In Complex’s 2009 Style & Design issue (on stands now!), we asked a variety of cultural tastemakers to list their “Inspirations”—things that are affecting their world now, and the things that they feel are going to have an impact moving forward. Representing the “Entertainment” section is none other than Major Lazer, the Jamaican commando and hero of the new Diplo & Switch album Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do (which Complex named The #2 Album of 2009…so far). Read on as the Major reveals his must-haves for an entertaining life…
File this one under “collaborations we never thought we’d see”—for “Pon De Floor,” the latest single from Diplo and Switch’s dancehall project Major Lazer, the superproducers recruited Eric Wareheim from Adult Swim’s bizarro lo-fi comedy series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! to direct the video. Set in a trippy, cartoonish suburbia, “Pon De Floor” features a sampling of Jamaica’s controversial, over-the-top “daggering” dance moves. *Cue America’s inevitable freakout when white children start pile driving each other at middle school dances.*
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Today marks the release of Reggae Gold 2009, the 17th installment in VP Records’ peerless annual compilation. And sure, there are some of the year’s great tracks on there (Laden’s “Money Over War” is our personal favorite), but for reggae die-hards who already have most of the songs, the real draw is the covers. Not since the Game Recordings singles of the ’90s (shout out to Shecky Green!) has cover art been executed so flawlessly. To that end, we’ve collected our very favorite Reggae Gold (and sister compilation Soca Gold) cover girls, taken a look at some other work they’ve done, and opened it up to you. So take a good hard look and ask yourself: Who’s the dancehall (and one-drop, and lover’s rock) queen?
Each week, Complex’s resident music expert DJ Treats will be bringing you key tracks from a variety of genres. Click on a link below to hear the song and learn about the artist!
If Shaggy and Sean Paul were the pinnacle of the dancehall’s cross-over success in the mid-to-late ’90s, singer Tami Chynn has the potential to become the female equivalent today. With the exception of Rihanna, singers from the Caribbean have largely been unable to break out of the dancehall mold to achieve lasting success.
One thing’s for sure, it helps to have a major label backing the effort, which Universal did in 2006 when they released Tami Chynn’s debut Out Of Many One. While the rhythms were catchy and sexy to match Tami’s drop-dead-gorgeous looks, they catered to the raw, traditional riddim format of dancehall tracks. But for her sophomore follow-up, she’s going pop under the guidance of Akon and with the support of Steve Rifkin’s SRC label. Last week, Complex chopped it up with Tami about her new album Prima Donna, cat-calling in ATL, and becoming fodder for Jamaican tabloids…
Each week, Complex's resident music expert DJ Treats will be bringing you key tracks from a variety of genres. Click below to see this week’s choices !
One thing reggae fans can look forward to every summer is VP Records‘ annual release of their Reggae Gold series. The compilation, which has gathered the past year’s top hits since 1992, never disappoints (it helps that virtually every major reggae artist is already affiliated with the label).
And aside from the music, it’s always exciting to see the fly female that they choose to grace the cover. As we near the release of Reggae Gold 2008 on June 17th, we decided to compile all the covers from the last 10 years and let you decide which model looks the best. See them all after the jump and vote for the one you think is the baddest.
We all know that clothes make the man. But when you’re Riddim Driven, the clothing line birthed by VP Records'the world’s largest reggae distributor'the music is the tailor. Over fifty years ago, the brand started by VP’s Patricia Chin was simply a line of T-shirts inspired by a monthly compilation series. That promo-tee style has come a long way, evolving into a full-fleged cut-and-sew line, drawing inspiration from the vibrant energy of the dancehall scene, plus a few design flares like the Herb Lubalin type-face for their signature “Roots, Rock, Reggae” tee. This fall, Riddim Driven’s new looks date back to the foundation of ska music and a rugged aviation style. See some samples after the jump.
On Letterman last night, hipster guilty-pleasure Robyn performed her 2006 song “Cobrastyle,” a remake of the 2005 Teddybears Sthlm song, which is itself a complete jack of Cobra's 2001 dancehall anthem “Press Trigger.” This daisy chain opens up a huge can of worms for us, but since we're in the business of fellating any and all attempts at cultural cross-pollination, we figured we'd give it a shot. After the jump, hear the songs and read our full analysis.
With a new song featuring Jay-Z burning up radio, the dancehall superstar doubles up this week releasing “Last Night,” the latest video from “Gangsta For Life: Mavado The Symphony of David Brooks.”
