Hip-Hop News

On Kings Chambers sixth release Samo DJ brings his cheap Streetboxx sampler to Hidden Operators studio and they team up for some dancehall beat making and live mixing under the (obvious) name Streetboxxer.

Samo DJs releases on labels like L.I.E.S, The Trilogy Tapes, and of course his own Born Free label. But this ragga infused EP will not come as a surprise for those who have heard his excellent dancehall mix for Red Light Radio earlier this year.

2 track Single from Half Pint / Power House All Stars released by Power House

18 track Album from Various Artists released by Dub Store Records

Dreadsquad, AKA Marek Bogdanski, returns to the scene with the second and third instalments of his Riddim Machine series. As part of a collaboration consisting of Dreadsquad's own Superfly Studio and the renowned Moonshine Recordings, listeners are in for a treat, courtesy of Poland's most prolific reggae dancehall producer. As ever, Dreadsquad manage to encapsulate all evolutions of reggae - from rocksteady , roots and rub-a-dub to dancehall and dub - all with a present-day twist to keep the bass bins rumbling and the people skanking. Both volumes will be available in both vinyl and digital format, so there's no excuse to miss out!

Volume 2 is laced with an amalgamation of characters from the Reggae/Hiphop/Soul scene, featuring the likes of Kojo Neatness , Gardna, El Fata, Dub Princess, Tenor Youthman, Takeyce-Ti, Monkey Jhayam, ManeceLive or Greg Blackman in his soulful roots tune Clean Up. Among a plethora of sublime productions, with throwbacks to the old sounds of early reggae, roots and rub-a-dub, there's the highly anticipated anthem Issues (previously released on Bun Dem Riddim), with none other than the mighty YT on microphone duties . Keep an ear out for the remix of Chainska Brassika's Knowledge Is King (featuring Tom Spirals), there's some serious stepping to be done to this riddim. The closing track for this volume is more than worthy of a mention, as 'Space' manages to deliver a transcendentally meditative dub vibe to bring the record to a close in a suitable fashion.

Both volume of Riddim Machine feature artwork illustrated by Kasia Wilk. The releases will be available digitally, via most online download stores (iTunes, Juno, Bandcamp, Amazon, etc.), as well as a physical vinyl release, available at most usual vendors.

Volume 3 serves to retain Dreadsquad's core values - their attitude towards mash-ups and remixes, their roots in all that is reggae - whilst also providing a sound that is refreshing, original, and showcases some of the finest up & coming talent. Whereas Volume 2 remains much more true to its roots, Volume 3 turns up the heat and brings the fire to the dance. Once again, the LP is littered with artists who are soon to be on everyone's radar. Skarra Mucci, Zico MC, Jman, Charlie P, Million Stylez, need we say more Riddim Machine Vol. 3 is chocked full of edits and remixes guaranteed to start a fire in any venue. The legendary Papa Michigan's Nice Up The Dance is flipped on its head, with just the right amount of amen breaks and Reese bass to keep any junglist's gun fingers in the air. Get Away revolves around a display of lyrical wizardry from MenaceLive, Jman and Zico MC in true cypher style. CharlieP makes a special appearance for the digi-dancehall smasher That Is Life, complete with classic 80s orchestral hits reminiscent of the foundation fashion. This one's a dubplate, you should feel blessed to hear it!

French record producer, and DJ Bob Sinclar - responsible for hits like "Love Generation", "Sound of Freedom", or the smashing remix of the Raffaella Carra classic "Far L'Amore" (love this!) - is readying the release of his eighth studio album titled "Disco Crash" for later in 2012. The lead single has already been picked, and it's the party-ready TUNE "Rock The Boat", which features rappers Pitbull, Fatman Scoop and DragonFly! What a line up! Who's this girl btw I like her. She sings one crazy catchy chorus! Anyhow, "Rock The Boat" will undoubtedly be HUGE this year. It's got it all! A certified smash! Be the first to enjoy the remixes to this track! - 6 REMIXES - HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL - COLOR LABELS - BLACK SLEEVE

Late 70s Roy Francis production

Conscious dancehall vocal

Dennis Brown vocal on Mr. Bassie rhythm

Classic early rocksteady

UK dub scene pioneers Dub Pistols gear up to release new dub-quaking extravaganza 'Crazy Diamonds'.

To celebrate 20 years of unhinged lunacy, the Dub Pistols return with their seventh studio album, a mix of dub, reggae, ska, punk, breaks and drum & bass.

Guaranteed to nice up the place with some heavyweight bass and mash up the dance given half the chance - respect.' - Don Letts

The new rocksteady sensation from Geneva ! Cosmic Shuffling brings back the Jamaican 60's golden sound with his vintage ska and rocksteady. Recorded with just a few ribbon microphones and mixed in the purest tradition by Spanish wizard Roberto Sánchez on analogue tapes, Cosmic Goes Wild is simply irresistible. Between sweet romance and serious life reasoning, between heavy bass and sweet horns, sharp guitars and rough drums, Cosmic Shuffling gives a modern approach of an old time music, with a stunning vintage sound ! Pressed on 12" maxi vinyl, this record was built especially for Sound System purpose. Only 300 copies!

