, Cliff has set about reclaiming his legacy as reggae's greatest living...

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Tags: Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Legends