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?
A new album called B Is For Bob hits stores today, described as a “collection of original Bob Marley songs re-imagined for kids and fans of all ages!” Re-imagined? To us, the legend’s music is already family-friendly, except for maybe the references to greenery (which really, never hurt anyone).
For the PG-version, executive producer/son Ziggy Marley had to re-record certain tracks for the kiddies. He avoided including any weed-related songs altogether, but there were still a few lines that had to be changed or omitted to be parent-approved. Read on to hear the 5 remixed tracks that stood out the most and read our break down of what was changed…
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 !
It’s no secret that Jamaica’s influence on other genres of music goes beyond hip-hop. In the ’80s, punk rock bands like the Clash, the Police, and Bad Brains were all rooted in the drum and bass-driven sound of dub reggae. At the forefront of this fusion was one of dub’s originators Lee “Scratch” Perry, who produced “Complete Control” for the Clash in the ’70s.
Throughout Perry’s career, he’s released a whopping 53 albums, with his latest due August 19th co-produced by party-rocker Andrew W.K. Other genre-spanning collaborators on Repentence are Chris Stein from Blondie, Moby, and porn goddess Sasha Grey'an eclectic mix to say the least. Listen to the first single, “Pum Pum” after the jump.
Ever since Run-DMC’s “Roots, Rap, Reggae” established the genre in 1985, the fusion of hip-hop and reggae has produced some truly classic records. So it’s only right that dancehall powerhouse VP Records is giving light to the winning combination with the upcoming release of Whose World Is This?, a collaborative album helmed by producers K-Salaam and Beatnick.
To help illustrate their vision, the producers recruited some of the biggest names from both sides of the musical spectrum. On the lead single “Street Life,” dancehall legend Buju Banton and singer Trey Songz get together and harmonize about the hard knock life. The album, which drops on July 29, will also feature appearances from folks like Kardinal Offishall, Young Buck, Sizzla, Dead Prez, Capleton, Papoose, Luciano and Talib Kweli. After the jump, watch a hilarious clip of K-Salaam in the studio with Buju Banton and listen to the album’s lead single.
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.
After celebrating over a year’s worth of run-away success on the internet, Santogold finally released her self-titled album last week. But recently the Brooklyn native, Santi White threw herself back into the blogosphere releasing “Your Voice” her second dub-reggae-fused track, which follows the sound of the album’s Spankrock collab, “Shove It”. Listen to the full song, then watch the video for Santogold’s current single, “LES Artists” after the jump.
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.”
