seen.´s non-hippie reggae and dancehall blog

Even though - having gone to UWI myself - I definitely think that the sticky streets of downtown Kingston are a better place to understand the dynamics of Jamaican reggae and dancehall culture than some air-conditioned classrooms up at Mona, there´s no doubt a good reason to deal with the matter on an academic level.

On the first weekend of July, the Global Reggae Conference - number seven in a series of conferences on Caribbean cultural studies - took place on Mona campus. UWI TV has the videos of all keynotes.

I haven´t had the time to check them all myself, but from the titles, these are the ones most likely to be interesting:

- Reggae Music as Social Catalyst

- Serious Ting - The Structure of Jamaican Popular Music

- Plenary - Reggae in Japan and Australia

- Imag(in)ing Reggae

via DHM/Jojo B.

While I`m not the biggest fan of reposting things from HighSnob and them people, I couldn´t resist upping this one: for summer 08, 10Deep are putting out some adjustable hats named “Trenchtown”. I really like them. Especially the black version. (via CtotheJL)

They will probably sell better than Elephant Man´s album (via DancehallMobi) and will look good vibing to either Fly Music´s reggae cover tunes of the day, The Bug´s “London Zoo” album preview mix or whatever blogrocking beats.

The fastest man in the world, Nike+ and VP records teamed up to put together a compilation for Nike+´s compilation series. Currently, it´s only available in the US iTunes store and includes a selection of

classic dancehall cuts (…), pionearing raggamuffin (…), and an exclusive track recorded by Asafa´s favourite VP artist, Mavado (…)

Another nice quote from Nike´s official promotional copy is this one:

Reggae and other Caribbean music isn´t just about getting irie and lounging on the beach. Reggae itself has several subgenres that are high-energy and pulse-quickening, including dancehall, reggae and ska.

No news there but good to see a major company other than Puma supporting Jamaican athletes and artists.

Somewhere I read that today is International Reggae Day.

Somewhere else I read an article about the success of Jamaican track and fielders bringing smiles to the country.

The contrast between the two worlds — of violence and of athletic excellence — finds a reflection in music with the hardcore ‘dancehall’ often glorifying the gang lifestyle while the lighter melodies of reggae pay tribute to athletic prowess.

There is already a tune called 9.72 in tribute to ‘Lightning Bolt’.

Mavado that is. For other new dancehall tunes, check Tim Turbo´s Cyan Wait blog.

And ye - I uploaded some pictures from Gabe and me visiting NYC about a month ago on flickr.

New York Times: “Rasta Chic” - review of the Caribbean fashion week

New York Times: “Conspicuous by Their Presence” - all black girls issue of Italian´s Vogue magazine

Washington Post: “Taking A Spin With Vinyl” - vinyl sales break out of niche

Die Tageszeitung: “London liegt in den Tropen” (via Man Recorder)

© picture: Peter Dean Rickards

After having launched an own rum brand a while ago, dancehall artist Vybz Kartel will introduce his own condoms to the Jamaican market soon. Currently, his searching for a name for the brand. Suggestions can be emailed to namethecondom@gmail.com. (via DancehallMobi). What about “Play Tings” or “Rubber Grips”?

Kartel will compete with Slam and Ruff Rider, amongst others.