Dancehall reggae way. Dub version on, the flip brings some special sounds.

LIMITED 100 copies - Printed sleeves.

Mister Brown cover by Solar Skeletons... With one side for the Cover Song and one side for the Riddim/instrumental... noisy queen hard stuff !

Jay Glass Dubs remixes Guerilla Toss, more details to be announced soon.

Unleashing his debut release, Preacha steps out on NICE UP! with an instant classic. Channeling some deep 80s dancehall vibes, the production is a sweet marriage of old & new - referencing the classic digital drum machines of the past whilst keeping the vibes modern and fresh. Vocals are delivered courtesy of Jay Spaker, a veteran Brooklyn mic man and singer, who holds the vibe perfectly.

Already hot on soundsystems such as Reggae Roast, Mungo's Hifi and Dub Stuy, this track should be getting constant rotation on a sound near you soon!

Following The Way For We' released in 2014, The I-Twins are back with their second autoproduced album The Master Plan', available on the 2nd of June 2017. For the recording, the twins worked with musicians from Najavibes, as well as other talented artists from the Geneva reggae scene. The album goes from roots reggae to rockers and rub-a-dub, bearing few touches of jazz and soul, and deals with topics that matter particularly to the I-Twins: our relation to death, suffering, injustice, love, as well as to beauty, and gives a critical view of our political system and its dysfunctions.

Recorded at Bridge Studio, Geneva, The Master Plan' was mixed by the vintage reggae specialist, Roberto Sánchez and mastered by Sam John. The result is therefore in the perfect continuity of the work initiated by Fruits Records. However, this release marks a turning point in the catalogue of the label, which puts forward for the first time young Europeans artists, till now, it was indeed dedicated to veterans of the Jamaican music golden era.

The album will be available on CD and on gatefold double LP (300 copies) with five dubs by Roberto Sánchez.

Wonderwheel is happy to welcome in Montreal based producer & don dada Poirier for his first release on the label, the "Be Alright" EP. Moving away from the traditional dancehall, dub and soca sounds he's become known for, Poirier delivers a 4 track of Afro-House influenced dancefloor firestarters. "Sowia" heads to South East Africa with it's floating guitar hooks, big bassline, and vocals in Portugese from Canadian-Moçambican singer Samito. "Ginobili" goes into deeper territory with four to the floor drums, heavily chopped percussion, and a hypnotizing distorted Mbira line, while "Camera" continues the tropical vibe with a nod to Semba with it's driving guitar lines, staccato synth lines and thumping drums. "Antilles Trax" rounds it out as the extended instrumental version of "Sowia".

Glacial Dancehall returns - a two-headed excursion ofversions, samples + sirens chopped and screwed into oblivion byTime CowandLow Jack. Tasked with followingJay Glass Dubs'first volume ofGlacial Dancehall(of March 2016) each artist served up a half hour side of ruff slow jams, bolstered with additional production and totalling 15 full blown edits.

Paris' Low Jack can be found splitting time between on Modern Love, L.I.E.S. and The Trilogy Tapes as well as running his own Editions Gravats imprint with Jean Carval.

Westmoreland, JA, home to Time Cow - maybe better known as one of the key players in the Equiknoxx crew, responsible for some of the island's crucial 21st century riddims. Their watershedBird Sound Power on DDS provides a weird Manchester linkage that connects him to Low Jack via the Modern Love hotbed.

By the 1970s Studio One and Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd had already proved himself to be the defining force in Reggae for almost two decades. From running the Downbeat sound system on the lawns and yards of Kingston in the late 1950s to opening Studio One at 13 Brentford Road at the start of the 1960s, ushering in Ska and Rocksteady and establishing the careers of most of Jamaica's artists - everyone from Bob Marley and
The Wailers, Ken Boothe, Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo and more - Clement Dodd had until this point dominated the Jamaican musical world.
And yet, incredibly, Clement Dodd was barely half way through his musical path, maintaining Studio One's number one position in the Jamaican music scene throughout the 1970s with a combination of musical and creative innovation and an endless capacity to adapt and create new musical fashions. By the end of the 1970s
Dancehall had become the defining sound on the island. Dancehall was essentially a tribute by other Jamaican producers and artists to the classic music of Studio One created in the 1960s as young artists across the island created new songs, while musicians recreated these original classic foundation Studio One rhythms. As on other occasions, Clement Dodd rose to this new musical challenge by producing a whole new era of classics for Studio One.
The roots of Dancehall begin with the DJs of the early 1970s, who were the first to sing new material over earlier classic rhythms. Early DJ pioneers such as Dillinger and Prince Jazzbo both feature here toasting over classic songs - The Mad Lad's Ten to One and The Eternals' Queen of the Minstrel. But it is the new wave of artists who arrived at Studio One at the onset of Dancehall which enabled Studio One to maintain its number
one status as the whole of Kingston's rival music producers - Channel One, Joe Gibbs and many others - attempted to challenge this position.
Sugar Minott, Michigan and Smiley, Willie Williams, Lone Ranger had all grown up listening to the classic Studio One music of the 1960s and were able to pay the greatest compliment to the label by creating the defining new music of this new era with songs that combined all the musical and technological developments
of the 1970s - dub, deejaying, discomixes, syndrums, synthesizers and more - into the sound of the future: Dancehall.
Throughout this era Clement Dodd also continued to work with a number of original and returning artists - such as Alton Ellis, Horace Andy, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne - updating old rhythms and creating new ones while employing the in-house band variously known as The Brentford All-Stars/Rockers/Disco Set to update these sounds in order to maintain Studio One's number one position as the defining force in Reggae.
This is Soul Jazz Records' latest new collection of classic and rare Studio One recordings and is released on triple LP (+ download code), deluxe CD and digital album.

