Hello December! It’s that favourite time for many, the Christmas Season! While many may have opinions on the season, or don’t wish to celebrate it, you can’t go wrong with remembering the real reason for the season, and the great music that pops up! On the first Oldies Sunday of December, we kick off a Christmas Edition, and the first selection comes from the legendary Barrington Levy! Remixing the Jimmy Boyd 1952 classic, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus“, Barrington drops “I Saw Mommy Kissing A Dreadlocks“! Released by Mic Productions and features Recording Artist/Producer Trinity, this song was featured on the 1981 Christmas compilation project titled, “Yard Style Christmas”! In the song Barrington sings about catching his Mother kissing a dreadlocked Santa Claus who stopped at his house because of a storm and brought greetings and gifts of Sensimilla (Marijuana) from Jah.
Recently, Recording Artist Royal Blu and Producer Tim Foresta finally released their long anticipated project, the “sinG with God EP“! Featuring 5 tracks, listeners were treated a mix of awesome lyrics, melodies, and production that will have you rocking and rewinding to catch the lines. Recently we got a behind the scenes look at the creative process with Blu and Foresta, more specifically the situations that led to the making of each track. Tune in!
Royal Blu: For “Let’s Get High”, I remember being in studio and one of my Engineers who helped with recording the session was intentionally smoking near the booth so it could aid in me capturing the feeling of the song (haha). Leno Banton and some of the REM crew was in the studio session as well, and they’re like the Ganja gurus. So it made even more sense.
Tim Foresta: “Let’s Get High” was a very interesting process. I only had this rough loop of the hook part of the beat. I had no clue where this could go, but it had a vibe, so I sent it to Blu. He then was able to write an entire song with three verses, hook, basically a whole arrangement on this simple loop. He sent it to me via voice note. I was blown away and it instantly became clear what kind of a song this will be. Within an hour most of the ideas you hear now came to my mind. That’s also what I like about working with Blu. The process doesn’t follow the simple pattern of I send a beat, he writes a song – done. It’s always different.
Blu: I haven’t really said this anywhere else, but the song “Believe” was actually written out of me being hurt. I had a song called “Wrote You This Song” that was originally set to be a part of this EP, but didn’t make the cut. It was the first song Foresta and I ever did, but we didn’t work in studio together for it. He was still in Germany. But basically, that song was about singing to my past self and letting him know that things get better in the future. Because the past self I was singing to at that time lost all the files for his song, the studio I was working with got ripped down, I was betrayed by friends, lost loved ones. It was a depressing time. So that energy carried over into writing “Believe” because I wrote those two songs very close together.
Foresta: Believe. In 2014 I was in South Africa shooting a Documentary about Zimbabwean refugees, living in the streets of Cape Town looking for work. It was an idea by director Thandi Sebe, who at the time wanted to write a Theatre play about it. Growing up in Cape Town, she always saw these groups of men gathering and always wondered who they were and what they do. So, while doing this Documentary I composed some music for it as well and this is where the idea for Believe came from. In the end I didn’t use that beat in the documentary, but interestingly enough the topic Blu found for it perfectly fits the scene of the film that inspired me coming up with it.
This is for the Soul Sistas, the Goddesses with the ‘Fro, and wearers of the natural Crown. If you were under a rock for some reason, Miss Universe 2017 happened, and Miss South Africa emerged as the Crown holder. While all that is being said, many were paying attention to a young Jamaican who was placed 2nd Runner Up. That young Jamaican is Davina Bennett! Rocking a lovely afro, she won the hearts of many worldwide! From International Media, to yours truly, to Social Media singing her praises, she was a winner and Queen in our eyes. Another Jamaican afro rocker who sang praises was Miss Jamaica 2005 and Media Personality, Terri-Karelle Reid. Inspired by the recent events, she kicked off #AfroFriday on Twitter and Instagram with the current Miss Jamaica Universe. It has resulted in a Social Media sea of ‘Fros from both male and female. Whether a small puff, or a huge ball of Soul, be a part of #FreeYourFroFriday! Check out some of who rocked their ‘fro below, and follow the hashtags!
You’ve seen him mix it up at events, and you’ve heard him play on one of the top Radio stations in Jamaica (Zip 103 FM), it’s all about ZJ West! We’ve worked with him over the years, and you can hear some of his work in the Mixtape section. Recently we got a chance to interview him and we spoke about his work, Yung Gunnerz, being a Dad, and much more. Without further ado, GET TO KNOW the Zipjock named West below!
ZJ West’s Daughter makes an appearance at times (lol)
13thStreetPromotions: West! Give thanks for having a chat with me. We’ve been working together for a long time but we’re finally getting this Interview done. For starters, many have heard the ZJ, heard him play at events, but who is Zipjock named West?
13thSP: How long have you been DJing for? How did you get your start?
Recently, subscribers of popular streaming network Netflix, were treated to a bunch of new content. One of the new programs included the series, “She’s Gotta Have It“. Adapted from the 1986 Spike Lee Joint, the storyline revolves around a young woman and her three lovers. The series however features a great selection of music from Hip Hop to Reggae for its soundtrack. Lending their sounds to the series included Reggae Artist Fanton Mojah, Reggaeton Artist Daddy Yankee, Reggae Band Steel Pulse, Dancehall Artist Opal, and Soca Artist GBM Nutron! In episode 2, you can find Fanton Mojah’s “Kingston Town” which features Capleton and Turbulence, Opal’s “This Me Know“, and Daddy Yankee’s “Hula Hoop“. In episode 4, you can find Steel Pulse’s “Can’t Stand It“, and GBM Nutron’s “Scene” (plus a shout out from the series’ Protagonist). Season 1 of the series is out, so you can “Netflix and Chill“. You can check out the tracks below!
This is for the bad gyal, rude gyal, cute gyal, stush gyal, new gyal dem! New York based Artists Alex Mali and MeLo X (of the duo Electric Punanny) bring the Caribbean vibes in their new single and video, “Hoity Toity“! Produced by Ninease, Alex and MeLo deliver a fun song that’ll have you thinking about the Summer cookouts, the block parties, the Caribbean parades, and the new fashion for the season. The video, directed by Thrice Cooked Media however, brings all the elements from those into one colourful, flag waving, gun finger saluting, Caribbean backyard party! While Alex brings the melody, MeLo brings the deejaying and they spread that Island love to the world! For those not up to speed, “Hoity Toity” is Jamaican (or mainly Caribbean) term for being a snob, or bougie/bourgeoisie. If you a bad gyal, please back it up like a Dumpa Truck! Keep this on rotation as the cold time creeps up for that instant heat! Check out “Hoity Toity” below!
