Zunguzung Revelations

photo by Brent Hagerman In the first comment on my Zunguzung Meme post, Droid asked the perfectly reasonable question, Is it possible that Zunguzung itself is an adaptation of someone else’s work? It’s something I’d been wondering myself, of course — for about as long as I’d been noting the melody’s long legs, really. In […]

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Kiddy Mixxage

this is how we roll DJ Ripley re:ups (for only 7 days?) a mix she made recently for friends who have kids. I count myself in that company. It’s not what most people would finger for kids music, which I appreciate. I can only hear “Froggy Went A-Courtin” so many times. Then again, if it […]

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Dem Nuh Ramp

What is it, copywrong week in Jamaica? Tip o’ the proverbial hat to Ripley for pointing me to an article in the Jamaica Star which reports that EMI have served Vybz Kartel with a SERIOUS cease&desist on behalf of none other than (now former) w&w faves, Ne-Yo and Stargate (aka, Shaffer Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen […]

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Showtime (for Lawsuits), Unfinished Business (for Lawyers)

Dancehall.mobi has the scoop today on a lawsuit instigated by producer Dave Kelly — In Jamaican dancehall culture, “re-licking” a riddim has undoubtedly been a way of life. Almost monthly there seems to be a remake of a dancehall, reggae or rocksteady riddim that originated anywhere from just a few years ago to decades ago, […]

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Gyangsta Flicks

Pace this post (see comments for continued convo), thx to Christina — who also wonders how hip-hop’s use of East Asian imagery fits into all of this (I think it leans more toward the I-talian than the A-rab) — for pointing me to three mashup “valorizations of the gangsta” via the dancehall/Mavado’s imagination (both of […]

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We Be Ilvin

since fruityloopy music by multiculti youngstas has become all the rage, i figure i’m sitting on a goldmine, having run many an FL session with kids in boston and lowell, MA and, kingston, JA from 2002-04. one of my favorite students — b/c of his enthusiasm and aptitude — was a lil dude aptly named […]

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Odes on a Popular Plugin

Mediascape | A Curious Circumstance of the iPod Shuffle | by Bill Bahng Boyer cool click-thru piece by ethnoid bill boyer on the ipod & ipod shuffle & capitalism, subjectivity, etc. etc. :: "As a recovering liberal individualist who once unquestioningly subscribed to the epistemological framework posited by a Western, visually constructed notion of subjectivity, […]

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Can’t We All Just Dance Along?

Thanks to Christina for sharing this video via Google Reader — We spent Tuesday in my class (AAAS 171a: Reggae Representation, Race and Nation) discussing sexuality and homophobia in Jamaica, and I wish that I had stumbled onto this in time to bring it into the conversation. One of the things we talked about was […]

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The Anxiety of Influence

With a thread titled “weh unna tink bout this dancing ting inna the dancehall?????” discussants have taken up the subject of tight pants / “how mi look” fashion over at dancehallreggae.com. Me nuh really rate chatroom passa passa, so I wouldn’t have noticed, except that someone (here’s lookin at you, SELVATRON) linked to my recent […]

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Dungeons & Dubstep

Dazed Digital | Hank Shocklee hank shocklee is my hero, for real :: here he talks about dubstep (and offers up his own d-step mixx), his west indian heritage, the reggae album he's working on with his bro (!!), film scoring, and the state of hip-hop and music industry (and laziness) :: dude doesn't mince […]

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Mujahideen Dairy

This "Paper Planes" Thing is Way Out Of Control | RapidShare | Blogs | Vibe.com all of a sudden, it seems, "paper planes" has gone downright viral :: whattaya know? (tags: remix hip-hop MIA audio blogpost) The Jamaica Star :: Entertainment :: Overseas party link :: March 19, 2008 "While the major summer events are […]

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Hokey Mom Playing Cards

I think I’ve finally got my linkthink flow resolved, so there should be a more consistent stream of delishish posts from here on out. For whatever glitchy reason, my recent taggage has gone un(re)published here, so I’m going to paste it in below just to throw all you loyal readers a bone or two. Plz […]

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Are You On MyFace?

Library Of Vinyl Experience: Beantown Boogie pacey — friendly neighborhood riddim methodist, lover of vinyl, and boston hip-hop historian — seeks to rightly re-center the bean in the boogie universe, offering up "a collection of (mostly) 1980's Boston electrofunk, boogie and breaks" and ending with a rare, schooly-D style bit of ol-school boston brash c/o […]

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Run Tings

So, not only did Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (levitating below) set a world record in the men’s 100 meters, despite pulling up 20 meters early to celebrate and showboat… … but, in the women’s 100, Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson, and Kerron Stewart made it a clean 1-2-3 sweep (technically, a 1-2-2, actually) — Lest […]

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Sense and Sensuality

I received a CFP in my inbox today that served to rekindle several thoughts simmering in my head since Shadetek went babelfishing — Analysing the Musically Sensuous Society for Music Analysis Autumn Study Day University of Liverpool, School of Music 22 November 2008 For most listeners to music, sensuous affect is of primary, perhaps even […]

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How Fi Rob

Reminiscent of Fiddy’s early breakout track, the mighty Macka Diamond — of you nuh ready fame — shakes down the dancehall pantheon to hilarious effect on her new jam “Robbery” —      >> Macka Diamond, “Robbery” I esp appreciate the Junior Reid and Mavado bits. You may notice that the riddim propelling Macka D’s stealing spree […]

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Linkthink #93877: We Want Easy

Jamaica Land We Lgbt “A tribute to and expression of Jamaica’s sexual minorities in the struggle to overcome prejudice and violence and to assume their rights as citizens, as full human beings” (tags: jamaica sexuality homophobia blog violence nation politics politricks) Jamaica Land We Lgbt: Kenneth Reeves speaks out my former (gay black) mayor is […]

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Where Do I Begin (To Tell the Story)?

As long as we’re on the topic of “Arab Face” I’ve decided to dust off and finish up this post that’s long been sitting in my drafts folder. (It’s post #100, and I’ve recently published #400, if that’s any indication of how long it’s been on a backburner.) There are countless twisty, tangly stories of […]

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linkthink #8942: <3normative

Straight Pride Parade to be Held in New York City – Yahoo! News “The Straight Pride Parade is a chance for Heterosexuals to gather together and proudly embrace their sexuality. … Adults are encouraged to bring their children along for the celebrations, as the event will be family oriented.” (tags: brooklyn newyork reggae dancehall jamaica […]

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