Originally released in 1992 this is a 13 track single black vinyl from one of the pioneers of the Dancehall scene. Includes digital download code.

Soulful dancehall apartheid anthem

International reggae star Alborosie returns with the dub version of his celebrated "Freedom & Fyah" album from last year titled "Freedom In Dub". The distinctive production of these ten newly recorded dub mixes underscore Alborosie's skill and credibility as a master of dub. All tracks are produced and (mostly) played by Alborosie and recorded at his Shengen studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

Das Beste von dem Sänger mit der rauchig-smoothen Stimme, der seit mehr als 30 Jahren als Solokünstler, Songwriter und Produzent erfolgreich ist. "Can't Stop A Man" präsentiert 36 ausgesuchte Songs aus den Jahren 1976 bis 2003 auf Triple-LP im Gatefold Sleeve und ausführlichen Liner Notes & Track by Track-Notes, geschrieben vom US-amerikanischen Reggae-Experten Rob Kenner. Erstmalig in Jahre 2003 parallel zum gleichnamigen 2CD-Digipak Set erschienen, ist dieses Beres Hammond Porträt wieder als Vinyl erhältlich. Das Zitat von Prime Entertainment zum Konzert im Kölner Stadtgarten bringt es auf den Punkt: "Beres Hammond beeindruckt mit seiner durch tiefes Timbre geprägten, dennoch smoothen und sehr eindringlichen Stimme. Seine Texte sind stets von einer emotionalen Dichte und der Wahrheit getragen, dass wir eigentlich alle nur nach Liebe suchen. Diese essentielle Message verpackt er in große Dancehall-Smasher, ebenso wie in romantische Balladen und in spirituelle Rootsgesänge."

A multi-faceted performer and songwriter, Taz straddles both the hip hop world and dancehall/reggae arena. He first came to the world's attention performing alongside Dizzee Rascal on their Just a Rascal video, having co-written it and earning himself an Ivor Novello Award into the bargain. After becoming the youngest rap artist to be signed to Def Jam UK in 2004, Taz released his massively acclaimed Analyse This album and has never looked back. After teaming up with Jamaica's Jazzy Kitt Music Group, Taz released Up Deh which was immediately snapped up by Ramrock Records for UK vinyl release. Already getting BIG props on Jamaican radio stations, an exclusive on Ras Kwame's Capital Xtra show, signal from Original Memzee and Pyro Radio, Up Deh is set to mash up the dance worldwide - trust me!

CAMAR FLAVA - 'GET UP BACK'
Seasoned reggae artist Camar Flava has been long established on the international music scene as a prolific performer and songwriter, recording and producing hits such as Whine and Twist, It's You, Your Body Is

Kicking stepping and dancefloor dub flavour !!

* Rob Smith is undoubtably the Godfather of the modern Bristol music scene, his music and influence defining the city over the last three decades.

* Punch Drunk presents a very limited repress of two anthemic two step indebted productions from the early 2000s in the classic Rob Smith style.

There's nothing Scotch Bonnet Records like more than a time-travelling global link-up. Latest release Raggamuffin Soldier enlists ageless Jamaican dancehall singer Robert Lee for a silky statement of his longevity. The riddim is a crisp lick of haunting Brit-digital collectors' grail Aggro - built by uncompromising New Zealand producer Naram. It's a JA, NZ and UK alliance sure to conquer dances around the world.

At the borders of rub-a-dub dancehall and experimental electronica you'll find the music of Trilion. This ramshackle Raggamuffin Israeli collective mutated from a collaboration between acid rock band 3421, the Easy Rider emcees and Ranking Levy from My Lord sound system. Their debut album No Future With No Past, released by Glasgow's Scotch Bonnet records is a seamless fusion of sparse dubscapes, saw-toothed psychedelia and raw dancehall vibes. Trilion productions bubble through a myriad of unusual moods from blissful to threatening. By contrast the lyrics courtesy of Levy, General G, Yuta B, Mentor Irie, Guma Ranks and the exquisitely exuberant Miss Red are feisty and down to earth. Describing themselves as a musical Caesar salad' Trilion's music, like their line-up, is in a constant state of flux. Splicing the strut-and-thrust of a sound system party with disruptive digital dystopia, No Future With No Past is reminder that everything is connected - and music opens the mind...